First up on day four of KEXP's live stream from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival is Icelandic hip hop artist Sturla Atlas. The stage name for singer Sturla Atlason, Sturla Atlas makes 90's-style hip hop and RnB injected with Icelandic humor that manages to be both over-the-top and tota…
It was hard not to anticipate what Lord Huron would bring to the live setting. So much of their music is based around place and themes that a live show always seemed like the perfect medium for the group to express their vision to the fullest. The LA group makes music that transports the listener t…
My Dad Is Dead is one of those band names that might just sound like a one-liner or an attempt to grab your attention, but in the case of Mark Edwards's solo recording project, legend has it that the music on this debut LP was in fact created in direct response to the loss of his father. With so mu…
It all started with four lads from London with a brash attitude and a bone to pick with the system... oh wait, that's what got us started on International Clash Day, a theme show based on a whim that became an annual event for KEXP DJs. As we thought about ongoing impact of The Clash and how their …
Sam Beam's new label Black Cricket Recording Co. has released Archive Series Volume No. 1, the first collection in a series of archival Iron & Wine songs. Most of the tracks were recorded while he was working on his 2002 debut, The Creek Drank The Cradle. The album will officially drop on Febr…
All throughout her conversation with Stevie Zoom, Mary Timony kept mentioning how Ex Hex "just came together". You'd be forgiven for thinking a band so fierce and tight could never be assembled so serendipitously, but when you've got a trio of D.C. punk lifers in the same room, there's no other pos…
Call it rockabilly, psychobilly, punkabilly... whatever kind of "billy" you want to call it... The Reverend Horton Heat practically sets fire to the stage whenever he performs. After nearly 30 years and 11 albums, the Heat hasn't lost the spark, and still packs the house with fans of all ages and t…
The Wedding Present is one of those bands whose catalog I always found daunting when I browsed the record store bins. So many albums, and singles, and EPs, and Peel sessionses! I ended up just buying Seamonsters and sticking with it, but I knew they had much more to offer. And that was before I hea…
As you might have noticed, the pictures I gathered on my most recent visit to the KEXP stacks were exclusively from the local section, and I feel like I've been learning a lot of our fair city's history that simply living here for 12+ years has not been enough to absorb. Case in point: Somehow I've…
"This is a really beautiful city", Keith Morris remarked halfway his El Corazon set with super punk supergroup OFF!. He was talking to the punk kid who had fought his way to the very front of the crowd, sweating profusely through the leather jacket he dared not remove in the pit. "You don't know th…
On any given weekend in Seattle, there are a million amazing shows to see - from jazz at a coffee shop or theater, to a grunge show at a DIY space, to a major act at any one of our large venues. Maybe this weekend you want to try something new, maybe you heard one song by this small electronic, fol…
It's impossible to get too much of Charles Bradley. The loveable soul singer has been thrilling KEXP listeners and audiences world wide since his late-in-life discovery by members of The Budos Band and has appeared on KEXP many times. Recently, he's been featured in the acclaimed documentary Soul o…
If drama is the key to art, then look no further than Austin band The Black Angels. The group is a collection of eerie organs, guitar riffs and vocals that, when combined, sound like a mash-up of Tame Impala, Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and DJ Shadow. Their recent live set at The Triple Door was …
Next on KEXP’s broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was Icelandic electronic band Gus Gus. Formed in 1995 by filmmakers Stefán Árni and Siggi Kjartansson as a film group and acting collective, the group’s purpose quickly changed with the addition of programmer Biggi Thó…
DJ El Toro shares some of his favorite music of 2015 and previews upcoming releases from Shearwater, ANOHNI, Gazebos, and the Cave Singers. Speaking of next year, don't forget: everything you enjoy on KEXP, including the free podcasts, is made possible by support from music lovers like you. P…
Great Grandpa, Joy Formidable, Cartalk, and Pink Lotion cover eco-themed songs for our Clash For Climate event
The New Year has its own special meaning in the world of music. While most of the world is looking forward, it's a time for many audiophiles to luxuriously look back as they compile lists of their favorite records, concerts and memorable moments from the year past. In this sense, Shabazz Palaces ma…
Last Thursday, Best Coast blasted the Showbox with that effortless cool and garage aesthetic that they have championed throughout the years, giving the audience the best of both worlds. With their latest album, California Nights, the California band marks their third release, but first on a major l…
In the seven years since Michael Angelakos shared the gooey valentine EP that was Chunk of Change, a lot has changed. Three albums later and the cute story backed by intriguing music has turned Passion Pit into the household name. Angelakos went from his bedroom to the frontman of a project that is…
