Currently based in Los Angeles, San Diego native and emerging electronic producer Rafa Lavarez (a.k.a. Different Sleep) has been steadily evolving his underground style over the past 5 years, adding upon his early lush downtempo aesthetic to incorporate a more physical and abstract sound that adven…
Super-ambient Icelandic duo Kiasmos brought their very space-y minimalist brand of techno to the new KEXP live room in support of their Swept EP, the second they dropped in 2015. The two longtime friends began working professionally together when Ólafur Arnalds was the touring sound engineer for Ja…
Though there weren't divine circumstances by which HÆLOS formed, the London trio nevertheless seems preordained to make a heavenly sound. While each pursuing careers of their own, Arthur Delaney, Dom Goldsmith and Lotti Benardout turned their casual connections to holy writ as they joined forces to…
Get excited: Brooklyn's Parquet Courts return this Spring with their fifth full-length, Human Performance, out April 8th via Rough Trade. Stream the first single "Dust" below, and check out its accompanying video, directed by Johann Rashid. Parquet Courts will be LIVE on KEXP on Monday, February 2…
When Courtney Barnett sings about "Three Packs a Day," she's not talking about smoking. (I mean, c'mon. Haven't you listened to the lyrics of "Avant Gardener"? She's not that good at breathing in.) Instead, the brand-new single from the Australian singer/songwriter is an ode to ramen. While dietit…
Merge Records rocker Mikal Cronin continues to kill it in the music video realm. Earlier this month, he enlisted comedians Kristen Schaal, Paul Scheer, and Kurt Braunohler to remake a Natalie Imbruglia video (watch here). Today, he tackles the clip for Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al” for his own…
When a band self-titles an album midway through their career, it's usually for one of two reasons: they've either run out of ideas or they've taken a significantly new tact. For Portland duo The Helio Sequence, the reason is obvious. Rather than mull over songs in their usual slow-going and contemp…
It's another jam-packed week of great releases! San Diego duo Crocodiles return with their fifth album, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes, "was recorded in Mexico City with production by Martin Thulin (lead singer of Mexican band Los Fancy-Free), and he brings some occasional Latin rhythms …
With Ibeyi, every song is a blessing, sometimes quite literally. The Parisian born twin sisters reach deep into their French-Cuban ancestry and call upon the spirits of Santería on their debut LP, which blends Yoruban evocations with contemporary expressions of love and loss. Their music is, as the…
Nashville's JEFF The Brotherhood may have been dumped by the major label that produced it, but their latest LP, Wasted on the Dream, is anything but. Its big, punchy sound adds fuel to their high octane blend of hard rock, metal, grunge and punk. And brothers Jake and Jamin Orrall dream big, but no…
If you think it'd be hard to bring all seven prolific members of Doomtree together to record, you'd be right. That's why the Minneapolis hip-hop collective called "all hands" for their first album in three years. Fortunately, All Hands is their most collaborative and socially-minded effort yet, sho…
Last night, Conor Oberst stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live for a fantastic performance of "Zigzagging Toward the Light," off his most recent release Upside Down Mountain. Check it out below. You can also watch his KEXP session here, and keep track of all these late-night musical highlights with KEXP's …
The second act up for our live streaming broadcast from Kex Hostel at Iceland Airwaves was rock and post-punk band Börn. They have a darker, gloomier sound influenced by the Icelandic punk movement of the 80s. Lead singer Alexandra is a total badass. She came adorned in black lipstick, a bright gre…
Ever since Portland band The Shivas blew us all away at the 2013 MusicFestNW broadcast, we've been eagerly awaiting a follow-up to their outstanding release, White Out, on K Records. Today, KEXP proudly presents an online stream of their latest album, You Know What To Do — and the title says it all…
Usually, you'd want to hustle the riff raff out, but when it comes to the New Orleans band Hurray for the Riff Raff, you want them to stick around. That's why we featured them three times this year: in our studio, at our SXSW showcase at Mellow Johnny's, and during our broadcast over Labor Day week…
What's better than hearing local music at a local festival? One of Seattle's most definitive contemporary indie acts, The Head and the Heart, are known for playing an infectious live set. Between the hand-clapping and the harmonies, they're a hometown favorite not to be missed live. The band, signe…
It's been three long years, but Brooklyn band The Drums are back with a new song. Stripped back down to the founding duo of Jonny Pierce and Jacob Graham, Pierce explained the new song to Noisey.com: "It’s about shedding off what binds you and protecting what’s good, finding a safe place away from…
The local four-piece that calls "Earth" its hometown, The Comettes have honed the sound born in the 1980's - that distorted, etherial, big-voiced rock - and made it their own here and now in 2014. Think: David Byrne, Lou Reed or even Pearl Jam if you slowed down the tape a bit. The band released th…
This past weekend, the Fremont Fair launched their inaugural Solstice Concert Series to great success! The sound was great, and the Redhook Main Stage was perfectly positioned in a parking lot with a slope, so everyone could see the excellent line-up. Friday night was a celebration of Northwest roc…
On-U Sound is a record label based in England since 1979, focusing on dub music in its many forms - or at least some of its many forms - from Lee Scratch Perry to label founder Adrian Sherwood's own work. Compilations have always been a great way for labels to give the world a taste of what they h…
