Local electronic duo ODESZA had a meteoric rise in 2014 with their sophomore album In Return and it shows with their new large-scale cinematic video for "Line of Sight" off of their upcoming third album A Moment Apart. Directed by Daniel Brown, the video tells the story of a young boy wandering a …
The War on Drugs released a new song today and also announced their follow-up record to 2014's critically-acclaimed Lost in the Dream. The song is called "Holding On" and feels like it could have easily fit on that last LP, with Adam Granduciel sounding Springsteen-esque without sounding derivative…
We're just a week away from PJ Harvey's first Seattle show in five years, and just when we thought we couldn't be more excited, she goes and drops a new single outta nowhere. Stream the track "A Dog Called Money" below, arriving tomorrow via a double-A side digital single with "I’ll Be Waiting." B…
The first-ever Upstream Music Fest + Summit is just around the corner, on Thursday, May 11th through Saturday, May 13th, in locations all over Pioneer Square. Earlier this year, the first wave of artists were announced (see here), as well as this year's keynote speakers: Quincy Jones, Macklemore, a…
The alias of Portland-based musician Douglas Appling, Emancipator has become well-known for his blissful, lush, and cinematic style of music that organically fuses downtempo, trip-hop, and instrumental hip-hop elements into his own enveloping style. A stellar live performer that's a staple on the f…
Charles Bradley is one of those rare artists who can bring a crowd to tears, and that’s exactly what he did as he played a free public show in the gathering space at KEXP's new home. A longtime James Brown impersonator, Bradley began performing as himself at the age of 62, emerging just in time to …
As Toronto-based teens, best buds Katie Monks and Liz Ball would sneak off to the park to play guitar. What started as a secret has now become broadcast around the world on KEXP: as Toronto quartet Dilly Dally, Monks and Ball channel their '90s influences into fierce, grunge-inspired pop, spotlight…
Seattle's Jason Baxter & Kyle Hargus craft colorful electronic music under the moniker USF, rising up with the pioneering chillwave album Ocean Sunbirds in 2009 as Universal Studios Florida. They've been unleashing more club-inspired jams on a string of EPs under the shortened alias, most recen…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part 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, we are featuring songs by …
In honor of Janet Jackson releasing her highly anticipated Unbreakable album today, Tin Angel Records has dropped a tribute album called Dear Janet. The album features a variety of indie artists, who each cover one of 16 Janet classics. For instance, Deradoorian takes on "The Pleasure Principle", …
Filling the KEXP studio with his breezy pop/rock tunes, Nic Hessler flawlessly paints a picture of summer by the shore with a sound that is unmistakably Californian. Originally signed to Captured Records under the name Catwalk, he halted his career when he was unexpectedly diagnosed with an autoimm…
Matt Johnson's The The is yet another band (or musical project, if you prefer, since it seems to have been Johnson and whatever troupe of brilliant musicians he could round up when it came time to make a record) that I never listened to in their heyday/my youth, and I can't quite figure out why. Ma…
The Jazz Butcher have always seemed like an intimidating band to get into. There's the large catalog (10 LPs and countless singles by the time I was flipping through the bins at independent record stores), the multiple names (The Jazz Butcher, The Jazz Butcher Conspiracy, The Jazz Butcher & His…
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, we’ll be featuring song…
Simon Stålhamre may be the creative force behind Small Feet, but it was not until he found the assistance of his band mates Jacob Snavely and Christopher Cantillo along with the inspiration of an island cabin residence that he was able to create music without self-sabotaging. It's a good thing he f…
Poor Tom Petty. He gets no love. Actually, that's not true. He probably has lots of money and lots of people, including some prominent contemporary songwriters, do love him, but back in the day, KCMU DJs couldn't seem to be bothered even to comment on the single for "Change of Heart", which was add…
This summer, Florence and the Machine will release their long-awaited third full-length How Big How Blue How Beautiful, and today they share the truly beautiful track "Ship to Wreck." In a press release, Florence Welch states, "I was thinking about my own self destructive side, and how you can mak…
Remember when The Decemberists performed on the NBC show Parks & Recreation? Well, now one of the stars of that TV show, Nick Offerman, stars in the video for the Portland band's track "Make You Better." Watch their hilarious spoof on a '70s German interview show below. The Decemberists' upcom…
