Iron and Wine, the music project of singer/songwriter Samuel Beam, delivers simple, folk ballads that evoke powerful complex emotions. With each album Beam seems to be reinventing himself; from the minimalistic, soulful melodies of The Creek Drank the Cradle and Our Endless Numbered Days to the mor…
Can we say "finally!"? After nearly two years since their first KEXP performance, Pickwick will release their full-length debut on March 12. The beloved Seattle soul rockers have introduced R&B to a whole new generation with the Myths 7-inch series, including listener favorites like "Window Sil…
Welcome to another installment of Review Revue in which I wonder how the heck I got through my adolescence without hearing some band or other from the '80s. Today I bring you The Room. Before that moniker referred to a sublimely terrible movie by Tommy Wiseau, it was a short-lived but relatively pr…
All day tomorrow, we'll be counting down KEXP listeners' Top Albums of 2012 all day, and there's no doubt that local band The Helio Sequence will have a strong showing. That it took four years to release Negotiations isn't too surprising, considering the Portland duo usually take their time perfect…
Björk's new "Tinder album" is on its way and we finally have a taste of what it might sound like with lead single "The Gate." The storyline of the song picks up where Vulnicura left off, with Björk healing from the heartbreak of the dissolution of her 13-year relationship. “My healed chest wound/Tr…
Scottish indie band Franz Ferdinand are releasing their first album in five years, Always Ascending, in early 2018. Today they've shared the video for the title track and lead single. Directed by Parisian collective AB/CD/CD, the slick video features the band members quite literally ascending thro…
Erykah Badu stopped by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon last night to perform a medley of "On & On" from Baduizm and a cover of Fela Kuti's "Sorrow Tears and Blood." The beloved Baduizm turned 20 this year but Badu was there to promote the latest Fela Kuti box set that she curated: Fela K…
DJ Riz and Larry Rose co-host this year's edition of the Big Gay Podcast, bringing you an infectious mix of music by, for, and about the LGBTQ community with songs from Courtney Barnett, Blood Orange, The Drums, Goldfrapp, Austra, Hurray For The Riff Raff, and more. They also mix in songs from Rai…
I have a personal mission statement in mind for Jazz Theater. That is, to really celebrate the fact that Jazz Is Alive and Thriving. Now! In recent years, jazz has been cast in an unfortunate historical context -- as something that already happened, and is now over. Or, individual "experts" are too…
It hit around "Maud Gone": Will Toledo has finally found a band as talented as he is. For many years, Car Seat Headrest existed as the bedroom project of Will Toledo, releasing countless albums of expressive, vibrant pop/punk. However, after being signed to Matador, Toledo began recording and touri…
It’s not hard to imagine a chandelier once hanging from the gold, grated circle located smack dab in the middle of The Neptune ceiling. What’s considerably tougher is spotting the marks of an elaborate and ornate paint job that once encompassed the gold center’s edge but has now faded into the stru…
Anyone who's read any music journalism over the last six months already knows this, but Sleater-Kinney spent the first half of this year coming back with a fantastic new record and a ferocious live show. However, Sasquatch was their first (of two) festival headlining slots, so until Friday, it had …
Albina Cabrera and deejay Chilly celebrate the 10-year anniversary of KEXP’s modern Latin mix show, El Sonido, with a collection of some of their favorite new tracks.
Martin Douglas revisits 2018 with “Vindaloo” by Armand Hammer. ELUCID and billy woods approach rap from two very different creative workflows
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Gabriel Teodros revisits 1987 with “Paid in Full” by Eric B. and Rakim, whose style of rhyming left an unmistakable mark on the rhythm and flow of rap that came after them.
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Larry Mizell Jr sits down with KEXP DJs Reverend Dollars, Vitamin D, and Gabriel Teodros to discuss the idea of hip-hop being born on one particular day.
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Dusty Henry takes us back to 1977 when a young DJ from the Bronx, Theodore Livingston, debuted a technique so powerful, so innovative, that it’s become an essential part of hip-hop: scratching.
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Larry Mizell Jr. talks about the art of DJing with fellow KEXP DJs Supreme La Rock and Vitamin D, along with Dr. Daudi Abe, DJ Lady Love, and a special appearance from Grand Wizzard Theodore.
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Roddy Nikpour revisits 2010 with the track "Zodiac Shit" by Flying Lotus.
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Eva Walker speaks with Vin Rock of Naughty by Nature about the legacy of their track “Hip Hop Hooray.”
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