A catchy melody doesn't just get stuck in your head – it lives there. You sit with it, sometimes for days or even years, ruminating on it whether you want to or not. Writing just one of these songs can be an accomplishment. Portland songwriter Mo Troper does this 15 times over on his latest album, …
Draped in a cape and fringed cowboy gear, Ty Segall took the stage on Late Night with Seth Meyers last night in support of his new self-titled solo release, out now on Drag City Records. Watch Ty and the guys perform "Break a Guitar" (though they don't actually do it). KEXP presents three nights o…
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 Christmas…
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 Christmas…
Looks like new Spoon is on the way! The Austin-via-Portland-via-Who Knows band shared a mysterious image on social media that looks like a possible album cover. Adding to the mystery, Matador Records shared it as well. Viewers of the Showtime TV series Shameless were treated to a new song last Sun…
Next on the KEXP live video stream from KEX Hostel at Iceland Airwaves Music Festival was brand-new band Andy Svarthol. Comprised of brothers Egill and Bjarki Hreinn Viðarsson). Andy Svarthol came together in 2015 after Egill’s other project Nóra went on hiatus. They aren’t even in the festival’s o…
French musician/producer Jean-Christophe Le Saoût first emerged as Wax Tailor in 2005 with his breakout album, Tales of the Forgotten Melodies, showcasing a confident and refreshing fusion of cinematic trip-hop, hip-hop, and soul styles. Since then he's continued to master an eclectic fusion of div…
If the gender politics of the Raunch Hands were controversial 30+ years ago (and they were, as you will see below), I'm not surprised you don't hear them much on the air these days. In fact, I can't find reference to a single Raunch Hands spin on KEXP in recent years - even on Shake the Shack, whic…
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", …
