Today's Song of the Day, as chosen by Gabriel Teodros, host of Early on KEXP, is "Alive Ain't Always Living" by Quelle Chris, from the 2022 album Deathfame on Mello Music Group.
It's been four years since Coexist, but London trio The xx re-emerge with a new song today, and lots of good news. Stream the single "On Hold" below, which features a pretty sweet sample of the 1981 Hall & Oates hit "I Can't Go For That (No Can Do)." It's just a taste of their highly-anticipat…
Closing out another unbelievable night of music at KEX Hostel was English rapper and poet Kate Tempest. A “wayward youth” in her early teens, she was later inspired by an english teacher who got her into poetry, and at age 16 began her career as a poet, playwright, rapper, and spoken word artist. S…
In a town as small as Reykjavik, densely packed with so much talent and collaboration, the term "supergroup" gets thrown around so much that it starts. That being said, Icelandic electronic band Gangly is a true supergroup. The band is a collaboration between three Icelandic powerhouse musicians: S…
The War On Drugs also have a highly-anticipated forthcoming album, A Deeper Understanding. In promotion for the album, the band has recorded a cover of Warren Zevon's "Accidentally Like A Martyr" for the Spotify Singles series. They also recorded a live version of lead single "Holding On." A Deeper…
Not sure of any Seattle sightings, but mysterious posters have been popping up in cities like London, Amsterdam, and Brooklyn. Bearing statements like "Worse Politicians/More Fear" and "More Public Fear/More Private Security," the words echo the lyrics of "Fitter Happier" the opening track of Radi…
People travel great distances for love, and perhaps even further for their favorite band. Little else could explain the extreme travel itineraries of visitors to Radiohead's sold-out show at KeyArena in Seattle on Saturday, April 8th. After the doors opened at 6PM, I spoke to brothers who split a 1…
Scott Hansen is known as ISO50 for his photography and design work. For his music, he and his band mates are known as Tycho. Closing down Saturday night at Sasquatch! Music Festival, Hansen and crew displayed how the two creative works aren’t mutually exclusive. Sharp images of distant landscapes a…
Sometimes, even when you're an ever-so-independently-minded DJ at a fancy college radio station in the '80s, you just want some AC/DC. I like to think that whoever brought this little gem - the band's first live album, and the sixth album they released between 1975 and 1978 - into the station grinn…
Nobody does wistful like Nada Surf. The veteran NYC band have long made longing a thing, crafting some of the most loveably poignant pop melodies you're likely to hear. (Even their "Happy Kid" ain't so happy.) Thankfully, age hasn't settled them, and two decades after their debut, they return with …
Malik Taylor, aka Phife Dawg of A Tribe Called Quest, passed away yesterday at the age of 45, as a result of complications due to diabetes. Taylor formed A Tribe Called Quest with his childhood best friends in 1985, releasing their now-legendary debut People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of …
Musical lore has it that Ladysmith Black Mambazo, the iconic South African mbube group, was founded by Joseph Shabalala after having a series of dreams in which he heard their sounds. It goes unmentioned whether or not Joseph dreamt of 50 years of worldwide success as perhaps the most well-known cu…
UK artist East India Youth (aka William Doyle) shares a new digital EP today, remixing highlights from his sophomore full-length Culture of Volume, out earlier this year on XL. Blanck Mass and Yosi Horikawa each remix the track "Manner of Words" and Truss Total XTC remixes "Montage Resolution." St…
In the microcosm of Iceland's music scene, where bands tend to germinate, blossom and wither as if viewed on time-lapse, the young twenty-somethings of Mammút might be seen as practically prehistoric. The five members literally grew up together during their decade as one of Iceland's most criticall…
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…
Rounding out day two of KEXP’s broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival is Icelandic electronic band Gus Gus. Formed in 1995 by filmmakers Stefán Árni and Siggi Kjartansson as a film group and acting collective, the goup’s purpose quickly changed with the addition of progra…
