It's a chilly morning in Reykjavik, and KEXP is setting up for another great day of live music at KEX Hostel. While today's performances won't be broadcast on air, there will be live video streaming all day on Facebook. First up are English dream-pop duo Let's Eat Grandma, Icelandic post-punk band …
Brooklyn band Caveman continues to evolve on their third album, updating the harmonic indie-folk of 2011's CoCo Beware and the expansive space-prog of their 2013 self-titled LP for a larger, more atmospheric, '80s-steeped pop-rock sound. While the concept story behind Otero War is vaguely sci-fi, t…
Today would have been Chris Cornell's 53rd birthday. Since news hit of his death in May, there's been an outpouring of love for Cornell and his music. From Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog to Audioslave and his prolific solo career, he gave generations of fans music to adopt as their own. He gave …
Two strong reissues came out this past Friday, one being the expanded 20th anniversary edition of Radiohead's 1997 album OK Computer, featuring three previously unreleased tracks. KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "while not classic Radiohead, they're all fine examples of the band's brooding pro…
Throw out your rule book and rewrite the record book. That's what you must do to keep up with Chance the Rapper. Earlier this year, the 24-year-old Chicago rapper became the first musician to win a Grammy without releasing physical versions of his songs, clinching "Best Rap Album," for his upliftin…
With eight members, it's no surprise that the afro-funk of Seattle's own Polyrhythmics packs a mean punch of energy. Beyond the vibrant wall of sound that struck audience members of our Occidental Park at Upstream, festival-goers were also hit with a massive dose of sheer joy. The highly-danceable …
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 DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Aft…
New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams brought his band and their foot-pounding vintage folk to the KEXP studios in support of his first solo record. Longtime the front-man of The Unfaithful Ways, Williams relocated to Melbourne to record and release his eponymous solo album. The rocksteady,…
You're going to hear plenty of songs all day as we celebrate International Clash Day today from 6AM to 6PM, featuring the The Clash's officially released songs plus rarities, side projects, and an exclusive interview with Julien Temple, but that's just part of the picture. The band's fame was earne…
If you're my age and MTV was a huge part of your musical awakening, this album (or really its hit single "Goody Two-Shoes") was your first exposure to the artist known as Adam Ant. And you probably thought it was pretty cool. But if you were a college radio DJ at the time, and had been enjoying the…
This week, as we continue to post KEXP DJs’ Top 10 Albums of 2015 lists, we also want to share the favorites of KEXP's extremely talented and dedicated volunteer photographers, who generously donate so much of their time and talent to give everyone direct access to the hundreds of live sessions, co…
This week in El Sonido we're going to focus on Colombia. I just visited the country for my second time, spending a week in Bogotá to attend a great music conference Resonancia Colombia, which is part of a bigger technology event Colombia 3.0. I spoke on a handful of music business panels, met a bun…
Caught in a spin cycle of updated 70s punk and hard rock aesthetics, LA’s Meatbodies drop by KEXP shred out a hot plate of marinated melodies from their self-titled release on In the Red Records. Cooking up a rich mixture of fuzzed out genre-blurring jams and high strung vocals, this is a band that…
The 2014 Academy Award nominations were announced this morning including nods to Karen O, Arcade Fire, and Owen Pallett. All three worked on the Spike Jonze film Her -- the Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman is nominated for Original Song for her collaboration with Jonze, and Arcade Fire & Pallett are…
Listening to The Lonely Forest is like looking up at the Northern Lights. On a crisp evening, a river rushing behind you, pine trees spotting the landscape, the shimmering aurora borealis hypnotizes. This is what it’s like taking in the grand, pleasantly wavering vocals of Lonely Forest lead singer…
Seattle confectioners Full Tilt Ice Cream will be celebrating the release of their new flavor Mudhoney, the ice cream, with noneother than Mudhoney, the band! According to their press release, "Mudhoney ice cream mixes satisfying riffs of in-your-face cinnamon with a mellow backbeat of honey and f…
There is nothing extinct about The Dodos. In fact, they've been playing music together consistently since 2005 and are continually evolving. While playing, The Dodos are always changing speeds, messing with time, all the while imbuing an unassuming – yes – confidence, as on their recent single of t…
Few Seattle bands put on as energetic and frenetic of a live show as Kithkin. In keeping with the fantastical woodland creatures they're named for (from Magic: The Gathering), the group is even known to decorate the stages they play with fir trees and other forest paraphernalia. They are slated to …
Sunday at Bumbershoot 2013 was just about as good as it gets at Seattle’s hometown festival. Beginning with Kithkin’s tribal hair-cutting and ending with an incredible turnout in Key Arena for Death Cab For Cutie’s 10th anniversary performance of Transatlanticism and packing pretty much everything …
Happy Weed Day, everyone! Though the origins of "420" aren't quite the stuff of legend (it was not actually police code for marijuana use in progress), it certainly has become the rallying cry of pot smokers and is celebrated daily without anyone's help. But the day 4/20 is likely to raise more blu…
