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. This week’s featured songs come fr…
While many have visited Seattle's iconic landmark, the Space Needle, and even braved the 604 foot height to take in the view from the top, only a select few can say that they've stepped onto that 604th foot of the Needle. On July 11th, in celebration of Sub Pop's 25th anniversary, KEXP and Sub Pop'…
Lackadaisical singer/songwriters Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile joined forces last month release the collaborative album Lotta Sea Lice. Since then they've been on tour and last night were the musical guests on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. They performed "Over Everything" on the broadcast s…
Rounding out the first night of of KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast live from Kex Hostel is Icelandic punk band Fufanu. The band began life as techno outfit Captain Fufanu, but after the theft of the computer containing their record, they cut “Captain” from their name and jumped into a completely …
Not surprisingly, a country known for its epic landscapes like Iceland also produces similarly cinematic music, like that of Kiasmos. The breathtaking sound of this new duo, featuring composer Ólafur Arnalds and Janus Rasmussen (also of Bloodgroup), was the perfect intro for the first day of KEXP's…
The otherworldliness of Iceland's landscape is never lost on those who live or travel there. Not just a land of fire and ice, it is also a land of light and dark, starkness and majesty, community and isolation. The only thing that isn't a wonder about Iceland is how artists of all kinds echo its un…
The boozy blues of obsession and regret never sounded so good... at least not in the last 16 years. It's been that long since The Afghan Whigs released an album and its members turned their attention elsewhere. Yet, while other 90's bands are now cashing in on their notoriety with 20- and 25-year a…
A few years ago, "chill wave" seemed all anyone could talk about, and Washed Out was among the first on the scene with the ubiquitous single "Feel It All Around". But while the fad died out, the Georgia-based bedroom composer Ernest Greene developed the his free-floating sound into a full live proj…
Trends come and go quickly in music. Something can be hot one day and out the next, while some things take hold and never let go. The latter can be sincerely said of The Zombies enduring jazz-infused psychedelia, especially their handful of American hits and acclaimed album Odessey and Oracle. Al…
Montreal's Suuns make a particular kind of low-drone heavy but never "drone music" - they walk the fine line between being experimental and being simply loud rock music. There's never really been the kind of rock n roll vibes you get from other bands walking that line, but instead an industrial syn…
Next on the broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was the genre-bending psych-pop/blues/avant-garde band Fai Baba. Based in Zurich, Fai Baba is the solo project of Fabian Sigmund, accompanied by a varied lineup of musicians over the years. Fai Baba began about 10 years ago, after Fabia…
Second on today's broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was Australian artist Gordi. Gordi is the stage name of Australian Folktronica artist Sophie Payten, who began playing music while in university, and began to gain traction across Australia after she was featured in prominent radi…
It should be no surprise that several of the artists topping this week's list of new releases were making appearances at SXSW last week, but two of them were also previewing their new songs live on KEXP during our broadcast from Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop. Billy Bragg and Palma Violets both gave mem…
It's a beautiful fall day in Reykjavik, and the small northern capitol is buzzing with activity, with bars, venues, shops, and restaurants in every nook and cranny of the city are busy with preparations for Iceland Airwaves Music Festival. While the KEXP broadcast begins tomorrow at 6 AM, you can c…
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…
In Icelandic their name means "seasons", but the warm, acoustic chamberpop songs of Árstíðir are particularly comforting on these cold days of winter. Recently, the group has been busy recording and crowd funding their third LP, Hvel (due February 2015), but they took time to share a handful of gor…
