It’s a bit difficult to accurately convey in words the many factors big and small that contribute to making Timber! Outdoor Music Festival a weekend unlike any other. As cliche as it might seem, Timber really is one of those things that has to be experienced in person to be fully appreciated. Now i…
You won't be surprised to that members of Song Sparrow Research have roots in jazz and choir. As friends and classmates, Hamilton Boyce and David Balatero were both in school bands at Seattle's Garfield High, and now make lush folk-tinged chamber pop as together in this five member band. Equally a…
Late last month, longtime station faves The National made a stop by The Morning Show on KEXP, delivering a passionate, dynamic in-studio session -- a true feat at 9:30 AM! In addition to songs from their latest album Sleep Well Beast (4AD Records), the band treated listeners to a previously unrele…
Live in the KEXP's gathering space last Tuesday, we celebrated a special edition of our Songbook Live series, featuring an hour-long conversation between DJ Kevin Cole and Pearl Jam guitarist, and photographer, Mike McCready. Mike's new book, Of Potato Heads and Polaroids, is filled with photos, mo…
Summing a two-song barrage in the KEXP studio by New Zealand's Salad Boys, DJ Kevin Cole exclaimed that they sound like "the best of The Feelies, Velvet Underground and Yo La Tengo in one song". While they certainly make a lovable racket channeling those and other legendary bands from their hometow…
As Oli Bayston, a.k.a. Boxed In, says, "Everyone who creates something is a product of their influences" - and he should know. The British record producer certainly has had a wide of array of influences, growing out of his previous work as frontman for the four-piece Manchester rock band Keith and …
Certain moments in KEXP history loom larger than others: venturing into space with astronaut Stan Love; Sir Paul McCartney's Afternoon Show phone-in; Mudhoney rocking the tippy-top of the Space Needle.
The boozy blues of obsession and regret never sounded so good... at least not in the last 16 years. It's been that long since The Afghan Whigs released an album and its members turned their attention elsewhere. Yet, while other 90's bands are now cashing in on their notoriety with 20- and 25-year a…
Next on the broadcast live from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was the genre-bending psych-pop/blues/avant-garde band Fai Baba. Based in Zurich, Fai Baba is the solo project of Fabian Sigmund, accompanied by a varied lineup of musicians over the years. Fai Baba began about 10 years ago, after Fabia…
Each time we've gone back to Iceland over the past five years, we've been fortunate to discover and share with KEXP listeners quite a few bands who might not otherwise leave their shores. For every Sugarcubes and Sigur Rós, we found dozens of others, like Hjaltalín, Ásgeir, Of Monsters and Men (bac…
When Palma Violets first played live for KEXP in March at SXSW, singer/bassist Chili Jesson nearly missed the gig due to flight complications. When they came to Seattle the following month, they more than made up for it by showing up first thing in the morning for an in-studio session at KEXP's stu…
Seattle-based musician and producer Scot Porter makes beautifully layered electronic music under the name Vox Mod. Recently, he stopped by to perform live in the KEXP studio for Audioasis -- and it's good the cameras were on him because Porter also creates wonderfully strange animations, which are…
Santa Barbara synthpop group Gardens & Villa have been on the road for nearly four months straight. Ever since their sophomore LP Dunes dropped on Secretly Canadian, they’ve been road-tripping around this county and others, showing off what a new batch of tunes and a refined live show have to o…
When you wish upon some stars... I guess that's really the only way to start any write up of Polaris being active again 20 years after the recording of their only record. In the recent trend of album anniversary tours, there's one record that I and many, many other listeners never could have imagin…
Thinking of those who define the present-day Seattle music scene, musicians like Damien Jurado, who not only call the city home but who have influenced, promoted, and produced other local artists' music, come to mind. Jurado's soul-searching folk ballads have earned him a wholehearted embrace from …
Songs that make their way into the public domain are curious objects. For the few that make their way into pop culture, like "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" or "Jingle Bells," there are thousands of others that just collect dust and remain out of the public conscious. They're songs from bygone eras.…
Morning Show host John Richards presents a new Runner Powered Podcast. 1. Caspian - Sad Heart of Mine 2. Sharon Van Etten - Words 3. Youth Lagoon - The Knower 4. !!! - Sick Ass Moon 5. Other Lives - Reconfiguration 6. Roger Lion - A Dead Man's Song 7. José González - Leaf Off / The Cave 8. Holy …
Sounds of Survivance, spanning the globe with sounds from people whose connection to a land goes back before colonization, and in most cases as far back as time itself. Rotating hosts Tory J (Quinault) and Kevin Sur (Kānaka Maoli) will feature global indigenous music from a variety of genres. From …
