After a two year wait, and a rescheduled release date, we've finally got the latest from Phantogram on our hands. KEXP Music Director Don Yates says, the "New York duo's third album is a sleeker, more polished take on the band's moody electro-pop inflected with hip hop, funk and other styles." Swed…
DJ Goo Goo is the alias of Travis Ritter, a Seattle-based record collector, DJ, writer, graphic designer, and the founder/curator behind Aesthetic Mess, a monthly showcase that happens every second Wednesday at Timbre Room, featuring local post-punk and electronic live acts and guest DJs. Ever sinc…
Of the sessions we've presented so far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, the music so far has been either experimental (Kristen and Olo Walicki Kaszebe II) or re-interpretations of traditional sounds (Hańba and Sutari), but as terrific as thos…
Swedish singer-songwriter Anna von Hausswolff's experimental performances continually captivate audiences and listeners alike, offering them extraordinary and sophisticated forms of aural solace. Her newest album, Ceremony, is an ominous yet poignant journey into grief and darkness. Von Hausswolff'…
Already, between the blazing Seattle sunlight and constant music he's been cranking out, it's been a solid summer for Chimurenga Renaissance's front-man and activist Tendai Maraire. After having released his album riZe vadZimu riZe in March, an ambitious collage of contemporary rap and traditional …
Weren't we just saying there seems to be a day for everything? Well, today is National Nude Day. We're not sure exactly how this day came to be, but research shows it began in 1976 in New Zealand. (No wonder Flight of the Conchords wrote that song!) Incidentally, today also happens to be Bastille D…
Brooklyn group Yeasayer are an act that cares about the details. From their pleas to “please watch at the 4k setting” on one of their music video’s to the collage of sounds that was their 2016 release, Amen and Goodbye, the group certainly has a knack for thinking about the little things other band…
Since we're celebrating Sub Pop 25th Anniversary, a.k.a. Silver Jubilee, this week, it's fitting that one of their new signees should top this week's list of new releases. Though the term does define him, Daughn Gibson is unlikely to be called a "singer-songwriter", at least not in the traditional …
So far in our weekly series of Polish bands KEXP recorded while at the OFF Festival in Katowice, we've heard the inventive, experimental, electronic, traditional, and emotive sounds of contemporary Polish bands, but you might still be wondering, can they rock? The Stubs are here to say, hell yes! O…
First Aid Kit returned last month with the new single "It's A Shame," and today they've announced that a forthcoming album will be released early next year. Entitled Ruins, the album was recorded in Portland with Decemberists/My Morning Jacket producer Tucker Martine and features appearances from R…
Recently, Wo' Pop favorites Tinariwen played a live set for KEXP while moving through Seattle on their sold-out international tour to promote their new album, Emmaar. Drawing influence from West African music, traditional Tuareg assouf stylistics, and bootlegged albums by western artists, Tinariwen…
The Roadhouse is a roots program emphasizing the blues and other traditional styles of American music. The show presents the wide and wonderful spectrum of our musical legacy - the roots of today's popular music and culture. The show explores regional differences in American recordings with a decid…
Seattle super-group Walking Papers played a killer session in the KEXP studio for Audioasis, where they shared three songs off their Mike McCready (of Pearl Jam)-produced self-titled debut from October last year, released on Sunyata Records. Such an assured sound from a band that just released a d…
Following their soulful set at last weekend's Capitol Hill Block Party, the Northwest's own Unknown Mortal Orchestra share a very theatrical video for "Ur Life One Night," off their latest release, Multi-Love. The clip was directed by Manoj Leonel Jahson, who told Rolling Stone, "I am deeply inspi…
29-year old Gary Clark Jr. may seem young to be a Grammy-nominated blues artist – and he is – but the Austin, Texas, native has been winning awards for his stellar blues guitar playing for most of his life. After all, how many teenagers have a day named after them by their city's mayor? (May 3, 200…
When every member of a band comes from other (and sometimes more commercially successful) bands, it's usually a sign that the members are either doing it as a lark or following a true passion. In the case of Portland, OR's Black Prairie, the five bandmates seem truly to be loving what they do. Comp…
For those lamenting beloved NYC band The Walkmen's indefinite hiatus, rejoice in the band's bassist Peter Matthew Bauer's solo album, Liberation!. Don't be offended by the title, it's not an enthusiastic goodbye to the band Bauer has dedicated 13 years of his life to. The album marks an opportune m…
Maybe its circumstantial that one well-attended set from a guitar-wielding songwriter was followed by another well-attended set from a guitar-wielding songwriter, but the Yeti Stage at Sasquatch was on fire on late Friday afternoon between Hozier and Austin's Shakey Graves. The musician (and former…
Tonight, KEXP will open the Gathering Space for the fourth annual Death & Music. It's a special event, hosted by The Morning Show DJ John Richards, that really goes beyond a traditional concert experience. It's a time to reflect on grief, on the people we've lost, and heal with our community. A…
A 12:30 a.m. timeslot on the final day of a four-day Sasquatch! Music Festival is a daunting test. You're either playing to whoever's passed out on the lawn or people who are, for any number of personal and chemical reasons, not ready to let their festival experience end. Jamie xx wasn't the most e…
