Live in the KEXP studio, Lower Dens presents us with a sound that we didn't know we've been waiting for, half-nostalgic, half refreshing. Formed in Baltimore in 2010, Lower Dens is comprised of Jana Hunter, Geoff Graham, Nate Nelson, and Walker Trent. Their audacious third album, Escape From Evil, …
English post-dubstep engineer James Blake came to Seattle last month for an excellent show at the Neptune in support of widely acclaimed new record Overgrown. The same day, he stopped by the KEXP studio for a four song session with Cheryl Waters. Below, we have videos of Blake's entire performance,…
Capitol Hill Block Party 2015 Sunday brought two things: rain and totally incredible music, and both in plentiful volume. But hey, this is Seattle right? Naturally, everyone has a jacket in their back seat/pocket and nothing about the festival seems to be missed under grey skies. The drop in temper…
Her newest album is called Have You In My Wilderness but Julia Holter doesn't typically play outdoors. "I'm not used to being outside in the sun, but I'm glad we're all here," the Los Angeles composer said after "Silhouette". This year's Sasquatch lineup is mostly a high energy affair, but Holter's…
While boisterous hip hop (A$AP Rocky) and sleek pop house (Disclosure) dominated the main stage, Todd Terje's silvery disco was the perfect late night antidote to those acts. Though his usual backing musicians were absent, Terje played what very well could be both the smoothest and most subtly bril…
Last year, Sasquatch! Music Festival quite arguably had one of the best festival lineups in all of North America. Not counting the headliners, featuring leading voices in hip-hop, punk, and rock, the lineup was rich from bottom to top, covering a wide breadth of genres with a precisely-timed, (most…
Bust out those seersuckers one last time and enjoy a mix of local, national and international artists as Midday Show host Cheryl Waters presents KEXP's annual preview of Bumbershoot, Seattle's longest running music and arts festival, this year featuring expansive roots twists from Valerie June, so…
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…
2017 is off and running with some long-awaited LPs out now, like the latest from The xx. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says, "This London trio's excellent third album brings a brighter, more varied and pop-inflected sound to their spectral electro-pop courtesy of band member/producer Jamie xx, thou…
If your first impression of Cherry Glazerr is that they don’t take themselves too seriously, you’re probably right. The L.A. band’s new album, Apocalipstick, includes songs like "Trick or Treat Dance Floor", their twitter account features occasional updates on the band members' bowels, and, well, i…
The nominees are in for this year's prestigious Mercury Prize, unfortunately now known as the "Hyundai" Mercury Prize. Heavy hitters David Bowie and Radiohead lead the shortlist, alongside Michael Kiwanuka (above), Anohni, Savages, and more. Not only has the name slightly changed, but so has votin…
Wolf Alice closed out their American tour at Sasquatch! Music Festival Friday night, leaving all venues in their rear-view in flames. The Yeti Stage was no different, as the group alternated between the heavy dissonance of their squealing guitars and the angelic pop-hooks of lead woman Ellie Roswel…
It's gusting something fierce out in the dark Reykjavik night. But it's warm and cozy here in Kex Hostel as our live broadcast continues. Our fourth Iceland Airwaves act of the day was rock trio Kimono, heavy, loud, and a bit dark. They formed in 2001 as an instrumental post-rock band, but have evo…
Right around the time they were selling out two shows at Seattle's Neptune Theatre, Local Natives took an afternoon to treat KEXP VIP Club members to a special, stripped down show at The Triple Door. Though it's hard to call anything these Californians do "stripped down", they at least stuck to mai…
Over the past few years, we've heard an R&B and soul music revival bubbling up from within everything from electronic to rock - and on the psychedelic end of that revival comes Unknown Mortal Orchestra. First grabbing attention in 2010 with an anonymously posted track “Ffunny Ffrends” as the pr…
Just off of the 99 overpass, Feed stowed themselves away in their practice space affectionately referred to as the Dank Dungeon. Armed with a Tascam 488 tape recorder, the trio of guitarist Chase Hoyt, bassist Matt Kolhede, and drummer Pat Schowe spent months crafting their self-titled debut album,…
The final act to be affected by the mid-afternoon Bigfoot set delay at Sasquatch, Mogwai were fortuitous enough to be the only set to perform in full darkness. Although the Glaswegian quintet don't move much onstage – save for Stuart Braithwaite's possessed, wide-eyed wiggle – their dark lighting …
Los Angeles' Adrian Younge is a self-taught musician and highly sought-after analogue soul/funk/R&B/hip-hop producer. Bursting onto the music scene with his soundtrack to the 2009 blaxploitation parody/homage flick Black Dynamite, Younge has emerged as a distinctive artist and recording enginee…
Of all of the late night sets at Sasquatch 2015, none was more subtle than James Blake's. Unlike most of the nighttime sets in the Gorge, Blake's performance revealed itself gradually rather than blasting the audience over the head with lights and sound, and it was all the more effective because of…
"Let's get heavy," Other Lives frontman Jesse Tabish jokes before launching into the principle dichotomies behind the creation of their latest release, Rituals. But whether they're conflating old and new styles or humanity's primal nature and our technologically isolating modern world, the surprisi…
