There was a very distinct moment at the Ibeyi show last Sunday night where the energy for the evening turned from simply good to really, really great. It happened during the duo's explosive self-titled album single "River", the song most well known by the world and easily the most far reaching in i…
When it comes to long-lived makers of weird music, Einstürzende Neubauten is a fair match for Pere Ubu. Pere Ubu was founded a couple of years earlier, but as far as I can tell Neubauten has never had an officially inactive period. Pere Ubu is arguably the poppier of the two bands (most of their so…
It’s time again for Friday on My Mind. Our weekly blog post where we look at videos centered around one common theme. This is a collaborative effort between KEXP and King 5 News. Thanksgiving is around the corner and it’s time to prepare for feasting. Did you know that the average American eats any…
Northwest artist Joey Casio has been identified in the aftermath of last weekend's Oakland warehouse fire, one of the deadliest building fires in history with a total of 36 people killed. Joey (real name: Joseph Matlock) was scheduled to perform under his alias Obsidian Blade. Originally from Vanc…
Travel to the land of the midnight sun as we journey to Reykjavik, Iceland, once again to join our friends at Kex Hostel for a summer bash. KEXPort celebrates KEXP's ongoing relationship (now in its sixth year, believe it or not!) with our similarly named hosts of our annual winter broadcast during…
The MusicfestNW / Project Pabst teamup makes plenty of sense on paper - one had a great location on the Portland Waterfront last year, and one had a truly unique, interesting lineup - and at the end of day one of the newly-combined fests, it turns out it works in practice too. Despite being sold ou…
Earlier this month, we announced that grunge supergroup Temple of the Dog were reuniting for the 25th anniversary of their debut, self-titled, and only LP. Well, now, according to an interview in Rolling Stone, it sounds like there might even be new music from the team of Chris Cornell of Soundgar…
Digable Planets is officially back. After announcing their reunion tour at a NYE show in Seattle, the group followed through with the announcement as they took the main stage of Sasquatch! Music Festival by storm Saturday night. Ishmael "Butterfly" Butler, Craig "Doodlebug" Irving and Mary Ann "Lad…
You've probably watched a lot of our in-studio videos, but you probably haven't seen one quite like this one from Seattle's eccentric, Johnny Cash-saddled Brent Amaker and the Rodeo. Having been around for ten years, Brent Amaker and the Rodeo certainly have their sound and live performance down pa…
A Deerhunter show is never just going to be Bradford Cox and company playing songs for two hours. This, as they’ve established in the past decade, is just not how the Atlanta band works. The gig might not always be as chaotic as the now-infamous “My Sharona” show and Cox might not run offstage, lea…
It's hard to describe our anticipation for the full-length debut from Mr. Silla. We've featured Sigurlaug Gisladóttir, a longtime member of Icelandic band múm, with her own project for the past few years -- recording her first in her own Reykjavik studio in 2011, then during our broadcast at Icelan…
In the last few years, there’s been a slew of English, (mostly) London-based bands emerging from basement gigs with world-beating ambitions and the musical elements to make good on them: a heavy dose of pop melody, a balance of snarky storytelling and heartfelt appeal, and most of all, hooks that a…
Closing up Decibel Festival is no small task, but if anyone is up to the task and still ready to party after four previous nights of madness, it's LA hip hop collective Friends of Friends. The group houses a brilliant group of young musicians, specializing in electronic, trap, hip-hop, and experime…
In recent years, the Gorge has hosted some incredible singalongs: "Skinny Love", "Seven Nation Army", "Where It's At", and "Wake Up" have all been shouted by 15,000+ people in unison to make a you-had-to-be-there festival moment. As great as all of those are, there's something special about listeni…
I had not expected to even make it to Disclosure at the El Chupacabra tent. And I never would have known what to expect from then electronic-music-genius brothers if I hadn't seen the video or "Control feat.Ria Ritchie", which is one of several songs featuring amazing guest vocals that they two hav…
As night came over the Gorge, people began to flock one of two ways - towards mainstage to try and catch good views for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, or toward the Bigfoot Stage to squeeze a place in for Vampire Weekend. I chose Vampire Weekend almost strictly as a guilty pleasure - though they may c…
This week's list of new releases may be one of the shortest of the year, but it's also topped by one of the year's most anticipated scorchers. Foals rain Holy Fire with their third release, treating fans to a big new sound to match their big new label. Their third release, but first on Warner Bros.…
Seattle duo The Spider Ferns don't make music, they create worlds. Each of their songs is like a new landscape. You may have heard the sounds before -- drums that seem to echo into infinity, bass lines that throb and pulse like they have lives of their own, electronic sounds that shimmer like a cre…
It just wouldn’t be Airwaves without seeing one of Jófríður Ákadóttir’s many musical projects, and today we’re being treated to some of her new solo work, produced under the moniker JFDR, live from Kex Hostel in Reykjavík. A local songwriting prodigy, Jófríður has been playing music since she was 1…
On a rainy Wednesday evening, Annie Clark brought wonder and beauty to Seattle and to the Moore Theater with her St. Vincent return to our fair city. Both of the last times we've had the chance to see clark, it was alongside David Byrne, playing some original material, but mostly cuts from their co…
