Mexico City-raised trio Son Rompe Pera put their own unique and modern spin on the rich traditions of marimba.
Palestinian-Jordanian band 47Soul are making waves around the world in a cultish way with their completely unique take on traditional Palestinian street music infused with electronic, hip hop, dancehall, and dabke that they call Shamstep.
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Troy Nelson charts the progression of the trio that make up Songhoy Blues, from refugees to Nick Zinner collaborators to Glastonbury performers to major label signees. A journey just as expansive as their unique sound.
For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson details Mackenzie Scott’s unique trajectory from Southern Baptist band kid to the subversive indie rocker best known as TORRES.
Want a great example of how to get hugely popular as a band without losing your soul? Look no further than Alberta electronic duo Purity Ring. The band's 2012 debut, Shrines, was an instant classic, mixing dark Canadian electronic textures with essences of hip-hop, all graced by the soaring vocal p…
On this week’s Live on KEXP, Jupiter & Okwess fuses traditional Congolese music styles like soukous, rumba, and kwassa kwassa with more universal ones like rock, funk, and blues for something completely unique and yet wholly universal.
By Justin Farrar Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, fea…
We’re back for our second and final day at the Halle de la Courouze for another day of filming bands during the 39th annual Trans Musicales Festival in Rennes, France. It’s another cold day here, but it turned out to be bright at sunny this morning, so we decided to take advantage of the light and …
For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson delves into the history of both rappers while speculating whether an ancient English stone has anything to do with the unique abilities of Blimes and Gab, who virtually perform five songs off Talk About It.
After arriving on the main stage at Sasquatch! Music Festival in a Value Village-via-80s workout tapes-via acid getup and leading his band through a dramatically reworked "Seven Swans", Sufjan Stevens laid down the mission statement for his subheadlining set: "God is in the house." He paused, then …
XL Records is entering a very fun new chapter - chapter six to be exact. Last fall (and this spring with the physical edition), the label released Chapter VI, the first entry in their ongoing electronic compilation series since Chapter V back in 1995. The label has seen a ridiculous amount of growt…
Dan Boeckner may have followed his own advice to “start again”, but even with a new moniker, a new band, and a self-released debut EP released four days after its announcement, there seems to be nothing preventing Boeckner from shining through the darkness, no matter how often he disappears back in…
Thursday night before 4th of July at Neumos, you could tell who watched the show from the safety of the balcony from those on the floor strictly based on the quantity of sweat dripping from their clothes upon leaving the premises. I can't speak much for the casual observers above, but between the h…
There's very little surprise in seeing a two night Growlers stint at the Crocodile sold out as can be. The California surf rock band has seen some pretty stellar years of growth as of late, culminating in their excellent latest LP Chinese Fountain, seeing the band at their strongest and cleanest ye…
True to style, every year, there are one or two bands that manage to navigate the Sasquatch! Music Festival contracts and squeeze in a Seattle date right before they head east. For 2015, that band was UK electronic showcase Jungle. While they absolutely wowed crowds with their Sasquatch! set on Day…
Seattle noise fans know when you see "Debacle Records presents" at the top of a show poster, you are in for something. New York's Pharmakon may be on the fantastic Sacred Bones Records, but I think she'd be welcomed with open arms into a lasting relationship with Debacle Records, who supplied the r…
From the downstroke of the show opener "Bullet" from their new record Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, Franz Ferdinand had Showbox Sodo off its feet. "Bullet" is an easy highlight off the band's fourth LP, with its furious bass line and scream-along chorus concert ready at impact, and the…
