"How is it," longtime readers of this series might wonder," that you've covered two David Sylvian solo albums, but not a single Japan album? Or even Rain Tree Crow!" You know, I have no good answer to that beyond the fact that this pulling-records-off-the-shelves game is a fickle one. Maybe I spent…
Congratulations to Bob Dylan, winner of the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature! Also a critically acclaimed memoirist, Dylan was awarded the prize "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition", and he's the first American to win the prize in over 20 years! The 75-…
While climate change may be something that members of our federal government have decided to ignore and/or flat-out reject, it's difficult to ignore the fact that summers in Seattle have gotten increasingly warmer. On August 8th we broke the previous record of 51 days without rain, making it the dr…
Bloc Party frontman Kele Okereke has announced a new solo album called Fatherland to be released in October. Back in May, he shared a new solo song "Yemaya" and now he has shared the single "Streets Been Talkin" which he describes as “a bittersweet ode to romance and the passing of time.” Okereke's…
Congratulations to Mavis Staples, who just won a Grammy last night for Best American Roots Performance. It's great timing as the legendary blues singer will release Livin' On A High Note, on Friday. This, her fourteenth studio album, features songs written by Justin Vernon, M. Ward, Benjamin Booker…
When it comes to Mike Krol, it's not three strikes and you're out. For the LA based, Milwaukee born songwriter, the third time's a charm, or rather, a Turkey. His third LP, and recent Merge Records release, avoids incarceration with a liberating blast of hook-filled garage rock, smart self-reflecti…
It's only 73 seconds long, but this mini-trailer has us very excited for the eagerly-awaited sophomore release from UK group Savages. In the clip, none other than Henry Rollins (??!!) reads from Phyllis Rose’s Jazz Cleopatra: Josephine Baker In Her Time as new music from the band plays in the back…
After a tumultuous four years (in which frontman Zach Condon went through an ugly divorce and was later hospitalized), it's great to see Beirut being silly and having a good time again. Check out the playful video for "No No No" (directed by Brother Willis) below. Will skunks and baguettes be used…
The DJ comments on this LP call us back to a dark time when not every album was available everywhere in the world instantly upon its release. Many well-loved bands could only be heard by spending way too much money on physical objects that had been transported in small batches from another country …
Brooklyn’s brassy big band Red Baraat stopped by on their way across the country on a national tour to bring their infectious world music into the KEXP live room. Led by percussionist Sunny Jain, the eight members draw on a Bhangra blend of North Indian rhythms mixed with hip-hop, funk and New Orle…
No other group in Seattle has the reach of THEESatisfaction. In creating their unique psychedelic hip hop stylings, local duo Cat and Stas reach as high among the stars as low within the roots below, and place their feet years beyond as eons ago. In fact, critics can't help but describe their new a…
Reading's Slowdive were one of the bands that defined the shoegaze sound of the early '90s, although their career suffered somewhat in that their first album, Just for a Day, was released just as the British press was tiring of the scene and ready for some backlash. Today, they're remembered as a k…
Sisters Kara and Johanna Söderberg embody the phrase "beyond their years". As Swedish duo First Aid Kit, they've managed to capture generations' worth of American country and folk while still in their teens, and on their reverential 2012 hit "Emmylou" sounded as if they could already hold their own…
We began our broadcast at Iceland Airwaves from KEX Hostel in Reykjavik with familiar faces in a brand new group. Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen have both been featured several times live on KEXP, and not just from Iceland in years past – Ólafur also in Seattle and Austin during SXSW and Janus …
Few bands generate as much excitement among KEXP listeners as alt-J. We followed their stratospheric rise from the beginning and even helped stoke the fire of the early buzz by which they burned brightly. The anticipation of their sophomore album was almost unbearable, though, particularly followin…
We've recorded him several times in the woods, but for his first in-studio at KEXP, Shakey Graves shook the dust off (unfortunately, on our floor) for a rowdy set of blues fueled rock live on the Morning Show. Sure, it was early for Alejandro Rose-Garcia and his co-producer and collaborator Chris B…
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…
The 40th Annual Seattle International Film Festival is upon us, and this year's SIFF is probably the best one for fans of the KEXP-sponsored Face The Music series. Seriously, if you’ve found the festival has been a little light on the music movies before, this year will change your head. In the off…
By taking their name from the annual festival held in Pamplona, Spain, San Fermin presents their musical philosophy outright. Like the running of the bulls, San Fermin's music bewilders, delights, and intimidates. Surprisingly, the Brookyln-based Baroque-poppers have only released one album, San Fe…
When asked to describe his music, Zach Saginaw, operating under the pseudonym Shigeto, urges prospective fans to "have a listen". Drawing on his jazz background, instrumental hip-hop and years of drumming to create beat-heavy electronic tracks, Shigeto's music does indeed transcend traditional genr…
