If Chaz Bundick, a.k.a. multi-instrumentalist/producer Toro Y Moi, is one of the founding fathers of chillwave, he seems to have defected in recent years to a rogue nation operating under somewhat looser rules and conditions. In this new land, framed by Bundick’s most recent LP, What For?, a greate…
Filling the KEXP studio with his breezy pop/rock tunes, Nic Hessler flawlessly paints a picture of summer by the shore with a sound that is unmistakably Californian. Originally signed to Captured Records under the name Catwalk, he halted his career when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with an autoimm…
When we asked our old friend Elvis Perkins to play a few songs live in-studio at KEXP, he obeyed, or rather, he aubade. The New York singer-songwriter's third album, I Aubade, is filled with love songs for the morning, or any time, with melodies steeped in '60s soul and rich ambient folk that gentl…
The Jazz Butcher have always seemed like an intimidating band to get into. There's the large catalog (10 LPs and countless singles by the time I was flipping through the bins at independent record stores), the multiple names (The Jazz Butcher, The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, The Jazz Butcher & His…
"It's not the average, kind of whiny divorce record... You can dance to half the record and cry your eyes out to the rest of it." That's how Sondre Lerche describes his seventh and newest album, Please. Despite the innate heaviness of the subject material, Lerche is eager to explore every facet of …
Remember when The Decemberists performed on the NBC show Parks & Recreation? Well, now one of the stars of that TV show, Nick Offerman, stars in the video for the Portland band's track "Make You Better." Watch their hilarious spoof on a '70s German interview show below. The Decemberists' upcom…
The bad news is, the Sasquatch! Music Festival has announced they'll be canceling the Fourth of July line-up, due to poor ticket sales. The good news is, the Paramount have already snatched up headliners Kraftwerk to bring their 3-D extravaganza to their stage on July 1st. Tickets go on sale Frida…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
It's always a delight when psychrock voyagers Wooden Shjips return to dock in the KEXP studios. The band have just released their fourth album, Back to Land, on Thrill Jockey Records, an album that captures the feelings of home from frontman Erik "Ripley" Johnson, who has just thrown down anchor in…
The love NYC drummer Miles Arntzen holds for the music of Nigerian legend Fela Kuti is so great it can't be contained by just one band. Arntzen, who drums for well-known funksters Antibalas, also started yet another 10+ member afrobeat-inspired group in EMEFE. Formed a year before his joining Antib…
Conceived originally as a duo by singer/guitarist Brian Harding and singer/keyboardist Amalie Bruun (ex-Hymns and ex-Minks respectively), Ex Cops explore the depths of pop through a psych-tinged haze. Influences on their aptly titled 2013 debut, True Hallucinations, range from early 80's NZ jangle …
In addition to producing about three months of shows and two new songs, The Postal Service reunion can now add a video to the list of things its produced. The AB/CD/CD-directed clip for the new song "A Tattered Line of String" finds a man fighting off a laundry machine that's trying to suck him in.…
It's hard to believe that the Capitol Hill Block Party is on its 17th year, but it's no surprise that it keeps getting better each year. Now a premiere Northwest festival, the Capitol Hill Block Party has announced a stellar lineup for 2013. On July 26th through 28th, you'll be able to see The Flam…
In honor of the late Jason Molina, Graveface Records has announced the release of a tribute album (due out on April 23). Weary Engine Blues has an impressive roster of singer/songwriters -including John Vanderslice, Will Oldham (Bonnie 'Prince' Billy), Phil Elverum (The Microphones), Mark Kozelek, …
How to destroy angels_, Trent Reznor's collaboration with his wife, Mariqueen Maandig, and Atticus Ross, announced this morning that their debut album is on its way. Welcome oblivion will be out March 5 on Columbia Records, Stereogum reports, but those are all the details we have for now. However, …
Seattle art-rap duo Shabazz Palaces released two albums, Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star and Quazarz Vs. The Jealous Machines, on the same day earlier this year. Today they've shared the video for "Since C.A.Y.A.," the Thundercat-featuring opening track off of Born on a Gangster Star. The clip wa…
Earlier this week, Fever Ray surprised fans with a new album, the first in eight years for this solo project from Karin Dreijer Andersson, frontwoman for the Swedish duo The Knife. KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls it "an excellent set of adventurous, noise-addled electro-pop combining buzzing sy…
Moon King is the project of Daniel Benjamin originally from Toronto, and now spending most of his time in the Detroit area. When Benjamin released his first tape as Moon King in 2011, he caught the attention of fellow Toronto band Fucked Up’s guitarist Mike Haliechuk who released his first two EPs.…
KEXP's Expansions host, Masa, has done a radio special on Detroit's Electronic Music Festival for many years and now brings you his very first podcast focused on the festival. It's a 12 track celebration and spotlight on Detroit based and inspired electronic artists performing at the festival this…
