As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
Last week, three generations of Northwest rock converged to shake the dust off the walls of Seattle's venerable Moore Theatre. Headlining the night, Tacoma band The Sonics, celebrated the release of their first album in 48 years, which, if you've been hearing us spin it regularly on KEXP, sounds li…
To call a band brimming such powerful emotion Holy Esque is like calling Scottish indie music in general "kind of sad". The Glasgow quartet has already built a ton of buzz with their 2012 EP while touring with the equally impassioned (but sadly defunct) Wu Lyf, but they took time since then to deve…
Berkeley-based beatmaker Toro y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick) shares a new track from his forthcoming fourth album, What For?. Check out the super-suave '70s-sound of "Buffalo" below. What For? hits stores April 7th via Carpark Records. While you wait, revisit his 2013 KEXP session here. [Pitchfork]
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…
How does K Records label impresario Calvin Johnson feel about Pink Floyd? DJ Sharlese may not get the local legend to reveal how he feels, but one thing we know for sure is that he loves Portland surf-rockers The Shivas. Not only has he released the young band's fourth album You Know What To Do on …
One of Iceland's most popular musical exports, after Björk and Sigur Rós, has to be Of Monsters & Men. We were fortunate to discover this talented young band early and capture them on video as they practiced for their first ever performance at Icelandic Airwaves Festival back in 2010. They've s…
“Buffalo Stance” isn’t the alpha and omega of Neneh Cherry’s career. Before that 1988 international smash she made music with the Slits, The The, and Rip Rip + Panic, and her resume has only grown more eclectic in the years since then. In tonight’s exclusive KEXP session with Neneh at 9pm PST, I’ll…
As major labels continue to exist behind the times, artists and labels with little capital and lesser reputations are producing some of the most innovative, interesting, and inspiring music. Whether it’s creating a new niche in digital technology or looking to once obsolete formats, Agitated Atmosp…
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 …
Understandably, Vancouver band Weed often has difficulty crossing the border. In fact, KEXP's John Richards had to write a letter so they could travel from Canada to perform live with him on the Morning Show last month. But it's really not the sticky green stuff border guards try to sniff out that …
Montreal trio Paupière was the only Francophone artist that we filmed during our time at Breakglass Studios and Pop Montreal. Québec is a Francophone province with a vast majority of the population speaking French as their primary language. I spoke with many of the bands from Montreal about the dif…
Like a nomadic hunter-gatherer, DJ Kevin Cole travels the sonic sphere in search of the greatest new music. In this podcast he shares his latest favorites, including new tracks from Júníus Meyvant, The Jayhawks, Kutiman, The Coral, and more. 1. Júníus Meyvant – Beat Silent Need 2. Stephen St…
Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole proves that the world is a beautiful musical place with a diverse set of new sounds that span the globe, including music from Seattle, San Francisco, Atlanta, Australia, Sweden, Scotland, Niger, and Connecticut's The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Af…
Touring heavy records is hard. In today’s day and age, heavy-handed works of staggering genius are hardly appreciated in the album form, let alone trying to communicate that weight in a crowded room facing a loaded bar. But in these heavy times, there are those who brave the difficulties and make i…
