After being pretty quiet for several years, Future Bible Heroes -- one of the projects of The Magnetic Fields mastermind Stephen Merritt and his collaborators Claudia Gonson and Christopher Ewen -- are making a big re-entrance into the music world with their soon-to-be-released box set Memories of …
Trumpeter Owuor Arunga is one of the handful of Seattle natives joining Macklemore & Ryan Lewis when they play Key Arena on Dec 10-12. Owuor, along with Ray Dalton, Mary Lambert, Michael Wansley, Andrew Joslyn are just some of the cast of characters, who, for the last year, have been on a world…
Born and raised in New York, Aesop Rock originally emerged from the city's indie hip-hop world, releasing his breakthrough album Labor Days in 2001 on Definitive Jux, the label ran by El-P (Run the Jewels). But, Aes (real name: Ian Matthias Bavitz) moved to Portland in 2008, so after nearly a decad…
Today, the music world lost another star, as Alan Vega, co-founder of '70s proto-punk duo Suicide, passed away. Vega's friend and fan Henry Rollins announced that "relentlessly creative" and "startlingly unique" artist died peacefully in his sleep. According to Vega's family approved statement:
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba are set on changing the way we think about world music. Pushing the limits of traditional West African instruments themselves to embrace western styles and a more versatile melodic range, Bassekou Kouyate is proud of the modern innovations he's made with the ngoni, a…
Probably among the most beloved hilarious trouble making tongue in cheek Canadians making the music rounds right now is Mac DeMarco - and he's all of these things plus some in his new video for "My Kind of Woman" off his recent album 2. Plus he's in drag. Sort of - and he winks like a pro every tim…
Things are picking up! In the world of new releases, that is. 2013 has fully arrived, and as you head back to work, school or whatever your day-to-day, it's time to put record shopping back into your regular routine. The shelves of your favorite record shops are now being lined with anticipated new…
From heartbreak to the end of the world: that's how DJ Troy Nelson describes the trajectory of albums from singer/songwriter Marissa Nadler. "I think this is album seven or something? I don't know," she says with a smile and a shake of her head. Over the past 16 years, this ethereal singer/songwrit…
Currently based in Los Angeles, San Diego native and emerging electronic producer Rafa Lavarez (a.k.a. Different Sleep) has been steadily evolving his underground style over the past 5 years, adding upon his early lush downtempo aesthetic to incorporate a more physical and abstract sound that adven…
The world is waking up to the terrible news: iconic artist David Bowie has passed away at the age of 69 after an 18-month-long battle with cancer. KEXP DJs and listeners have been sharing their stories, feelings, and memories on-air all day, and on social media, Bowie's friends and admirers have be…
Texas indie band Shearwater have been dabbling in the world of covers for a while now. They released an all covers collection called Fellow Travelers late last year, and it seems their letting this trend continue. The band's newest cover is Nina Simone's melancholy "Black is the Color." [Stereogum]
This is old news to you if you were listening to The Morning Show on KEXP this morning when DJ John Richards presented the world radio debut, but today we've got a new song from local faves Deep Sea Diver. Frontwoman Jessica Dobson stopped by the station this morning to share the track "One By One…
“There’s so many kinds of music I’m interested in that I just never let into my own songwriting, so in a way with this record, it was kind just of like opening the curtains and letting stuff come in,” Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing says of Life of Pause. Continuing with his style of creating a new worl…
The Postal Service has spent this year celebrating the 10 year anniversary of Give Up, with a re-release and a huge world tour. Now, director Justin Mitchell has brought us a 14 minute documentary about the band called, Some Idealistic Future. The documentary features interviews with each band memb…
Raised in Singapore and currently based in London, et aliae is a talented pianist, electronic producer and composer who makes refined and progressive electronic pop. Her debut song came out in 2014 as part of Ryan Hemsworth's initial Secret Songs compilation, leading to a significant rise in her pr…
Sudan Archives is the alias of Cincinnati-bred, LA-based singer, songwriter, violinist, and producer Brittney Denise Parks. Recently releasing her self-titled debut EP this past summer on Stones Throw Records, her mesmerizing blend of Sudanese and West African influences with R&B and electronic…
Tune-Yards have returned with a brand new song that comes alongside an announcement that they'll be following up 2014's Nikki Nack with a brand new album called I can feel you creep into my private life, due January 19th via 4AD. The LP is produced by longtime collaborator Nate Brenner, who is now …
Common has yet to announce the release date for his upcoming LP, Nobody Smiling, but today he has shared the LP track "War." The album delves into the heartbreaking violence in his hometown of Chicago. This first song focuses on the similarities of the children being killed in Chicago and in wars …
King Khan and the Shrines are back at it again - this time with track "Born To Die" and a string of show dates! Supposedly about the "state of the world we live in today" the upcoming album is a psychedelically exciting as you would expect from a band that jams as hard as the King and the Shrines. …
