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…
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. Earlier this week Willie Nelson celebrated his 80th birthday. 80. Willie Hugh Nelson was born either April 29th or April…
On Double Take, KEXP's dynamic duo of Martin Douglas and Dusty Henry explore the great double-albums in history by each focusing on one part's musical, lyrical, and historic themes. First up are the parallel albums released by Shabazz Palaces on the same day in 2017: Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Sta…
From epic soundscapes to future R&B to classic power pop, DJ Kevin Cole brings the best to you on his latest Music That Matters mix. 1. Haley Bonar – Called You Queen 2. Petite League – French New York 3. Yeesh – Limbo District 4. Hockey Dad – So Tired 5. Field Mouse – The Order of Things 6.…
There's lots of treats as the month of October kicks off, including the latest from Ontario-born, London-based producer/multi-instrumentalist Caribou. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates describes it as, "an even more dance-oriented follow-up to his 2010 breakthrough album Swim, with an often-intimate …
Local duo Shabazz Palaces have announced a new album on the way, Quazarz: Born on a Gangster Star out July 14th via Sub Pop. Check out the first single "Shine a Light (feat. Thaddillac)" below, via a lyric video directed by Cristina T. Bercovitz and Jonathan Snipes of clipping. In addition to Thad…
The Donkeys are so So-Cal. "There's no getting around it," noted DJ Cheryl Waters, when the band stopped by KEXP this past summer and played songs from their recent album, Born with Stripes. The Donkeys sound brings to mind images of shimmery, hazy days. If you've never surfed San Diego, this is wh…
Holiday weekends are never the most robust for new releases, but some exciting albums did make the schedule this week. KEXP's Music Director Don Yates points out the third release from Sinkane, a project of Sudanese-born, Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist/vocalist (and former Yeasayer/Caribou/Of…
We've always known Nathan Williams had a sense of humor, but Wavves' new video for "That's on Me" feels both humorous and deadly serious. Sometimes you are just mad and need a cheerleader and a ... sword? The video pairs destruction born of frustration and the playful metal-wannabe riffing of Willi…
When DJ Sharlese asks MASZER frontman STITCX about growing up in Tel Aviv, he immediately, enthusiastically replies "Born and raised!" As the Israeli musician points out, however, there's musical influences from all over the globe that go into the Seattle-based group's roaring, percussiv…
"Bedrooms and bars... and the road" – that's where the stories that make up Kyle Craft's debut album come from, to quote the Louisiana-born, Portland, Oregon-based musician. With the help of his five-piece band, Craft's singular wail underscores the glammy, melodic edges of the son…
With a jitter in his hands and a song in his heart, a caffeinated Jamie Lidell stopped by KEXP recently for an early show with Cheryl Waters. The British-born (but now Nashvill-based) musician draws heavily from the decadent and unapologetic R&B and funk of the 90's that he'd been hearing on co…
At the end of the band's previous tour, Okkervil River leader Will Sheff returned to a Bob Dylan lyric that he's always circled back to: "He not busy being born is busy dying". With rebirth in mind, Sheff gathered a new group of musicians and created a new musical mindset that eventually…
Electropop pixie Grimes delivers another eye-popping video from her most recent full-length, Art Angels, out now on 4AD. Watch the clip for "California" directed by Grimes herself and her brother, Mac. Watch out for cameo appearances from Purity Ring's Megan James, HANA, Born Gold, model Eric Chen…
It's been a long wait, but last week Montreal-born, Woodstock, NY-based artist Thomas Arsenault (aka Mas Ysa) released his debut full-length. (Watch his 2014 KEXP session here.) KEXP Music Director Don Yates calls the album, "a potent set of moody electro-pop with bright synths, propulsive rhythms,…
British rockers Django Django have shared the video for their single "Reflections." Instead of the band, the video features CGI sculptures playing their respective instruments. Thanks to iTunes Radio, their upcoming album, Born Under Saturn (out May 5), is available to stream now. [Pitchfork]
All hail garage rockers King Khan & the Shrines, who have shared the video for the track "Born to Die" with us today. They'll be hitting the road this spring in support of their Merge Records release Idle No More, including a June 25th stop at Neumos. [Under the Radar]
Dave Grohl was born to be a performer. From the applause of his first cries, which you'll hear about below, he has proven himself an accomplished rock star (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), documentary director (Sound City: Real to Reel), and now engaging public speaker. This year, Grohl was honored as the …
Under a blue light on the Music Lounge stage, the New Zealand-born (and, now, New York native) Tamaryn sang a collection of pulsingly-mellow tunes for the Bumbershoot audience. The songs were an interesting mix, with the rhythms almost over-powering the singer’s ghostly, etherial vocals. In this wa…
Every once in a while in this series, I like to take a break from posting albums by bands I'm embarrassed not to know more about, in order to post an album by a band that there's pretty much no way I could ever have heard of - unless I was born a decade earlier in the midwest, or was a college radi…
