Welcome to Review Revue, where every Thursday I dig through the KEXP stacks to share DJ reviews and comments written on the covers of LPs (and occasionally CDs) in the ’80s and ’90s, when the station was called KCMU, the DJs were volunteers, and people shared their opinions on little white labels i…
London's Mike Paradinas is a massively influential figure within the electronic music community. Best known for his works under the μ-Ziq alias, he released his debut album in 1993, played a pioneering role in the emergence of the drill'n'bass and IDM electronic music genres in the 1990s alongside …
NYC's Adrian Yin Michna, or just Michna, is a bit of secret weapon within Ghostly International's high-caliber roster, releasing two albums for the label while staying busy with DJ gigs, music production for video games and commercials, and film scoring, along with a healthy balance of painting. A …
After signing with Capitol Record's label Harvest, Best Coast have announced the May 5 release date of their new album California Nights. They've shared the video for the stunning title track. Bethany Cosentino sounds so incredible that it almost makes you want to move to California. Check it out …
For the past decade, The Coathangers have been scrapping their way out of Atlanta's indie punk scene and pull no punches on Nosebleed Weekend, their fifth release, and fourth on Seattle label Suicide Squeeze. Live in-studio, the heavy hitting trio, who originally formed as a joke, have serious fun …
What? Sub Pop is turning 25 and you didn’t get them anything for their birthday? Well, you can still make it up to them! On July 12th, the world-famous record label, will be throwing a party at Seattle's Moore Theatre featuring performances from Marc Maron, Kristen Schaal, Jon Benjamin and Kurt Bra…
Hey, Sub Pop Records, you blushin' yet? All week long, KEXP has been asking their roster, their minions, and the Seattle music community to share their memories of this legendary label as we help celebrate their 25th anniversary and eagerly await the Sub Pop Silver Jubilee this Saturday, July 13th.
Celebrating 25 years as not only a Seattle but a national institution, local label Sub Pop is throwing a party on Saturday, July 13th, in the historic (and industrial) Georgetown neighborhood and we're all invited. The Silver Jubilee is free to all and features, as was announced today, an incredibl…
Much was made of Nao's jazz backgroud when she was a buzzy artist in 2015, but the London musician's debut full length, this year's For All We Know (named for a jazz standard) displays a singer with significant funk credentials and forward-thinking, electronic-tinged production. In this kinetic se…
Nika Roza Danilova, a.k.a. Zola Jesus, is a Wisconsin native and recent Pacific Northwest transplant that has released stunning operatic albums of dark, cinematic electro-pop on the Sacred Bones and Mute record labels over the past five years. She stopped by KEXP to piece together a rare DJ set for…
GET OUT OF THEIR WAY! This Saturday, April 19th is the seventh annual Record Store Day, and KEXP DJs are planning their attack! Record labels are planning special vinyl and CD releases for the day to help celebrate independently-owned record stores around the world. What's on your shopping list thi…
Khalif Diouf, aka Le1f, has become the first rapper to sign with Terrible Records (co-founded by Grizzly Bear's Chris Taylor). Le1f will release a new EP called Hey on his new label on March 11. "Boom" is the EP's first single and there's no surprise that Le1f slays it effortlessly. [Stereogum]
Imagine if one of the world’s coolest record labels threw a free, all-ages party for you and a few thousand of your friends. Imagine if it included bands like Father John Misty, Shabazz Palaces , Built to Spill and Mudhoney. Imagine there was tons of food, beer. activities and artwork! Now imagine …
As record companies 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 At…
L.A. artist Ariel Pink returns this week with an album "dedicated to '60s-era LA cult songwriter Bobby Jameson, a promising artist whose career fizzled out early in a haze of management and label troubles, drug abuse and depression." KEXP Music Director Don Yates notes the release is "a bit of a th…
Nothing Feels Natural, Priests' stunning 2017 LP, pulls no punches with its shapeshifting punk-damaged songs about fighting against the oppressive forces around you. It's the kind of record that makes the most sense in a sweaty small venue, but a small radio station studio comes pretty c…
Late November might seem like a crazy time to visit Helsinki, Finland, but not if you’re going for Slush 2016, a high-energy gathering of global tech heads focused on entrepreneurship and new developments and ideas in technology. This was the first year they had a full day of music programming, br…
How appropriate that I should be blogging about this album on the very week KEXP (formerly KCMU)'s vinyl library is being disintegrated, the records removed from their dusty shelves and boxed up to be transported to the shiny, sexy new home. (I hope you guys are careful with those little paper labe…
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song comes from Portland danc…
