Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Larry Mizell, Jr., host of The Afternoon Show on KEXP, is "Keep It Sexy" by Otis McDonald, a 2020 single on TrackTribe.
Otis McDonald began as a studio experiment, where San Francisco-based producer and artist Joe Bagale spent three months writing, performing, recording, and sampling his own recordings. When it came time to release the results, Bagale looked towards two music icons to encapsulate the retro-tinged music he was composing: Shuggie Otis and Michael McDonald. "I don’t take myself seriously, but I take my music very seriously," he told Music Connection in 2019.
Bagale has released his music exclusively through a royalty-free audio library via YouTube. "YouTube is the biggest streaming service in the world," he continued. "I thought if the music was good and felt human, hopefully people would put it in their videos and a certain percentage of viewers would want to further explore the music.” He concluded, “If there is one thing I’d like to do with the music it is to give people a little more joy than they had before they heard it.”
Finding good new music can be a full time job, so let KEXP help! In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery.
Host Emily Fox and KEXP’s editorial team talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
