Steve Fisk, not unlike Jack Endino, is a figure in the Seattle rock universe who has had an enormous influence on the sounds coming out of this city, despite not being a household name to those who don't often peruse album credits. As a producer and engineer he's worked with everyone from Screaming…
The penultimate act on our roster for day one of KEXP's Iceland Airwaves broadcast, live from KEX Hostel in Reykjavik is another fantastic Icelandic band, Valdimar. Both of Valdimar’s albums, Undraland (2010) and Um Stund (2012), have seen quite a lot of commercial success in their native Iceland, …
Another light summer week of new releases, but there's a handful hitting shelves today that you'll definitely want to check out. Portland singer-songwriter Alela Diane tops the list with her fourth album of heartbreaking (and broken) folk-pop, highlighting her rich voice and often personal lyrics. …
Like goths on a beach, the dark sounds of Daughter may seem out of place on sunny summer day, but few bands make "moody" music that's not downright depressing as well as this UK trio. Their atmospheric debut LP, If You Leave, arrives just in time for the warmer weather, and you may find yourself, w…
British DJ/producer Simon Green, a.k.a. Bonobo, has been known to tear up the dance floor during his regularly sold-out shows, but when he dropped by KEXP for an in-studio with Cheryl Waters recently, the vibe was breezy and chill. Accompanied by a full band, Green featured songs from his atmospher…
With their shifting, phased-out sound, local urban poets and Cloud Nice members Kingdom Crumbs have become of the 206's leading hip hop groups. (In a recent Stranger piece, our own Larry Mizell, Jr. called the group "hands-down full-stop one of the very very best groups our town has.") The Seattle …
Most of the bands playing SXSW 2013 are probably going to play about five shows during their time in Austin. Ozomatli are playing five in one day. Founded in 1995, Ozomatli’s multicultural blend of Latin, funk, reggae, and hip hop (among other things) has made them cultural ambassadors on a number …
With a list of influences that including Dire Straits, Napalm Death, Beat Happening and Ol' Dirty Bastard, it's not an easy task to define the straightforward and honest sound of indie rock four-piece Parquet Courts. Their clean and simple guitars accompanied with in-your-face and incredibly smart …
Now in its 15th year, Oregon music festival Pickathon has announced its lineup, dates and location for 2013 -- and it's one of their best lineups yet! On August 2-4 at the Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, OR, the festival will host Feist, Andrew Bird, Divine Fits, The Devil Makes Three, Sharon Van …
Almost exactly two years after the release of his last album, 2011's Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine's Sam Beam has announced the details of his next album. Entitled Ghost on Ghost, the 12-track effort will be released on April 16th via Nonesuch. Beam said the Brian Deck-produced set moves a…
Today on the Afternoon Show, Kevin Cole will be debuting a new 78 rpm single by The Head and the Heart. Recorded using all vintage analog gear by Seattle's groove-O-matic, who operate under the premise that "Recordings made from 1953 to 1965 tend to sound better than recordings made before or since…
Perhaps no other artist has brought Eastern music to the West like sitar master Ravi Shankar. His tutelage of George Harrison in the mid-60's kicked off a lifetime of cultural exchange. While rock bands like The Beatles were incorporating Eastern sounds in their music, Shankar himself was composing…
During a two-night stand at Manchester’s O2 Apollo this past weekend, The National paid tribute to hometown heroes New Order with a cover of the band's 1985 single “Love Vigilantes.” Watch as frontman Matt Berninger does his best Bernard Sumner impersonation, and even walks down to the audience. T…
Vancouver, BC artist Dan Bejar -- better known as Destroyer -- returns with his 11th album, which KEXP Music Director Don Yates describes as "a powerful set of dark,'80s-steeped New Wave/post-punk with prominent percussive synths, gleaming guitars and occasional strings and horns accompanying his d…
