In Our Headphones

NeONE the Wonderer - "Nose Dive" from the 2021 album Future Bubblers 5.0 on Brownswood Recordings. Nathan Lawrence might have a limited body of work at NeONE the Wonderer, just a smattering of singles going back to early Summer 2020, but what the UK-based artist has out showcases a fully-formed artist with a captivating point of view. Our Song of the Day, “Nose Dive,” displays his penchant for jazzy, grooves, intoxicating soulful croons, and effortless flows on topics both personal and metaphysical. The song comes from the 5th edition of the Future Bubblers compilation. An expansion of Gilles Peterson’s network supported by Arts Council England and the PRS Foundation, Future Bubblers is an ongoing talent discovery and artist development scheme focuses on developing unsigned talent and building audiences for new left-field music. The compilation acts as a springboard for the musician’s careers with the cooperative model providing direct revenue to the artists by a share of the profits resulting in a sustainable income to work from. Previous Future Bubblers include artists such as Yazmin Lacey, Skinny Pelembe, MC Snowy, Forest Law and Kayla Painter to name a few. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earl Sweatshirt - "Tabula Rasa (feat. Armand Hammer)" from the 2022 album Sick on Tan Cressida, inc/Warner. Former Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt is gearing up to release his latest album, Sick, this month and the anticipation couldn’t be higher. His first release since 2019’s introspective Feet of Clay, Sick is still mostly a mystery other than the two singles released ahead of its arrival, “2010” and “Tabula Rasa.” The latter track is our Song of the Day and for good reason. Featuring the duo that made one of the biggest marks on hip hop in 2021, Armand Hammer, the song is a woozy spectacle of talent. An unchanging repeating piano line and fractured sample make a perfect bed for Earl, Elucid, and billy woods to lay their lyrics on. Each politely taking his own turn, they lethargically spit their individual truths for a poetic manifesto. “Sick is my humble offering of 10 songs recorded in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns,” Earl Sweatshirt said in a statement. “Before the virus, I had been working on an album I named after a book I used to read with my mother (The People Could Fly). Once the lockdowns hit, people couldn’t fly anymore. A wise man said art imitates life. People were sick. The People were angry and isolated and restless. I leaned into the chaos cause it was apparent that it wasn’t going anywhere. These songs are what happened when I would come up for air.” Sick is out January 14 via Tan Cressida/Warner Records. “Tabula Rasa” was released alongside a lo-fi video of the rappers in the studio, making magic happen (or, in the case of billy woods, grilling ribs). Watch it at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Waahli - "DERIVE (feat. Webz)," a 2021 single on Wyzah Musk Prod. Born and raised in Montreal to a Haitian family, Waahli is one of the leading members of Hip Hop supergroup Nomadic Massive. He is revered as a trilingual emcee (English, French, Creole), guitarist and beatmaker. In 2018, he broke out on his own to release the debut solo album Black Soap and has since followed that up with 2020’s Soap Opera EP (Waahli is also an organic soap maker, hence his thematic focus on the sudsy cleaning product) and a string of singles. One of his recent singles and today’s Song of the Day is a reimagining of the song "À la Derive,” originally written by Haitian songwriter Fabrice Rouzier and performed by his fellow countryman Eric Charles. Built on a series of guitar loops entitled “nights in the cave” that Waahli regularly posted on social media and featuring vocals from the Paris-based Franco-Haitian singer Webz, the song is a dreamier, jazzier, more melancholic take on the Haitian original. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Midnight Hour - "Jazz Is Dead (Georgia Anne Muldrow Geemix)" from the 2021 album Remixes JID010 on Jazz Is Dead. As The Midnight Hour, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge collaborate with a long list of incredible musicians to make a fusion of soul, jazz, and hip hop that’s inspired by the sophisticated sounds of yesteryears. Their acclaimed 2018 self-titled debut was star-studded featuring the likes of features from CeeLo Green, Raphael Saadiq, Marsha Ambrosius, Bilal, Eryn Allen Kane, Karolina, and more. In 2020, the duo expanded their reach by creating the imprint Jazz Is Dead, where “younger artists are elaborating upon conversations started decades ago; jazz icons are utilizing vintage equipment to create new masters with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad; the same equipment that recorded their coveted catalogs.” In the past two years, they’ve released 10 albums of recordings that take on the scores of composers past to bring into the present. As the final chapter in the initial run of Jazz Is Dead releases, Remixes JID010 continues the creative catharsis of an exhilarating new chapter in jazz music. Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad tapped nine iconic creators to reimagine their personal favorites from Jazz Is Dead’s catalogue to-date, who created striking new versions of songs by Marcos Valle, Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Azymuth, João Donato, Doug Carn, Brian Jackson and The Midnight Hour. Holding the line taut like a bass string, Younge & Muhammad only invited those special musical alchemists who have previously participated in Jazz Is Dead happenings, or those who are slated to share that stage soon. Our Song of the Day sees the prolific songwriter, rapper, musician, singer, and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow take on the title track of the series and label, “Jazz Is Dead.” Muldrow’s version completely reinvents the jazzy and percussion-heavy original into a slinky trip-hop track with the lyrics stretched out and lingered on in serpentine fashion. Sparkling electronic glitches and synth keys replace the brass, drums, and piano of the original, for a smooth, contemporary imagining of the song. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alina Pash - "Bosorkanya" from the 2019 album PINTEA:GORY on Bitanga LLC. Alina Pash will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. Known for a great number of things in her home country of Ukraine, Alina Pash is a former X-Factor semi-finalist, style icon, and an innovative musician breaking boundaries with her bold use of Carpathian traditional sounds with electronic, hip-hop, and pop. Cited as “100% Bitanga” which translates from the Ruthenian dialect to “Hooligan,” Pash uses her distinctly unique creative vision to carve her path. Born in Transcarpathia (which doesn’t sound like a real place to me - like Genovia - but I assure you, it’s a very real geographical region in Western Ukraine with a fascinating history), Pash was inspired by the Transcarpathian legend Pintea the Great for her 2019 record PINTEA: GORY. A real life Robin Hood, the 17th century rebel is an ancestor of Pash’s and famous for his brave and merciful heart. Our Song of the Day “Bosorkanya,” which translates to “The Sorceress,” was an early single off the record and an excellent example of Pash’s use of mysterious folk legends within the framework of of a fun dance pop track. The song is coupled with a high-production video of dance choreographed witches and demons casting spells and squaring off against religious leaders. Watch the video ahead of her virtual performance for Eurosonic Music Festival and Conference on January 19-22 at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Дeva - "Unglitched," a 2020 single on Move Gently Records. Дeva  will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22 and has also been nominated for a Music Moves Europe Award. Дeva/Deva is the solo project of Budapest-based musician Dorina Takács. Her use of blending traditional Hungarian folk music with pulsating electronic basslines and soaring polyphonic vocals has made her an artist on the rise in her home country. Recalling the layered instrumentation of Alt-J, the complex electronic compositions of Four Tet, and the haunting vocals of Bjork or Beth Gibbons, Deva is a compelling one to watch. Our Song of the Day, “Unglitched,” is one of a string of singles released since 2020. Led by her airy falsetto, the track quickly glides into a dark trip-hop beat. One of the few songs of hers to be sung in English, Deva repeats the refrain of, “Are you facing the right direction?” A palm slapped drum adds a worldly flair to the electronic instrumentation and layered vocals, for something that sounds both of the past and very much the future. Deva is nominated for a Music Moves Europe Award which celebrates emerging artists who represent the European sound of today and tomorrow. Every year, eight outstanding artists will receive a Music Moves Europe Award in recognition of their international success, as well as being rewarded with a performance at ESNS (Eurosonic Noorderslag) and financial support for touring and promotion. ESNS will take place virtually January 19-22. Keep your eyes peeled for Deva’s debut LP Csillag, scheduled for release sometime in 2022. Until then, watch her live performance for Waves Vienna in 2020 at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Denise Chaila - "CHAILA" from the 2020 album GO Bravely on narolane. Denise Chaila will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22 and has also been nominated for a Music Moves Europe Award. The past two years have been ones of extreme highs and lows for Zambian-Irish rapper Denise Chaila. On one hand, 2020 saw her release her debut full-length GO Bravely to rave reviews, prominent television performances, and a slew of nominations, leading her to become the highest ranking Irish woman in the country’s charts that year. She then followed that up with November’s five-song release It’s A Mixtape that saw her boldly exploring new sonic territories to acclaim. At the same time, the giant push into the spotlight has led to an egregious amount of racism being thrown at the rapper on the internet. When GO Boldly won Chaila an RTÉ Choice Music Prize (the first time a mixtape has ever won the crown), the vitriol being aimed at Chaila in the comment sections was so disturbingly cruel that she asked RTÉ to stop tagging her in posts so that she wouldn’t have to witness the abuse.  “CHAILA,” our Song of the Day and the hit that made people start paying attention to the rapper, is a fun and clever jab at all the people that haven’t been able to pronounce her name. “My name’s not that hard to pronounce /Pre-K it’s not profound,” she deadpans with a roll of her eyes.  Watch the video for “CHAILA,” directed by Mark Logan, at the link below and catch Denise Chaila’s virtual performance at Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Takeshi’s Cashew - "Sterndüne (Kosmodr∞m)" from the 2021 album Humans In A Pool on Laut & Luise. Takeshi’s Cashew will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. Blending genres, cultures, and regions into their own sound that they’ve titled “cosmofunk,” Takeshi’s Cashew can be seen taking just as much influence from sunny ‘60s surf as they do flute-filled Scandinavian folk, German krautrock, and Latin cumbia. Formed in 2020, the young band - name after the iconic Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle - unveiled their debut album Humans In A Pool in June of 2021. Recorded in their tiny DIY studio in Vienna, the album weaves a magical tapestry of sounds for something unique and timeless. Our Song of the Day, “Sterndüne (Kosmodr∞m),” represents their lush sound impeccably. Spanning seven-and-a-half minutes of melodic synths, dancing flutes, and bright guitars - just to name a few of the many, many sounds introduced - the song goes on an epic quest in the name of the groove. Probably unsurprisingly, the song is only the second-longest track on the record, following the nearly eleven-minute closer “There Is No Harmony.” Ahead of their virtual performance for Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference on January 19-22, watch a video of them performing “Akihi” at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Anna B Savage - "Corncrakes" from the 2021 album A Common Turn on City Slang. Anna B Savage will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22. In 2015, Anna B Savage released a straightforwardly titled EP titled just EP, with the four songs named after their tracklist placement. While it may have lacked appellative flair, the warmth and heart that radiated from her trembling vocals caught the ears of some big names like Father John Misty and Jenny Hval, who both brought her on tour. Turns out, it was all a bit too much too soon and the Dublin artist retreated. Thankfully, last year she returned with the debut full-length A Common Turn. Our Song of the Day is the incredible “Corncrake,” an early single off the record. Brooding and beautiful, the song expresses both Savage’s depth of emotion and breadth of range - jumping from deep, rich croons to glistening falsetto with operatic ease. While starting out forlornly whispered, the song cathartically builds near the end with the repeating refrain of “I don’t know if this is even real / I don’t feel things as keenly as I used to,” for a dynamically emotional and visceral experience. “At this moment in my life, I was entering a seismic shift,” Savage says of the song. “I felt like I was getting clues from the universe, and all I needed to do to ‘work it all out’ was piece them together. These clues came in the form of birds – in this instance a corncrake. I now see the corncrake as a layout for a theme: something tangible, but imperceptible, evident but not necessarily visible.” For those unfamiliar with the species of bird known as corncrakes (they’re not common in America), they’re known for being easy to hear but often difficult to spot - hence the metaphor of imperceptibility. She goes on further to explain what exactly she was experiencing within her relationship at the time that made her think of the corncrake. “It just appeared twice in a short space of time, not having known what it was, it being this thing you can hear but can’t certainly see, and it’s noticeable but not overwhelming or overbearing. When I was much younger, when I’d feel something for someone, I’d be ravenous to hang out around them all the time and wouldn’t be able to control myself in their presence. But with him, it felt calm, and because of that calmness, I was like, ‘Am I actually feeling proper sexy feelings, or do I just kind of love him?’ So that’s what that’s about, and the evolution of the way you feel things toward people when you get a little bit older.”  The song comes along with a video by nature producer Chris Howard (Planet Earth Live, Springwatch, Autumnwatch) that’s meant to be a representation of “the happiness, confusion, longing, desire, sadness, and also a stoicism” that Anna had experienced in the last few years. Watch it at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mike Farris - "Havana Santa," a 2021 single on Compass Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. Let’s be honest, there’s not a whole lot that’s sexy about Santa Claus. But have you met his brother? Ow ow! Grammy Award winning gospel, blues, and roots artist Mike Farris introduces a new character to the holidays with “Havana Santa.” The heated Latin track swaps the snow for the sea, where we meet the rum-drinking, mambo-dancing, red Camino-driving brother of St. Nick that’s living a very sultry life south of the border. Apparently, the inspiration to make a Latin-style Christmas song came after Farris and his 13-piece holiday band covered a Marc Anthony song during their annual “Soul of Christmas” show in Nashville one year and it was an absolute crowd-pleaser. Farris had this to say about the song: “The whole approach to writing “Havana Santa” was the same approach to the Soul of Christmas shows, and that is to bring maximum amounts of fun to the holiday season and to just fill the season with great memories and cheek numbing joy!” The track features a long list of long-time collaborators and includes six Grammy award winners among them: Derrek Phillips (drums), Dave Roe (bass), Kenny Greenberg (guitars), Kevin Mckendree (piano/hammond organ), Giovanni Rodriguez (percussion), Jim Hoke (tenor and baritone sax/accordion), Steve Hermann (trumpet), Yates Mckendree (bass), Saunya Clayborn (singer), Samson White (singer), additional singers are Dave Roe, Giovanni Rodriguez, Jamie-Sue Seal, Cassidy Zuver, Derrek Phillips and Kenny Greenberg. Get a taste of the fun that Farris and his collaborators bring to their Soul of Christmas events by watching a snippet of their performance of “Havana Santa” at this year’s show at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India Ramey - "Cocktail for Christmas" from the 2021 album Christmas Times A'Comin' 2021 on Medicine Show Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. We’re getting a little more Southern for today’s Song of the Day. “Cocktail for Christmas” is a bluegrass country tune about dealing with family during the holidays by getting completely and utterly wasted. With a delightful twang, India Ramey spells out her plan for coping, “Well Uncle Ren is drunk and talking politics again /I try to keep the peace but the room is starting to spin /But that’s fine with me /I’m where I need to be /To put up with my loved ones /I'll be lit up like a Christmas tree by the time the turkey's done.” Certainly one way to handle it! Ramey is an Alabama-based lawyer-turned-musician who’s released who’s released four albums in the past decade, her most recent being 2020’s Shallow Graves. “Cocktail for Christmas” is included on Christmas Times A’ Comin’ 2021, the 6th compilation of holiday songs from The Medicine Show, a Scottish booking, promotion, and broadcast company run by Rob Ellen. Watch the kitschy video for “Cocktail for Christmas” directed by Stacie Huckeba at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phone Jerks - "!Christmas on the Floor!," a 2020 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. For a time of year where alcohol consumption is typically at its heaviest, we certainly don’t have enough Christmas songs about drinking. Well, Phone Jerks are here to rectify that. Last year, the Canadian quartet released their submission to the holiday drinking song canon with “!Christmas On the Floor!” The energetic garage rock tune harkens the familiar tale of a lover leaving you during the holidays but then paints a very vivid picture of the unhealthy coping mechanisms one might employ during those trying times.  “The fairy lights remind me I'm the saddest ever been,” laments one of the band’s three lead singers (I’m guessing Emily). “I tripped over Baby Jesus, broke the Nativity scene/ My glass keeps on refilling but I just don't know who poured/ Looks like I'll be spending another Christmas on the floor.”  While based in Canada, the Phone Jerks has a member who use to live in Seattle - Brian LaManna, who was in the alternative punk band The Valentine Killers. At the link below, watch live footage of Phone Jerks at the Maniac Mansion if Fredericton, New Brunswick in 2018. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Attendant - "Roll On May (Misery Christmas)," a 2021 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. UK grunge-punk duo Attendant have thrown their hats in the heartbreak Christmas song ring this year with “Roll On May (Misery Christmas).” It’s a near-universal adult trait to feel a spot of loneliness during the holidays but what does one do when they just want to revel in the melodrama of their misery during the jolliest time of the year? Backed by customary twinkling bells and some very non-traditional heavy guitar strums, frontman Andy Walker addresses this idea. “The celebrations never end/ But I don’t want to see my friends/ They’ll force me to have fun/  When I just want someone to hold me near/ This time of year/ Cause I need you but you’re not here this Christmas.” The single follows Attendant’s debut EP, Unreality, released in early 2021. Watch the video for “Doomscroller” at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SS-20 - "(No) War Toys On Christmas" from the 1987 EP Daddy's Drunk On Christmas on No Pretense Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent. His first selection of the week is a song that I literally cannot find anywhere on the internet, SS-20’s “(No) War Toys On Christmas,” from a 1987 EP of original and (I assume) highly satirical Christmas songs called Daddy’s Drunk On Christmas. This wasn’t the Cincinnati-based hardcore punk band’s first foray into the world holiday music, though. The preceding year SS-20 unveiled a DIY release of fairly straight forward Christmas songs sung with a "couldn't care less," according to Discogs, attitude titled Merry Christmas 1986: Is Santa Listening. Formed by Robert Sturdevant in 1982 and still, at least up until a few years ago, playing shows in Cincinnati about once a month, SS-20 has released more than a dozen full-length albums and shorter EPs and 7-inch singles. They’ve also opened for “every punk and hardcore band that’s every played at the Jockey club,” Sturdevant told a publication in 2013, citing Nirvana, the Ramones, Black Flag and the Circle Jerks, among others.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Advertisement - "The Matador," a 2021 single on Fire Talk. Hot off the heels of their 4-song EP, Freedom, that came out last month, Seattle quintet Advertisement share the new single "The Matador," a song they say is about “being perceived by others as something different than you perceive yourself.” True to the aesthetic they established on their 2020 debut album American Advertisement, band members Charlie Hoffman, Carl Marck, Ryan Mangione, Jesse Rosenthal, and TJ Main combine Fleet Foxes-esque harmonies with Laurel Canyon-inspired rock nostalgia, tapping into their love of "blues and grooves" along the way.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bartees Strange - "Free Kelly Rowland (feat. Armand Hammer)" from the 2021 album Live Forever (Deluxe Edition) on Memory Music. Last year, DC-based musician Bartees Strange wowed us all with his debut full-length Live Forever, a genre-defying release exploring themes of racism and resilience. For the album's one-year anniversary, he reissued the LP in a deluxe edition version, which includes a re-worked rendition of the single “Kelly Rowland”, now titled “Free Kelly Rowland”, featuring New York-based hip-hop duo Armand Hammer. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Otis McDonald - "Keep It Sexy," a 2020 single on TrackTribe. Otis McDonald began as a studio experiment, where San Francisco-based producer and artist Joe Bagale spent three months writing, performing, recording, and sampling his own recordings. When it came time to release the results, Bagale looked towards two music icons to encapsulate the retro-tinged music he was composing: Shuggie Otis and Michael McDonald. "I don’t take myself seriously, but I take my music very seriously," he told Music Connection in 2019.  Bagale has released his music exclusively through a royalty-free audio library via YouTube. "YouTube is the biggest streaming service in the world," he continued. "I thought if the music was good and felt human, hopefully people would put it in their videos and a certain percentage of viewers would want to further explore the music.” He concluded, “If there is one thing I’d like to do with the music it is to give people a little more joy than they had before they heard it.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sweeping Promises - "Pain Without A Touch," a 2021 single on Feel It Records / Sub Pop.  On last year's debut LP Hunger for a Way Out, Sweeping Promises premiered an infectious lo-fi post-punk sound, with angular guitars, synthpop sweeps, and Lira Mondal bold, buoyant vocals. Today's Song of the Day is their first single for Sub Pop, who signed the duo up last month. Their new wave groove still firmly in place, the new track shows the group's evolution — but, with the overdubs recorded in co-founder Caufield Schnug's parents’ bathroom, Sweeping Promises stay true to their lo-fi beginnings. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dina Ögon - "Ficktjuven" from the 2021 album Dina Ögon on Sing a Song Fighter. Self-described as the "bastard love child of Eric B. & Rakim, Fleetwood Mac, Selda Bağcan, and Ted Gärdestad," Swedish pop group Dina Ögon brings a '70s funk vibe to today's Song of the Day.  The group is led by vocalist Anna Ahnlun and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Ögren, who used to play guitar for "doom metal" artist Anna Von Hausswolff. The two collaborated on the single "idag" off Ögren's solo album Fastingen-92, inspiring this new project to form, with the addition of bassist Love Örsan and drummer Christopher Cantillo. On their self-titled debut, the quartet tap into a retro influence, combined with their own psych-folk sound.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we bring you an episode of KEXP's Live on KEXP podcast featuring an exclusive session with Arlo Parks. With two EPs and a seemingly endless number of accolades from nearly every tastemaker in the music industry under her belt, it’s an understatement to say that Arlo Parks’ debut album was highly anticipated. Released in January, ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ lives up to the hype and reflects the artist born Anais Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho’s compassionate, friendly, and poetic spirit. For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson traces Marinho’s journey from recording songs in her bedroom to sharing stages with heavyweights like Paramore before Marinho plays a mellow, vibey set of songs. Songs performed: Cola Green Eyes Eugene Black Dog Caroline Hurt Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube For a new KEXP session delivered to your feed every week, including recent favorites like José González, Japanese Breakfast, Yu Su, and Little Simz, subscribe to Live on KEXP wherever you listen to podcasts.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sea Lemon - "Sunday," a 2021 self-released single. Seattle artist Sea Lemon (aka 26-year-old singer/songwriter Natalie Lew) shares a shimmery slice of dreampop on her debut single "Sunday," a first listen at her forthcoming EP, out next year. Producer Stefan Mac (Wallows, No Vacation) gives the song a bright ebullience, even while the lyrics confront negative emotions. “My first release, ‘Sunday,’ is a song that’s all about the anxiety and stress that comes with navigating relationships of all kind,” Lew told Atwood Magazine. “During the pandemic, when I wasn’t actively interacting with my loved ones, I constantly wondered and overthought about those relationships — would they survive? Was I doing enough? ‘Sunday’ is a reflection of those feelings I had, and represents how every passing day can feel like a worsening situation.” She continues: “The song, along with the rest of my upcoming EP, sonically was heavily inspired by Beach House and The Cure, artists that I constantly turn to for inspiration as they portray a bittersweet and nostalgic feeling in their music. Toeing the line between sorrow and happiness, into a grey area of somewhere in the middle, is the kind of sentiment I love to feel and write about when it comes to my music.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nilüfer Yanya - "Stabilise" from the 2022 album Painless on ATO. British singer-songwriter Nilüfer Yanya will release her highly-anticipated sophomore full-length Painless on March 4th, 2022 via ATO Records. Today's Song of the Day is a sneak peek at the upcoming release, a meditation on the monotony of daily life.  “I was really thinking about your surroundings and how much they influence or change your perception of things," Yanya stated in a press release. The accompanying video, directed by her sister Molly Daniel, explores this idea. “A lot of the city is just grey and concrete, there’s no escape,” she continues. “The video plays on the central theme in the song of no one coming to save you ever. It’s set in depths of reality in every day life where we are the only one’s truly capable of salvaging or losing ourselves. Nothing is out there — both a depressing and reassuring statement (depending on how you look at it). Sometimes you have to dress up as a spy or a rock star and just hope for the best.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hatchie - "This Enchanted," a 2021 single on Secretly Canadian. Brisbane, Australia-based artist Hatchie (real name: Harriette Pilbeam) has signed to the label Secretly Canadian, sharing her first new single since her 2019 dream-pop debut LP Keepsake. In a press release, she states today's KEXP Song of the Day "encapsulates everything I wanted to do moving forward from my first album." She continues: "I started writing it with [producer] Jorge [Elbrecht] and [Hatchie guitarist] Joe [Agius] in February 2020 and completed it from afar in lockdown later in the year. We had been talking about making something dancey but shoegaze.” “It’s one of the more lighthearted, lyrically vague songs of my new recordings about falling in love; it’s not a perfect relationship, but you’re enthralled by one another and it’s an easy love. It’s one of the most fun songs I’ve written, so it was a no-brainer to pick it as my first solo release in almost two years. It feels so right to be working with a label as exciting as Secretly as I step into new territory with Hatchie. I’ve been counting down the days until its release for a long time.“ Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hand Habits - "More Than Love" from the 2021 album Fun House on Saddle Creek. It was a "fun house" indeed: during the pandemic, singer/songwriter Meg Duffy (who records as Hand Habits) shared a home with fellow recording artist Sasami and engineer Kyle Thomas. The quarantine bubble provided Duffy with the creative environment and support they needed to craft their most adventurous album yet, Fun House.   “Sasami really challenged me to just trust and explore these different parts of my identity that are definitely in me — these different kinds of music that I'm really influenced by and inspired by,” Duffy told The Fader. “I wasn't ready to put out a record that was like all kind of like very slow sad ballads about my trauma and how I'm navigating that — I wanted to make the record feel at least a little energetically uplifting and contrasting between these production elements and this [intense] lyrical content. Sasami really, really helped me go there.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BLK ODYSSY - "MURDA" from the 2021 album BLK VINTAGE on After School. “I want to create something that will be culturally impactful for my people. I want to do something that is impactful on a larger scale, something that is for groups of Black people across the country,” says soulful songwriter Sam Houston, who records under the name BLK ODYSSY.  His debut album, BLK VINTAGE, finds inspiration in both the world around him and his own personal experiences, like the tragic 2010 murder of his older brother, David, at the hands of the New Jersey police. “The Black youth has been poisoned numb because of the shit we have to deal with," he continues via a press release. "I want to speak to our experiences and let people know it’s okay to shed that layer and really, truly feel. My goal is to connect with the Black youth, and my goal is to connect with my people and speak to them on a level where we can stop suffering from happening. There’s only so much we can do for the dead. This record asks: ‘How can we stop this from happening again?’” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Smokey Brights - "Honey Eye," a 2021 single on Freakout. Today's Song of the Day — from Seattle's own Smokey Brights — is a love song for uncertain times, with frontman Ryan Devlin declaring "Honey I want to rock the world with you, before it splits in two / Don’t know what else to do." It's a fitting statement from a band led by married couple Devlin and Kim West, who've, indeed, rocked the world, most recently with their 2020 full-length I Love You But Damn. Today's featured track is an out-take from that album, along with another new single "Unity." "They were just two songs that didn’t quite fit on that record but live together really nicely," West told Atwood Magazine recently. "They’re both about unity and taking care of each other and the importance of living right now. They feel really appropriate to release right now." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Just Mustard - "I Am You," a 2021 single on Partisan. Irish quintet Just Mustard caught our ears with their powerful noise rock debut Wednesday, an album that earned them a Choice Music Prize nomination for Album of the Year in 2018. Since then, they've signed to Partisan Records and have shared a first look at a sophomore release (projected released: 2022) with today's Song of the Day. The moody, shoegaze-tinged track was produced by the band and mixed by David Wrench (FKA twigs, The xx, Caribou). The accompanying video, directed by Dylan Friese-Greene, captures the song's eerie vibe, with vocals from Katie Ball reminiscent of Alison Shaw of Cranes.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Spiritualized - "Always Together With You" from the 2022 album Everything Was Beautiful on Fat Possum. If today's Song of the Day sounds a little familiar, you're not just tripping on Spiritualized's otherworldly psych-sound. “Always Together With You” was originally released in demo form in 2014 as “Always Forgetting With You (The Bridge Song)”, but it's since been reworked for the long-running space-rock band's ninth album, Everything Was Beautiful, out February 25th via Fat Possum. The title — along with the title of his 2018 album And Nothing Hurt — completes a beloved quote from Kurt Vonnegut’s classic 1969 novel Slaughterhouse Five.  “There was so much information on it that the slightest move would unbalance it, but going around in circles is important to me,” said frontman J Spaceman (real name: Jason Pierce) in a press release about the upcoming release. “Not like you’re spiraling out of control but you’re going around and around and on each revolution you hold onto the good each time. Sure, you get mistakes as well, but you hold on to some of those too and that’s how you kind of… achieve. Well, you get there.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mandy, Indiana - "Bottle Episode" from the … EP on Fire Talk. Mandy, Indiana aren't from Indiana at all — the post-rock quartet actually hail from Manchester, England, where founding members Scott Fair (guitar/production) and Valentine Caulfield (vocals/lyrics) met at a show their respective separate bands were playing. After deciding to team up, the new group began working on their debut EP '...', out physically on December 10th via Fire Talk Records.  On today's Song of the Day, Caulfield sought to capture a somber, armed forces inspiration. “I wanted to build up on the military style of the track, but in a very slow crescendo, and not in a very obvious way," she explained in a press release. "The lyrics talk of men waiting, moving forward; war is never mentioned, yet it is obvious that the men are waiting for death. The song ends with the men almost dancing as the bullets hit them.” Fair added, “The inspiration for the guitar line was based upon a recording of a flood siren in Todmorden. I was going to use the recording as a sample but then I decided to try and recreate it with the guitar.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chris Carroll - "Blue (feat. Gabriel Teodros)," a 2021 single on Raindrop Sound. Seattle-based artist Chris Carroll made a name for himself with his impressive production work on music from Gifted Youngstaz, Ra Scion of Common Market, Entendres, and MADlines. And then in 2019, he began releasing his own music, first under the alias Spoke, and then under his own name. Today's Song of the Day showcases that balance between control and collaboration as he invites local artist (and KEXP DJ) Gabriel Teodros and musician Mario Luciano to the poignant single "Blue." Carroll writes on his Bandcamp page: I'm honored to have created this track featuring an artist that I deeply admire, Gabriel Teodros. When I was 16, he was the first artist I'd ever heard perform spoken word (alongside Khingz as Abyssinian Creole), and when I was 18, Gabriel gave me my first turntable for a ride home. Little did I know this would set the course of my musical journey on through to adulthood. This track also features the sample composition of a recent mentor of mine, Mario Luciano, who has been a tremendous influence in the last year. This song is for all those we have lost during the pandemic, and to those we've become estranged from. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Snotty Nose Rez Kids - "Change (feat. ebonEmpress & Jenny Lea)" from the 2021 album Life After on Distorted Muse. Vancouver-based duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids live up to their name. The duo of Darren “Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce formed the group in 2016 after seeing a show headlined by fellow-Indigenous artists, the hip-hop collective First Ladies Crew. As members of the Haisla nation, the pair knew they could use music to both celebrate and elevate their heritage. “As Indigenous people who have been shit on year after year after year by the government, from the people, from our own people, the media, the police… I feel like Indigenous people have developed our own sense of humour that only we get,” Nyce told Range. “For us, the way we grew up listening to rap and hip-hop, it was so dark and heavy and it just weighed on you. You couldn’t listen to it more than once unless you were in the right mindset. So for us, coming up, our message, our music, we wanted to talk about the heavy stuff but with a positive spin. And making sure that at the end of the day you left smiling — on a high note. We never want people to feel down on themselves. We want to lift our people up, not bring them down.” Metz adds: “It’s just like our name also, Snotty Nose Rez Kids; it explains who we are without having to explain who we are. You gotta have a sense of humour when you come through trauma.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jelly Cleaver - "Black Line," a 2021 single on Gearbox Records. On today's Song of the Day, South London-based artist/activist Jelly Cleaver uses her bluesy guitar rock to speak out on global warming. In a press release, she elaborates: “This song was especially inspired by the story of the Ogoni Nine and Shell oil corporation. Having poisoned the Niger Delta region with negligent oil spills, the Ogoni people who were indigenous there rose up and demanded Shell clean up the oil and compensate them. Shell worked with the military dictatorship government who raided villages killing 2,000 and displacing 80,000. Shell then bribed witnesses to provide false testimonies so that the leaders of the uprising were executed, who became known as the Ogoni nine.” “It was also inspired by the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests by the Standing Rock Sioux and the many times the fossil fuel industry has abused the world.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ivy Sole - "One More Night (feat. Topaz Jones)," a 2021 single on Les Fleurs Records. With her new single "One More Night", Philadelphia-based artist Ivy Sole teams up with Montclair, NJ-based rapper Topaz Jones for a soulful, R&B tinged exploration of romantic feelings. It's also the first listen to her just-announced full-length CANDID, which will be released February 2nd on Ivy's own Les Fleurs Music.  "CANDID explores the many ways I find myself endeavouring towards truth and clarity, and 'One More Night' is no different. It’s a song that speaks directly to the woman I had in mind, but still gives room for the listener’s imagination,” Sole explained to Stereofox. “The song itself came out of the essence of someone appearing in your mind without you actively deciding to invite them there, and the longing that ends up dictating how you act upon the memories, images and feelings that are brought out from that initial spark. Topaz and I produced it together, which makes it even more special to me..." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Coco Peila - "Pretty Girls (feat. Taj Mahal)," a 2021 single on JuixeGRL Records. With her latest single "Pretty Girls," Bay Area-based artist Coco Peila has elevated a movement to challenge beauty norms. As she expresses on her Facebook page, “It’s an opportunity for us as Black women to have a heart to heart about what it’s been like for all of us, and to challenge the ideas and perceptions in our own minds about what 'Pretty' is, WHY it is, and who currently or historically has access to it.” It also launched the "Pretty Heist" media campaign, which Peila describes as "a music video and interview series centered around Black Women’s Liberation and the impacts of sexism, anti-black racism, white supremacy, and the beautification industry on Black Women & Girls’ lives, perception of ourselves and others, sense of worth, perception of beauty and access to resources. The series spotlights women and girls, and provides information about how to support the work we are doing in the world and our communities." Learn more about the campaign at her Facebook page here. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ruth B. - "Moments in Between" from the 2021 album Moments in Between on Reb Music Productions / Downtown Records. Ethiopian-Canadian singer/songwriter Ruth B. explores the complexities of being a woman in her mid-twenties on her sophomore album Moments In Between. This is especially resonant on the title track, a wistful, laid-back song that really highlights Ruth's soulful voice. The new LP was executive produced by Patrick Wimberly (Beyonce, Solange, Blood Orange, Ellie Goulding). “Writing songs has always been therapeutic for me,” she says via a press release, “and I hope that hearing my songs helps other people in the same way. Whether they’re feeling lonely or heartbroken or happy, I want them to know that someone else understands what they’re going through.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maiah Manser - "Walking Faster," a 2021 self-released single. It’s been four years since Los Angeles-via-Seattle-via-Oregon musician Maiah Manser released her fantastic and far-too-succinct sophomore EP Second Skin. In that time, she’s been busy sharing stages with artists like CHVRCHES, Crystal Castles, and ODESZA, singing backup vocals alongside local luminary Mary Lambert for a few names you might recognize such as Sam Smith, Ariana Grande, and Pharrell Williams, and getting placements in the show Lucifer and at 2017’s Met Gala. It now appears that, finally, Manser is ready to release new music out to the world. Today’s Song of the Day, “Walking Faster” is her first single in two years and a perfect reintroduction to an artist who clearly hasn’t lost her touch. Without any hesitation or introduction, Manser comes in swinging with the softly and speedily sung lines, “Giving up all my love /Just because that was what i was taught / Even though I don’t know who even said that,” while a glitchy electronic beat fights to keep up. From there, the song builds as Manser belts the chorus while drenched in reverb for a cathartic and catchy track that’s only snag is that it’s over too soon. A new EP titled Third Degree is expected in 2022. Watch Manser’s 2017 KEXP in-studio performance on YouTube or at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Combo Chimbita - "Babalawo," a 2021 single on Anti-. Combo Chimbita is the project for four first-generation New Yorkers who make tropical futurism inspired by the cumbia of their birth country of Colombia and the rock n’ roll of the American city they call home. Since the release of their incredible 2019 full-length Ahomale, the quartet have been steadily churning out singles that continually build upon their otherworldly mystique.  Our Song of the Day, “Babalawo,” is the latest single to be revealed and an incredible entry point for those unfamiliar with the band’s gorgeous genre fusion. While my sub-par Spanish skills prevent me from deciphering the song’s lyrics, the passion and fury with which frontwoman Carolina Oliveras sings bridges the language barrier by letting listeners into the cosmically spiritual world with which the song lives.  “We debuted ‘Babalawo’ when we played with Sun Ra Arkestra and it’s become a favorite song from our set,” explains guitarist Niño Lento. “It has some hints of trap, a bit of rock, but also carries influences from Haitian music and sounds. Carolina’s lyrics are also important since they describe some of our first encounters with Regla de Ocha (often known as Santeria). These intimate moments of spiritual guidance are incredibly important to us as a band with decolonial aspirations.” “This song narrates a dream I had in which an Eggun (deceased person) assuaged my fears and encouraged me to continue down my path,” Oliveras says of “Babalawo.” “They said ‘Ponte pa lo tuyo,’ a directive to follow that which is already mine — a message I felt important to share forward … While it may seem that this song is dedicated to a particular Babalawo (similar to a priest in a Yoruban context), it’s also an homage to the many teachers who form the Yoruban culture and religion around me and continue to inspire a deeper exploration from me.” The song comes with a video featuring multidisciplinary artist Edrimael Delgado Reyes in a fiery interpretative dance that draws from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave that heightens the drama of the “Babalawo” to celestial levels. Watch the video, directed by Oscar Diaz, on KEXP.org at the link below. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOHN - "Šibensko Powerhouse" from the 2021 album Nocturnal Manoeuvres on Brace Yourself Records / Pets Care Records. As one YouTuber comically remarked on the footage of JOHN’s Live on KEXP Performance from 2019’s International Clash Day celebration, “The best band with the worst SEO.” And they’re not wrong, trying to find a band that goes by the most common English first name in the world on the internet is an incredibly difficult task. But once discovered, the riches that the duo rewards you with are plentiful. Made up of John Newton and Johnny Healey, the duo are an absolute force to be reckoned with. Their latest album Nocturnal Manoeuvres, released in October, takes the explosive riffs the two Johns have a penchant for and spreads them out into maximalist, psychedelic new territories. Our Song of the Day is the album’s early single “Šibensko Powerhouse,” a turbulent thumper that features vocals from none other than IDLES bassist Adam Devonshire for an extra layer of fury.  “The lyrics came from a now-distant memory of visiting a festival in another country,” offers drummer and lead vocalist Newton. “I remembered standing alone in baking 40 degree heat on the hillside outside of my apartment – only to hear a familiar song echoing live in the distance from over the hill’s crest. It was a once in lifetime moment that just stuck with me, a reminder of my small scale in the greater scheme of the world.” Nocturnal Manoeuvres follows 2019’s Out Here on the Fringes. Watch the Ryan Gander-directed video for “Šibensko Powerhouse” on KEXP.org.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trentemøller - "All Too Soon" from the 2022 album Memoria on In My Room. Danish producer Anders Trentemøller has been making cinematic electronic soundscapes for over 20 years now and is constantly finding new avenues of traversing genre-bending lush landscapes. The latest singles off his forthcoming sixth studio album, Memoria, “In the Gloaming” and our Song of the Day “All Too Soon,” find him employing textured dream pop and the glistening vocals of his girlfriend Lisbet Fritze for a majestic and mysterious mood.  According to Trentemøller’s Bandcamp: “‘All Too Soon’ examines ostensibly diametric relationships of light and dark, life and death, day and night, love and hate, while actually presenting them as dualistic, and symbiotic, influencing each other as they interrelate. What might appear to be a dispiriting take on our mortality could just as easily be interpreted as its acceptance being liberating.” Memoria follows up 2019’s Obverse, which featured Rachel Goswell of Slowdive and Jenny Lee Linberg of Warpaint. Watch the video for “All Too Soon,” directed by Fryd Frydendahl on KEXP.org. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mr Twin Sister - "Polvo" from the 2021 album Al Mundo Azul on Twin Group. For over a decade now, Mr Twin Sister have been constantly reinventing their sound in completely underrated fashion. From the dreamy baroque indie of their debut under the name Twin Sister to the infectious electro pop of 2014’s Mr Twin Sister to the eclectic groove and slow jams on their last full-length, 2018’s Salt, the band has been constantly pushing forward while remaining almost completely under the radar. Their newest forthcoming album, Al Mundo Azul, sees the New York-based band continuing this trajectory in dazzling fashion. Our Song of the Day, “Polvo,” might be the best representation of this new direction towards sheeny dance pop. Influenced by the cumbia of frontwoman Andrea Estella’s maternal homeland of El Salvador, the song is a strutting dance track and one of the few in the band’s discography sung entirely in Spanish.  “‘Polvo’ is about how death fuels life, how we’re all connected, and how we must die in order to live,” Estella says of the song. “Polvo” is one five singles off of Al Mundo Azul shared ahead of the album’s November 19th release. Watch the video for single “Beezle,” directed by Estella, on KEXP.org. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today, we bring you the story of Tina Bell, from KEXP's Sound & Vision podcast. Bam Bam was a Black woman-fronted grunge band in Seattle in the early '80s — before grunge was a defined genre. Larry Mizell Jr. tells the story of Bam Bam and the life of frontwoman Tina Bell. He also explores why we’ve never heard of this group before and why their story has been erased from Seattle music history. For more stories like these, including recent interviews with The War On Drugs, Tori Amos, and Mudhoney's Guy Maddison, check out KEXP's Sound & Vision wherever you listen to podcasts.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Talaya. - "Sola Fide + No Way (feat. Brandon Marsalis & Crissy P)" from the 2021 album Existential Soul on Talaya's Music. “Sola Fide + No Way” is an exemplification in song of a whole new crop of young, self-taught, self-made artists that is currently rising in the Seattle area. The hypnotic track off of Talaya’s debut full-length Existential Soul sees the R&B soul songstress team up with rappers Brandon Marsalis of Tacoma and Kent-based Crissy P for a sophisticated and spiritual quest to find the light. An audio engineer by day, Talaya first gained recognition for her vocal prowess at 2020’s Sound Off! The 21-and-under competition has been the symbolic birthplace of artists like Naked Giants, Dave B, Emma Lee Toyoda, and Travis Thompson and is seen as one of the main opportunities that young artists in the Northwest can get exposure. Crissy P also falls into that category, as a finalist in 2019’s competition and now an activist using his insightful voice on his 2020 debut full-length The East Coordinate to amplify the causes close to his heart.  “Is you Christian all the way?” Marsalis ponders on “Sola Fide +No Way,” questioning the intentions behind performative religion. Reflection is big for the 24-year-old artist, who beautifully articulates the big questions in life on his 2019 album Ouroboros. While none of these artists have yet lived a quarter century on this planet, their ability to express larger-than-life concepts bodes very well for the next generation. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liv.e - "Bout It," a 2021 single on In Real Life / AWAL. Dallas-born singer/songwriter Liv.e may have only just released her debut album Couldn’t Wait to Tell You in 2020 but she’s been quietly gaining traction underground since 2017, with marquee names like Janelle Monae, Earl Sweatshirt, and Tyler, The Creator singing her praises. And, listening to Couldn’t Wait to Tell You, it’s easy to see why. The 20-track record is hypnotic in its fusion of soul, jazz, and R&B with loose song structures that fade like dreams. Her latest single and KEXP’s Song of the Day, “Bout It” continues that dreamy feeling with hazy downtempo production by Mndsgn that repeats the same spacey line over and over like an incantation and Liv.e following suit with the recurrent question of “Is you ‘bout it?” to spell-binding effect. If you weren’t before, you certainly are about it now. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dora Jar - "Scab Song," a 2021 single on Original Sin. 24-year-old Dora Jar may only have a handful of songs out currently but she’s poised to become the Next Big Thing. Take our Song of the Day, for example. “Scab Song” ingeniously uses an actual scab on Dora’s 19-year-old leg as an inspiration for an infectiously blissful pop banger that investigates the odd and interesting aspects of the human form.  The track follows Dora Jar’s 2021 mini album Digital Meadow, a flawless debut that melds intellectually quirky songwriting with electronic flourishes and hip-hop beats for a sound we can only unjustly describe as “bedroom pop.” Keep your eyes and ears peeled because if she can make a song about a scab sound like a top 40 hit then there’s no telling what else she can do. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Angélica Garcia - "Llorona" from the 2021 Echo Eléctrico EP on Spacebomb. Los Angeles-born, Richmond-based singer/songwriter Angélica Garcia uses music to explore her many identities as an American with Mexican and Salvadoran descent. Garcia’s 2016 debut, Medicine for Birds, was a folksy affair where her vocals twinkled in harmony with both banjos and synth beats and 2020’s Cha Cha Palace, released only weeks before the world shut down, is a powerful and unique pop record that stomps with fury. So commanding were the tracks, that even Barack Obama couldn’t help but take notice. Continuing her journey of constant evolution, Garcia’s latest release, Echo Eléctrico, couldn’t be further from her prior records. An interpretation of traditional Mexican ranchera songs, Garcia uses richly textured synth and vocal loops to layer the passionately sung ballads. Our Song of the Day, “Llorona,” sits smack dab in the middle of the 5-song EP and uses cascading looped vocals as the sole instrumentation behind Garcia’s intensely emoted quavers. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pink Siifu - "Big Ole (feat. BbyMutha)" from the 2021 album GUMBO'! on Dynamite Hill. Pink Siifu is just one of the musical pseudonyms that Livingston Matthews has taken on over the years. The 29-year-old Birmingham-bred rapper/singer/producer has been making a massive splash the past couple of years, most notably with 2020’s NEGRO, which was an experimental excercise in catharsis, taking the years of pain and discrimination and turning it into a battle cry of recordings. In August, Matthews quickly followed NEGRO up with GUMBO, which departs massively from the free jazz experimentation and caustic howls for an incredibly smooth and bouncy Southern rap record. Our Song of the Day and GUMBO highlight, “Big Ole,” features bass-heavy, blown out production from Conquest Tony Phillips and an effortless verse from Chatanooga rapper BbyMutha. The song comes with a bright and distorted video, directed by 30onme. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MAITA - "Pastel Concrete" from the 2022 album I Just Want To Be Wild For You on Kill Rock Stars. MAITA is the full-band project of Portland-based artist Maria Maita-Keppeler. Quickly following up the release of her fantastic debut album Best Wishes, unveiled only just last year, this February her sophomore record I Want To Be Wild For You will be revealed.  Our Song of the Day is the early single “Pastel Concrete.” What appears to be an intimate, possibly somber guitar strummer in the opening lines grows into a jaunty tune that grows and eventually cathartically erupts. Known for her mercurial lyricism, Maita-Keppeler turns the task of driving through Santa Monica for work as a study of the unique culture and landscape of Southern California.  “Pastel Concrete was written at a time when I had a job that periodically sent me to Santa Monica, Maita-Keppeler says of the song. “A place that felt more foreign to me than any other. The outdoor mall, the kitschy boardwalk, the actors and artists I worked with who seemed so different from me and yet so understood the struggle of trying to get paid, and the infamous mythology of LA—I found it all uncomfortable and fascinating.” I Want To Be Wild For You is out February 18, 2022 via Kill Rock Stars.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breeze - "Come Around (feat. Cadence Weapon)" from the 2021 album Only Up on Hand Drawn Dracula. Toronto-based producer Josh Korody has a long list of credits to his name including Dilly Dally, Beliefs, and Nailbiter but his main solo project is the monosyllabically titled Breeze. For his latest album as Breeze, Only Up, Korody recruited pretty much anybody and everybody in the Toronto scene to join him in collaboration to make a record in only eight days. Members of Orville Peck, Tallies, Vallens, Zoon, Sauna, Fake Palms, Rapport, Praises, Civic TV, Moon King, Blonde Elvis, For Jane, Ducks Ltd, TOPS and Broken Social Scene all have their fingers on the frenetically fun album. Our Song of the Day is the record’s early single “Come Around.” Energetic and eclectic, the song mashes genres together in a way that makes “Come Around” sound so wrong that it’s right. Psychedelic guitar strums meld with hard-hitting tribal beats and post-punk howls that feels caustic on first listen but gets soothing on repeated spins.  Then, just when your brain is starting to comprehend what’s happening, Cadence Weapon (the musical pseudonym of rapper/writer Rollie Pemberton) jumps in halfway through for an unexpected verse of nonsensical but clever as hell lines like, “On the web I surf like Brian Wilson.” After a cool 40 seconds, he dips out and we’re back to Korody’s trippy nightmarish yowls. Korody had his to say about the song: “Come Around” is about someone that has done something horrible and has not shown any accountability or true remorse and the fear they – or have the nerve – to be able to jump back into a community that no longer feels comfortable around them. So, as I’m singing the song I’m picturing performing it live with them walking into the room and making people, especially the people closest to them, extremely uncomfortable and angry. The lyrics: ‘Yeah, you really did a number on this one’ references the trauma they imposed upon the community. When Rollie (Cadence Weapon) comes in, his lyrical dialogue is a bit more separate, it’s more fun but still comes from frustration as well and it quickly takes myself and others out of that dark place with the hope of trying to move on and to enjoy the life we have.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Abiodun Oyewole - "Harlem" from the 2021 album Gratitude on Fire Records. Abiodun Oyewole’s legendary history can be traced back to one very important day, May 19, 1968, when he read poetry in Harlem’s Mount Morris Park with David Nelson and Gylan Kain in honor of Malcolm X’s birthday and became what is now considered the first hip hop group - The Last Poets. In honor of this sacred day and Oyewole’s love for the New York neighborhood that gave him life, Oyewole recently released a single expressing his appreciation for Harlem and the people that live there. Appropriately titled “Harlem,” the song is locked in a singular groove for nearly six and a half minutes while Oyewole waxes poetic about the music, food, history, and culture that makes this neighborhood so special. Backup singers provide meditative coos of “Harlem, sweet Harlem” behind Oyewole’s shout outs to soul food at Sylvia’s, hanging out at the Jazzmobile, the Apollo, shopping on 125th street, children jumping double dutch, high fives, and real hugs. It’s a spiritual and inspirational journey of a man with a singular legacy. In a recent interview with Pat Thomas, Oyewole had this to say about the inspiration behind the song: “You gotta realize, Harlem was the place I wanted. It was like a desire, a dream. I was raised in Queens, New York. I would see Harlem every Sunday of my life because we went to church in Harlem. The energy of Harlem was exciting, electric. I told myself, 'I got to be here,' because there was no place in New York City that had that kind of energy and I really wanted that. “When the opportunity arose that The Last Poets were gonna happen and Dahveed Nelson, a brother who I consider part of the group because it was his idea, he told me that we were going to read poetry at Mount Morris Park in Harlem, there was a part of me that was very happy and a part of me that was very scared. I was intimidated because I thought Harlem was a tough place to do anything.  “Harlem was where everything was going to happen. When we set up our home base in Harlem, I spent all my time in Harlem, I got an apartment in Harlem - Harlem became everything to me.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 alt-J - "U&ME," from the 2022 album The Dream on Atlantic. After a surprisingly sunny weekend, a cheery indie pop single about hanging with your friends at a music festival seems most appropriate. Alt-J, Mercury Prize winners and one of the early 2010’s leading festival headliners, are back after four years to provide that ebulliant and light-hearted feeling with their latest single “U&ME.” Their first release since 2017’s Relaxer (if you don’t count the following year’s remix album Reduxer) and the lead single off their forthcoming album The Dream, “U&ME” hits all the notes that Alt-J fans search for. Groovy percussion - check. Blissed out guitar riffs - you know it. A woozy melody - gotta have it. A nostalgic repeating chorus with slightly esoteric verses - wouldn’t be alt-J without em.  “It’s about being at a festival with your best friends, having a good time, togetherness, and the feeling in life that nothing could be any better than it is right now,” explains keyboardist/vocalist Gus Unger-Hamilton. The video, directed Unger-Hamilton’s brother, Prosper, captures that sort of bonding-with-the-buds feeling by featuring the band ripping at the skatepark. Kicks are flipped, blood is shed, and - wait - concrete is floating? Just a typical day with the guys!  The Dream is out February 11th via Canvasback/Infectious Music. Alt-J will be in Seattle on Tuesday, March 29th to play WaMu Theatre with Portugal. The Man.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.