540 avsnitt • Längd: 20 min • Veckovis: Tisdag
On A Deeper Listen, host Emily Fox and other storytellers from KEXP talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.
The podcast A Deeper Listen is created by KEXP. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
On this week’s episode, songwriter Ela Minus talks with KEXP's Albina Cabrera about her new album, DÍA—a fully nomadic project with songs written and recorded between Mexico, Seattle, and her native Colombia. With DÍA, she steps away from her analog era and embraces everything at hand: broken microphones, acoustic instruments, and digital synths. It’s a search for freedom that began the moment she left her comfort zone. The album is out now via Domino Records.
Photo by Alvaro Ariso
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Mike Hadreas of Perfume Genius talks with Emily Fox about how his inner fears, struggles with mental health, paranoid fantasies and reflections on gay lust and love show up on his latest album, Glory.
“I think I was just really afraid and I felt really tender and mortal and the world felt really fragile and scary and I couldn't figure out how to move through it very well,” Hadreas says speaking writing through depression. "And I didn't really know how to hold all of these things that I was feeling and move towards getting out of my head. I was just kind of stuck.”
Photo by Cody Critcheloe
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Liz Pelly, author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist talks through the many practices at Spotify over the years that have impacted independent musicians-- from outsourcing stock music Spotify pays a lower royalty rate for and flooding Spotify's in-house playlists with that stock music, to paying artists a 30% lower royalty rate in exchange for promotion on Spotify.
Then, guitarist and independent musician Lance Allen talks about how he was able to pay off his mortgage and buy a car off Spotify royalties and how he’s continued to find success on the music streaming service.
Photo by Felix Walworth
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Songwriter Lucy Dacus talks about her new album, Forever Is A Feeling. In conversation with Emily Fox, she discusses everything from love, lyricism, and making conscious decisions to step away from boygenius and her solo work to find balance and stillness. She also breaks down some of her favorite songs and lyrical moments on the new record.
“I keep saying this, how you spend your time is how you spent your life. And that has been a really profound cliche to remember,” Dacus says. “You're in charge of your time more than you realize.”
Photo by Shervin Lainez
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Valerie and Veronica Tapacio left their corporate day jobs to dedicate their time to their Seattle band, La Fonda and their vintage clothing shop, Delusional Bird, which is named after one of their songs. Last year was the first year they made more money doing music and running their business than they did at their 8-5 desk jobs. The sisters talk about how their father’s detainment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2008 forced them into corporate work early and how the pandemic helped them reevaluate their life and priorities.
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For years, Lupe Flores was primarily known as the drummer for a number of Seattle rock bands, including Wild Powwers. But as something to do to keep herself sane during pandemic lockdown, she reconnected with a childhood tradition.
“I feel like a lot of musicians are like, 'Oh, I sang whatever in church' or 'My parents always had music,’” Flores says. “There was literally no music. There has always been food.”
She started making tacos using her Lebanese-Mexican grandmother's recipe and began Lupe's Situ Tacos. (Situ is Arabic for "grandmother.") In an interview at her restaurant with KEXP’s Martin Douglas, Flores spoke of going from picking cilantro leaves in her grandmother's kitchen to starting a business in the heart of one of Seattle's coolest neighborhoods.
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Los Angeles-based DJ and producer, TOKiMONSTA is out with a new album called Eternal Reverie. The album was written while TOKiMONSTA’s best friend was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately passed away a few months later. TOKiMONSTA talks about how her friend informed this latest record, why it was important to delay this record and cancel her initial tour to be with her friend in her final months of life, and TOKiMONSTA shares the story of her own health crisis she faced 10 years that resulted in two brain surgeries.
“My career, these things can come back,” TOKiMONSTA says. “There’s always a possibility that if I made a poor decision in that regard, I could figure out a way. But I was never going to get my friend back. At the point that I had made that decision to cancel my tour, I already knew we weren’t going to have her for much longer.”
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Montreal-based electronic artist Marie Davidson is concerned about the rise of big tech and intrusion of privacy. In this episode, host Emily Fox talks with Davidson about her latest album City of Clowns, how these themes show up on the record, and the inspiration it took from Shoshana Zuboff’s book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism.
“I would say that I don't believe yet that we are doomed,” Davidson says. “I believe we're in a very tricky position right now, and that there's a lot of uncertainty, and there's still a lot of ignorance around everything that's happening with technology and and information privacy. But we all have a choice… to keep nurturing critical thinking.”
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Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon talks about how rediscovering home videos inspired his latest album, Rarely Do I Dream. He also discusses songwriting, meditation, and about a health crisis that gave him new life.
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Neko Case recently put out a memoir called “The Harder I Fight the More I Love You.” It’s a story largely about neglect and abandonment. KEXP's Emily Fox reviews the book and shares her personal connection to Neko Case.
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Bartees Strange talks with Emily Fox about his album, Horror. He talks about how his parents raised him on scary stories to showcase the fear and issues of being black in America, what his opera singing mother taught him about being a black performer in mostly white spaces, and how he’s feeling more comfortable, more empowered and more himself than ever through the process of making this record.
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Flung is the moniker of Seattle-raised and Oakland-based multi-instrumentalist Kashika Kollaikal. Her 2024 album, 'All Heartbeat,' is the result of listening deeply to her surroundings, tuning into what she calls the “hum of the world.”Kollaikal joins KEXP’s Isabel Khalili to talk about her approach to the record and how she finds inspiration in her physical environment. They also discuss the field recordings that made it onto the record, the making of her own music box, and how her mother's harmonium became the central hum of the record.
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This year’s Superbowl halftime show features Kendrick Lamar, who is in a long running beef with Drake. Seattle hip hop historian Daudi Abe talks with contributor Hans Anderson about the history of hip-hop beefs and how Kendrick Lamar’s beef made its way into the biggest music event of the year.
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The English electronic duo Maribou State released a new album, Hallucinating Love on January 31st. KEXP's Tia Ho talked with the band about the hardships they faced during the recording process, including getting diagnosed with a rare brain condition, and how it's all reflected in their most personal album to date.
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Matt Cameron is the drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Before then he played in the influential Seattle bands Bam Bam, Skin Yard, and Temple of the Dog. Cameron talks about his career and how he’s been able to keep at it for more than 40 years.
Learn more about Bam Bam: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/3/2/tina-bell-unsung-goddess-grunge/
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Twin sisters Kehinde and Yeye Taiwo Lijadu performed as The Lijadu Sisters from the 1960s to the 1980s in Nigeria, but their influence is still felt globally today. Their hits include songs like "Come On Home" and "Life's Gone Down Low."
The surviving sister of the duo, Yeye Taiwo Lijadu, joins A Deeper Listen to talk about being one of the only female groups making music in Nigeria in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, and how they addressed issues of government corruption in their music. She also shares how, despite being on a major label, she has never seen profits from her recordings, and how meaningful it is that Numero Group is now reissuing the entire Lijadu Sisters catalog.
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OMBIIGIZI is a collaboration between Daniel Monkman (of the band Zoon) and Adam Sturgeon (of the band Status/Non-Status). They are Anishinaabe artists who explore their cultural histories through sound.
Kevin Sur, co-host of KEXP's Sounds of Survivance, talks with OMBIIGIZI about their new album, 'SHAME,' which explores Indigenous shame and healing, and how they tap into ancestral traditions through music. We also get a history lesson on how Native American musicians helped form the genre of rock.
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Artificial Intelligence is making its way into the music industry — not just through production tools, but also on streaming platforms like Spotify. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour tells us the story of a former Seattle band that was listed as a collaborator on an album they didn’t write. They claim it was A.I.-generated.
Read the story here: https://www.kexp.org/read/2024/11/27/ai-generated-music-is-siphoning-streams-from-artists-in-seattle-and-beyond/
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Larry Crane is a recording engineer, founder of Tape Op magazine, and official archivist for the Elliott Smith estate. In late 2024, Crane gave a new remaster to Smith’s final album, 'From a Basement on the Hill.' Smith died during the making of the album and the record was finished by his friends and released posthumously.
In conversation with KEXP's Dusty Henry, Crane reflects on his friendship with Smith coming up together in Portland, the songwriter’s prowess, and the process of revisiting and remastering this heavy but monumental album.
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As we wrap up the year, we highlight our interviews with some of the artists who have topped the KEXP charts in 2024. The top played songs on KEXP in 2024 were:
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We hear from L’Rain, Hand Habits, Perfume Genius and Ahya Simone on their contributions to the compilation album called TRANSA that celebrates trans and LGBTQ lives. The compilation also features songs from Sade, Sam Smith, Adrianne Lenker, Jeff Tweedy, Julien Baker, Sharon Van Etten, Fleet Foxes and more.
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The Gits were an early 90s Seattle band. Seattle’s Sub Pop records has recently launched a campaign to rerelease remastered versions of The Gits’ catalogue. So much of the band’s story has been wrapped around the 1993 rape and murder of The Gits frontwoman Mia Zapata. In a conversation at KEXP’s Gathering Space, Emily Fox speaks with The Gits guitarist Andy Kessler and bassist Matt Dresdner about the band’s story, legacy and the life of Mia.
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Deep Sea Diver is a beloved band in Seattle and at KEXP. Deep Sea Diver’s most recent album, Impossible Weight was voted best album of 2020 by KEXP listeners. In a live event at KEXP, Emily Fox spoke with frontwoman Jessica Dobson about the fun and innovative things she and her band did during the COVID-19 pandemic to create and engage a loyal fanbase and put out an album without the help of a label. Dobson also shared wisdom on how to make it as an indie band in Seattle and make a name for yourself on a national level.
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Teresa Suydam was adopted by a white family at birth. It wasn’t until college that they were able to begin a journey to better understand their Filipino and Native American lineage. In an interview with Stephanie Wolf, Suydam shares how their upcoming album, 'Lost Bird,' is what helped them find their way back to these communities.
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Nilüfer Yanya released her latest album, 'My Method Actor,' this fall. Emily Fox speaks with Yanya about the new record, her family’s story, including the organization she and her sister started to bring art to refugee communities, and her thoughts around identity while creating these songs.
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Merce Lemon is a singer-songwriter based in Pittsburgh. In an interview with Emily Fox, we get to know her and her musical background and hear how stepping away from music and immersing herself in nature allowed her to make her latest record.
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Christopher Owens, formerly of the San Francisco indie band, Girls, talks about his first album in nearly a decade. It arrives after a tumultuous time in his life. In recent years he got in a motorcycle accident, went through a breakup and became homeless after he moved out. Then in 2020, his Girls bandmate and collaborator, Chet “JR” White died at the age of 40. He talks about those moments, his new album, and about growing up in the Children of God cult.
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Laura Marling’s new album, Patterns in Repeat was mostly written after becoming a mother. Motherhood and family come up a lot on the new record. Marling breaks down the record with Emily Fox as they both reflect on how their view on family has changed since becoming moms.
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Martín Selasco is an Argentine producer and composer based in Washington state. He speaks with KEXP’s Albina Cabrera about the musical diary of his life that led him to create the project Terror/Cactus. His music blends Latin American folk traditions with electronic beats, dark cumbia, and psychedelic sounds. In his latest album, 'Forastero,' Selasco explores his identity, displacement, and the influence of his family on his musical journey. He also shares the story of his father and grandfather, key figures in Argentina’s musical history and founders of the record company, Sicamericana, and the label, Music Hall Records.
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Australia’s Miss Kaninna (Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon, and Yirendali) talks about the themes of colonialism in her song Blak Britney, about Aboriginal history and life in Australia, how her family has played a role in Indigenous activism and policy, and how she uses her platform as a musician to speak about Indigenous issues.
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KEXP’s Albina Cabrera sits down with Christine Gutierrez, the mastermind behind Dark Chisme. Gutierrez blends darkwave, post-punk, and synthpop to tell powerful stories of identity, resilience, and growing up in a bicultural space.
With her self-titled debut album, she channels her personal journey through music, exploring painful episodes like her father’s deportation and the feeling of not fully belonging anywhere, transforming these experiences into musical strength and fire on stage.
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Tomu DJ is an electronic artist from the Bay Area. She’s out with a new album called I Want To Be. Tomu DJ speaks with Emily Fox about her new album, her experience in the music industry as a trans woman and how a near death car accident impacted her sense of rhythm and inspired her to become a solo artist.“I had this renewed or newfound motivation to explore myself and kind of my own mental landscape and the things that I've experienced through music,” she says.
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MIKE is a rapper who’s gained a following in part because of his vulnerable writing. He lost his mother just as his rap career was taking off. Throughout his career, he has used voice notes from her in his songs.
In an interview with KEXP’s Martin Douglas, MIKE speaks about losing his mother, working through the loss, and eventually getting to the other side of grief.
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Suki Waterhouse talks with Emily Fox about how starring in the Amazon Prime series 'Daisy Jones and the Six' inspired her to make her new record, 'Memoir of a Sparklemuffin,' and how she finished the record in the final weeks of her pregnancy and played Coachella a few weeks after birth.
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Aramis Johnson of Enumclaw talks about the band’s recent move to L.A. because they needed to get out of their hometown of Tacoma, about the joys of going off social media and reading more and the themes of loss on the band’s new album.
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The Memphis-based soul label Stax Records is home to The Staples Singers, Otis Redding and many soul hitmakers. David Porter, writer of the hit songs “Soul Man” and “Hold On I’m Comin’,” joins this episode to share the story portrayed in the Emmy-nominated documentary, 'Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.'
Porter talks about how Stax was first a country label and switched to soul music after allowing him and other youth from the neighborhood to audition. He talks about how music unified both Black and white musicians at the label, in a town that was segregated at the time. He also discusses the trials and tribulations of getting acquired by larger labels, how the deaths of both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Otis Redding impacted the label, and the successes and legacy of Stax.
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Sunny Day Real Estate came out of the hardcore scene in Seattle in the 90s and eventually became a major influence on “emo” music.
KEXP’s Dusty Henry talks with guitarist Dan Hoerner and drummer William Goldsmith about the band’s history, their take on "emo," their recent reunion tour, and the re-release of their 1994 debut album, 'Diary.'
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The Canadian hardcore band, F*cked Up is out with a new record, called Another Day. The band’s last three records were all written and recorded in a total of 24 hours. Emily Fox speaks with F*cked Up’s frontman Damian Abraham about these 24-hour projects, how Toronto marijuana politics comes up on Another Day and how medical marijuana has helped his panic attacks.
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Aoife O’Donovan of the bluegrass bands Crooked Still and I’m With Her released a solo album this year about the suffrage movement. To honor the 104th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the U.S., Emily Fox caught up with O’Donovan to get a history lesson on the movement and discuss where we’ve come and the work that still needs to be done.
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Alisa Amador grew up touring the US and singing in her parents' Latin folk band, Sol y Canto. She then went on to start a solo career and in 2022 she won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. But when she got the call from NPR that she had won, she almost told them to give the award to another contestant. Amador had stopped writing music in 2020 following the death of a close friend. In the end, she did accept the award and is now out with her first album since winning the Tiny Desk Contest. It’s called 'Multitudes.'
Emily Fox caught up with Amador to talk about grief, struggles with mental health, and how winning the contest allowed her to start a new, refreshed chapter of her music career.
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Alex Henry Foster of the band Your Favorite Enemies talks about how his new ambient record, 'Kimiyo,' was formed after a health crisis that left him unable to speak for months. The album also shares the stories of people he met in Japan during his travels, finding connection between their struggles and his own, and gaining a renewed outlook on life.
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Emel Mathlouthi is a Tunisian musician whose song “Kelmti Horra” went viral in 2011 and became an anthem for the Tunisian Revolution during the Arab Spring.
Her new album, ‘MRA,’ calls for the continued fight for freedom on a global scale, but through an explicitly feminist lens. It was made by an all-women cast, from producers to musicians to engineers, and includes features from Malian rapper Ami Yerewolo, Brazilian producer Lyzza, Swedish-Iraqi rapper Nayomi, and more.
Emel talks with KEXP’s Isabel Khalili about why she chose to work exclusively with women on this album, what it was like being called “the voice of the Tunisian Revolution,” and the role of artists in social movements.
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Seattle indie rock band Pedro the Lion gained a cult following in their early days, making Christian-adjacent music that saw lead singer David Bazan’s reckoning with his faith and politics. After putting the project on hiatus for more than a decade, Bazan returned to the Pedro name in 2018 with the announcement that he’d be recording a five-album series with each record dedicated to a place he lived. Recently, Pedro the Lion put out the third record in the series, 'Santa Cruz.'
Bazan talks with KEXP’s Dusty Henry about making the record, learning to “re-parent” himself, and what he’s learned about himself through the process of making these albums.
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Natasha El-Sergany of the Seattle band somesurprises talks about the cosmic, political. and social inspirations behind their new album, 'Perseids.' She also discusses her journey coming to the US with immigrant parents, her day job as an immigration lawyer, and how all of this fuels her music.
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Jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting jazz artists of his generation. He's worked with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus. On his new album, Fearless Movement, he embraces fresh sounds and ideas while bringing in new collaborators, including his two-year-old daughter.
KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Washington to learn more about the album, how he's incorporated dance into his music, and finding inspiration in the cosmos.
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After playing in a rock band and embarking on a solo career that has spanned many genres, Lawrence Rothman has released a country album. The album is personal—it processes their battle with anorexia, and violence they experienced after a show. Lawrence says he writes music to help others.
“I don't really step up to the mic and write a song or make a record for myself, unless there's something about it that can help someone else,” Rothman says.
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Shabaka Hutchings is a celebrated saxophone player and a major figure in London’s contemporary jazz scene. He was the bandleader for Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors, and part of the electronic jazz group The Comet Is Coming. But on New Year's Day of 2023, he announced he'd be putting down the saxophone for good and focusing on a new instrument: the flute. Starting with the Japanese shakuhachi and expanding to a variety of traditional flutes, he's now out with his first full-length album under his solo moniker of Shabaka. The album is called 'Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace,' and features collaborations with Carlos Niño, Laraaji, Andre 3000, Floating Points, Esperanza Spalding, Moses Sumney, and more.
Shabaka talks with KEXP’s Isabel Khalili about his transition from saxophone to flute and how it’s helped him learn to release tension and relax into playing. He also discusses his thoughts on the term "Afrofuturism," how he’s embraced Octavia Butler's ideas on the inevitability of change, what it means to heal through music, and his search for meaning outside of a Western colonial paradigm.
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Alice Randall was the first Black woman to co-write a number one country hit with her song “XXX’s and OOO’s,” sung by Trisha Yearwood in 1994. Now, 30 years later, Randall is out with a memoir and accompanying album both called 'My Black Country.' The album features Black women artists of today covering country songs Randall wrote – songs that were originally sung by white performers – including Adia Victoria, Valerie June, and Rhiannon Giddens of The Carolina Chocolate Drops.
Randall talks with Emily Fox about her music, life, career and about the other Black country artists that came before her.
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Fabi Reyna is a Portland-based guitarist and songwriter and is also the founder of She Shreds Media, which is dedicated to empowering women and non-binary guitarists and bassists. Reyna is now out with a new album under her artist name, Reyna Tropical. The album is called 'Malegria.'
KEXP’s Albina Cabrera caught up with Reyna to learn more about the inspiration behind the album, how it explores the Latinx diaspora and identity, and about Reyna’s musical partner, Nectali "Sumohair" Díaz, who passed away during the making of the album.
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Shana Cleveland of La Luz talks about her band’s new album, 'News of the Universe,' and how many of the songs reflect on the breast cancer diagnosis she got after weaning her then two-year-old son off breastfeeding in 2022. She has since received a good bill of health from her doctor.
“I feel like I often think about cancer and pregnancy and birth in the same way. It was just something growing inside of me, something strange that I couldn’t control and then having it leave suddenly,” Cleveland says.
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After a 12-year hiatus, the Olympia born-band Gossip is out with their 6th album, 'Real Power.' Beth Ditto of Gossip talks about growing up in Arkansas, moving to Olympia in 1999 after the rise of riot grrrl, and forming Gossip soon after arriving. She talks about those early days in Olympia, promoting body positivity, and being openly queer early on.
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Kathleen Hanna of the Olympia feminist punk riot grrrl band, Bikini Kill, talks with KEXP’s Martin Douglas about her career, activism and why she wanted to write her new memoir, “Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk.”
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Ibibio Sound Machine is an electronic group based in London. Singer Eno Williams sings in both her Nigerian family’s language of Ibibio as well as in English. The group’s music spreads messages of unity and bringing people together. That theme is present on their most recent album, Pull the Rope. Williams and Ibibio Sound Machine’s Max Grunhard talk about how their music unifies and Williams talks about her family's journey between Nigeria and London.
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The Oakland-based band Shannon and the Clams recently released their seventh album, 'The Moon Is In The Wrong Place.' The entire album touches on the loss of Shannon Shaw’s finance Joe Haener who died in a car accident in August of 2022, about two and a half months before their wedding. Shaw talks about Haener’s life, shares stories behind the tracks on the new record, and reflects on how she’s been processing her grief.
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St. Vincent is out with her 7th album, 'All Born Screaming.' In recent years, she has written a screenplay and starred in it, produced records for herself and others, and co-written hit songs like Taylor Swift’s "Cruel Summer" and Olivia Rodrigo’s "Obsessed."
St. Vincent joins Emily Fox to discuss her production work, share stories behind the songs on the new album, and how she feels it's her best record yet and that she's "just getting started."
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The four-time GRAMMY award winning artist Gary Clark Jr. is out with a new album, 'JPEG Raw.' Emily Fox talks with Clark about the songs on the album that address mental health, substance abuse, race, and reflections on the music industry.
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Chad Ubovich fronts the band Meatbodies, which recently released their fourth album, 'Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom.' The album has been mostly finished for years but it took a medically induced coma to allow Ubovich to complete the record. Ubovich talks with KEXP’s Emily Fox about what led to the coma, the visions he saw while under the coma, and how he was able to complete the album after his health emergency.
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Salt Cathedral is a New York via Bogota Colombia duo. Their song, "Terminal Woes," is the most played song on KEXP so far this year.
“This song came from that upsetness of thinking, we’re not taking care of our planet. As a woman in my 30s, thinking should I have children? Should we bring more children into this world because it’s a difficult world and it’s warming up and there’s no climate justice,” says Salt Cathedral’s Juliana Ronderos.
Ronderos, Salt Cathedral’s Nicolas Losada, and KEXP’s Emily Fox talk more about the future of children in the screen addiction era and how these themes are addressed in Salt Cathedral’s latest album, 'Before It’s Gone.'
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Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff talks about their new album, 'The Past Is Still Alive.' They share some of the stories that informed the album, like hitchhiking and train hopping around the country. They also talk about their experience helping those struggling with addiction, and how grief is an act of love.
“A lot on this record is about how grief is not a punishment, it’s an act of love and it’s just another expression of love,” Segarra says.
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On April 9, we're launching a new podcast right here on this feed. A Deeper Listen will be KEXP's new destination for transformative conversations with artists – the ones you already know and love, and the ones you have yet to discover. We’ll hear from renowned and emerging talents of all musical styles about the stories behind their songs and the life experiences that are inextricable from their work. As we uncover the humanity behind the music, we’ll also gain the tools to listen more deeply.
Over the past five years, Sound & Vision has brought you behind the scenes of the music industry through a variety of stories and formats. With A Deeper Listen, we dig deeper into our most popular type of feature: unfiltered, authentic conversations with artists. Each episode will go beyond the surface to bring us into the world of the artist and find new dimensions to their music.
Take a deeper listen with us every Tuesday, right here, starting April 9.
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KEXP’s Morgan Chosnyk talks us through this year’s Trans Musicales festival in France and shares five of her favorite live sessions KEXP captured while at the festival. Those sessions are now available on KEXP’s YouTube channel:
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The Eurosonic Festival features emerging artists from Europe. KEXP Drive Time DJ, Kevin Cole, attended the festival and saw about 50 of the roughly 280 performers there. In this episode, he talks about some of his favorite performances.
Songs featured in this episode:
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News about artists battling with record labels to reclaim the master – or original – recordings of their songs has come to the forefront in recent years. But it’s not just big-name artists making those moves. KEXP’s Meerah Powell has the story on musicians from smaller record labels who are pushing to get back their masters.
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John Vanderslice has transformed from indie rock analog purist to electronic experimentalist during his more than 20-year music career. He spoke with Jasmine Albertson about the making of his 2000 debut album, 'Mass Suicide Occult Figurines,' as well as his most recent album, 'CRYSTALS 3.0.' They spoke last year about the jarring differences between the two records, as well as the massive changes in the music industry landscape since the turn of the millennium.
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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.
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For Women’s History Month, we are revisiting Sound & Vision's 2021 miniseries, Behind the Console, which highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field.
In this episode we talk with two mastering engineers, who put the final touches on music before it’s released. It’s Seattle’s Rachel Field, who has worked with Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, and the Cairo-born, Brooklyn-based engineer Heba Kadry, who has worked with Björk, Lucy Dacus, Slowdive, The Mars Volta and more. They discuss the gender inequities they have seen both at home and abroad, the women who pioneered audio yet were largely left out of the narrative, and what makes them hopeful for positive change.
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For Women’s History Month, we are revisiting Sound & Vision's 2021 miniseries, Behind the Console, which highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field.
Today we meet Susan Rogers, who engineered for Prince for four years, working on albums like 'Purple Rain' and 'Sign o' the Times.' She also has credits with David Byrne, Tricky, and the Barenaked Ladies. She talks about what it was like keeping up with Prince's tireless creativity, and how it could be both exhausting and exhilarating. She also discusses eventually leaving engineering in her 40s to get her PhD in Music Cognition and Psychoacoustics, and how that has influenced her work in unexpected ways.
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Totem Star is a recording studio for Seattle area youth ages 14 to 25. The organization recently moved to a new 2,000 square foot space on the second floor of Seattle’s King Street Station in Pioneer Square. That’s where Totem Star will live rent free for the next 60 years, thanks to a lease from the city.
KEXP’s Emily Fox talks with Totem Star co-founder Daniel Pak about the impact of Totem star since it launched as a mobile recording studio that could fit in a suitcase 14 years ago. Pak shares how Totem Star was inspired after a mixtape project he did with youth who had just been released from juvenile detention.
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Toussaint Morrison is a New Orleans-born, Minneapolis-raised artist. He released an album earlier this year called 'The Very Best of Ricky and Jane.' Ricky and Jane are his parents.
Morrison talks with KEXP’s Emily Fox about the activism his parents were involved in and how decades later, he quit his job at a PBS station when he became involved in the protests following the killing of George Floyd. He also shares how the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the death of Daunte Wright in a north Minneapolis suburb are reflected in this latest album.
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Seattle’s Brittany Davis has released her debut album, 'Image Issues,' which she calls an "audio movie." It’s a sonic journey that weaves in many musical genres and spoken word vignettes backed by soundscapes. Davis is blind and audio is a heightened sense for her. She also has synesthesia and hears music from smells.
Davis talks with Emily Fox about raising her voice in the face of adversity in this album.
“Being an overweight Black blind female from the wrong side of the tracks that has no physical capital, no cultural capital, but I do have a message and I had to make a choice to raise my voice despite all of the things that I didn’t have. I had to use the one thing I did have,” Davis says.
Davis also talks about finding a strong musical community in Seattle and shares the stories behind three important tracks on her album.
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Feb 29 is Music Heals: Mental Health at KEXP, where all day the station reads stories and plays listener requests of the songs that helped them through their mental health struggles. In honor of Music Heals: Mental Health, we revisit a conversation from 2021 that was originally part of the mini-series, Apparently, focusing on the intersections of parenting and art.
On this episode, Ella Vos talks with Rachel Stevens about how getting pregnant inspired her to become a solo artist and how her popular song, "White Noise," was about her struggles with postpartum depression and the loneliness of being a new mom.
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Charley Pride was the first Black country music singer to sign to a major record label (RCA) back in 1965. He went on to have 30 number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country chart and sold more than 70 million records.
Emily Fox talks with Nashville Historian David Ewing about Charley Pride. They discuss Charley Pride’s baseball career, how he landed a demo and record deal after giving up on baseball, his struggles with mental health and racism, and his legacy in country music.
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Mia Dyson is an Australia-raised, LA based musician who is an award winner of the Australia version of a Grammy—an ARIA award. She’s opened for Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mack and Bonnie Raitt. She’s releasing her 8th album on Feb 23rd, it’s called Tender Heart. Mia Dyson started writing this album shortly before an earthquake hit her home. Following the earthquake, she experienced an undiagnosed heart arrhythmia which caused her to stop breathing. She almost died. Emily Fox talks with Dyson about the themes on the album including forgiveness and mental health, but first she talked about what she can remember from her near death experience.
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Ray Lacorte runs an Instagram page called BIPOC Punk. KEXP’s Martin Douglas caught up with Lacorte to learn more about him, music and his Instagram page.
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Hazel Scott was a Black pianist who was classically trained at Juilliard at the age of 8 and started making a name for herself as a performer in New York in the 1930s while she was still in high school. She went on to play big concert halls and notable nightclubs. As stated in a biography about her by actor and author Karen Chilton, “She was the first black woman to host her own television show and one of the first to refuse to perform before segregated audiences. She negotiated lucrative contracts with Hollywood studios, becoming one of the highest-paid performers of her era.” Chilton speaks with Emily Fox about Hazel’s life and career and why she might not be a household name today despite her extraordinary career.
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Mali Obomsawin talks with Emily Fox about how her new album, 'Greatest Hits' with guitarist Magdalena Abrego, is about intimacy under colonialism. Obomsawin also shares Indigenous history from the northeast and stories of her father’s involvement in the Red Power Movement in the 1980’s and how Obomsawin is carrying on his effort today to reclaim Abenaki land.
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Sofia Kourtesis is a house music producer based out of Lima, Peru and Berlin, Germany. She recently released her debut full-length record, 'Madres.'. During the making of the album, her mother was diagnosed with cancer and there were only three neurosurgeons in the world who could operate on her. One of those neurosurgeons agreed to operate and saved Kourtesis’ mother’s life. Kourtesis shares her story with KEXP’s Dusty Henry. She also talks about maternal love and raving with neuroscientists as they celebrated the success of surgery.
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Emily Fox talks with KEXP DJ and Radiohead fan, DJ Morgan Chosnyk on her take on The Smile’s new album, ‘Wall of Eyes’. The Smile started as a pandemic project with Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke along with Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood and Tom Skinner of the jazz band Songs of Kemet.
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Karla Chubb of the Irish garage-punk band SPRINTS talks with Emily Fox about the band's debut album, 'Letter To Self.' They discuss the inspiration behind some of the songs, including campaigning to end the abortion ban in Ireland, Catholic guilt and being queer, and the unfair standards women are held to in music. Karla also talks about her recent ADHD diagnosis and why girls and women are under-diagnosed.
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Palestine Amplified is a four-part series exploring the Palestinian struggle through music. In this final episode of the series, we dig into a vital aspect of resistance and liberation: Joy. We discuss why it’s important to center joy in the movement, and how that joy is often articulated through music and art.
Voices featured in this episode:
Explore music from the episode on KEXP's Spotify page.
This episode includes two excerpts from the “Learning Palestine: Until Liberation I” program, put together by Learning Palestine Group and first broadcast on Radio Alhara. It also features a poem by Rafeef Ziadah.
Palestine Amplified was written, produced, and hosted by Isabel Khalili, with editing support from Roddy Nikpour, Dusty Henry and Larry Mizell Jr. Audio was mixed by Roddy Nikpour, who also contributed original music.
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Palestine Amplified is a four-part series exploring the Palestinian struggle through music. In this episode, we discuss the key role that artists have in liberation movements. We also hear directly from artists about why they’ve spoken up about Palestine.
Voices featured in this episode:
Explore music from the episode on KEXP's Spotify page.
Palestine Amplified was written, produced, and hosted by Isabel Khalili, with editing support from Roddy Nikpour, Dusty Henry and Larry Mizell Jr. Audio was mixed by Roddy Nikpour, who also contributed original music.
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Palestine Amplified is a four-part series exploring the Palestinian struggle through music. In this episode, we share some of the ways music is used as a tool of liberation, whether as code to pass messages, in documenting people's stories, or as a vessel for collective memory and healing.
Voices featured in this episode:
Explore music from the episode on KEXP's Spotify page.
Palestine Amplified was written, produced, and hosted by Isabel Khalili, with editing support from Roddy Nikpour, Dusty Henry and Larry Mizell Jr. Audio was mixed by Roddy Nikpour, who also contributed original music.
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Palestine Amplified is a four-part series exploring the Palestinian struggle through music. In this episode, we’re looking at how different struggles are related, from apartheid South Africa to police brutality in the U.S., and how making these connections can help us better understand the Palestinian cause. In particular, we explore the way music was used in the movement against apartheid in South Africa and the ways co-strugglers around the world learn from each other's resistance.
Voices featured in this episode:
Explore music from the episode on KEXP's Spotify page.
Palestine Amplified was written, produced, and hosted by Isabel Khalili, with editing support from Roddy Nikpour, Dusty Henry and Larry Mizell Jr. Audio was mixed by Roddy Nikpour, who also contributed original music.
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As part of the Cascadia Music Summit in Boise, Idaho, Emily Fox speaks with the rapper, singer, and writer, Dessa, the Denver-based duo N3ptune, and Rusty Steve and Eric Gilbert who run Boise’s Treefort Music Festival and Duck Club. They talk about how to make things work on a shoestring budget, how to work smarter together, and how to create opportunities that didn’t exist before.
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Rapper, singer, and writer, Dessa, shares a poem about how to live a life in music called “How To Stage Dive.” Also on this episode, jazz musician and Executive Director for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Aaron Myers, shares his personal story about getting access to health care and mental health services as a musician. He also talks about why coming home after touring can be so difficult emotionally.
These stories were shared as part of the Cascadia Music Summit. Audio from the full conference can be found here: https://www.cascadiamusicsummit.org/archive
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Hozoji Roseanne Mathison-Margolis is a shellfish diver for the Puyallup Tribe by day and by night she plays drums in the nautical inspired rock band, Helms Alee. We revisit this story Sound & Vision first aired in 2019 as part of our series, Day Job, which explores the work musicians do outside of music in order to make a living. The story was written by Rachel Stevens with reporting by Brie Ripley and Ryan Sparks.
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Gender equity in the music industry still has a long way to go. The University of Southern California has been studying inclusion in the recording studio for years. In 2018, it found that out of the songs that made it on Billboard’s year end Hot 100 chart, along with the nominees in top Grammy categories, only 2% of those songs were produced by women. That number only increased to 3.4% in 2022.
On this episode, we revisit a story we first aired in 2019. It’s by Contributor Celine Teo-Blockey, who reported on the challenges that Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties has overcome to become a musician and producer.
https://www.kexp.org/read/2019/11/5/sound-vision-why-only-2-music-producers-are-women/
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Chicago-based artist NNAMDÏ is known for his genre-clashing albums. His songs will often bring together elements of punk, hip-hop, electronic music, and more – all fused together with NNAMDI’s infectious and enthusiastic spirit. He talks with KEXP’s Dusty Henry about his all-time favorite albums so we get a deeper understanding of his musical DNA.
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There’s a vibrating dance floor in Colorado that translates instruments and notes in songs in real time. It works for both recorded and live music. Stephanie Wolf reports on how the floor is increasing accessibility to music and dance.
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Emily Fox and KEXP DJs Evie Stokes, Troy Nelson and Kevin Cole break down the top played albums of 2023 on KEXP and share their personal favorite records of the year.
KEXP’s top played albums:
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It was a big year for Latin music and Mexican music in particular. KEXP’s Albina Cabrera is joined by Julyssa Lopez, Senior Music Editor at Rolling Stone and author of “The Grammys Still Don’t Know What to Do With Latin Music,” and Isabela Raygoza, Associate Editor at Billboard Español and co-author of "Mexican Music Isn't Having a Moment, It's a Movement” for this episode. They break down the rise of Mexican music, discuss the Latin Grammys, and share some of their favorite tracks from Latin America in 2023.
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KEXP’s Martin Douglas reflects on travel, mortality, and life through his favorite rap album of the year, 'Maps' by billy woods.
Listen to billy woods talk about fatherhood and making a children’s book: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2023/6/18/apparently-billy-woods-on-his-a-is-for-anarchist-childrens-book/
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The Portland-based experimental band Grails is back with their latest album, 'Anches en Maat.' It's the first record that the group wrote together in the studio since 2008, featuring some of their most avant garde Western psych-rock instrumentals to date. KEXP's Roddy Nikpour has this review.
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Malummí is the project of singer songwriter Larissa Rapold and guitarist and producer Giovanni Vicari based out of Basel Switzerland. They just released an album called The Universe Is Black. Rapold reflects on racial issues and her personal experiences and thoughts behind the album’s title track.
“The feeling I have when I sing it is raising my fist above my head and walking through a crowd of people and having this power that I’m having in this moment in my words in this song,” Rapold says.
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Black rockers in Seattle speak with contributor Mia Imani about navigating a music scene that has historically excluded them and about reclaiming a genre that many notable Black musicians helped create.
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Magic AL is the alias of Alex Bingham– a producer and bass player who has played with a lot of indie/folk bands from North Carolina including Hiss Golden Messenger. He’s out with his first solo album called 'Good Grief.'
Bingham talks with Emily Fox about how the death of four loved ones in the same year led him to make an album and how music brought joy back into his life.
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Since iconic rap duo Outkast went on hiatus in 2006, fans have been clamoring for a solo album from Andre 3000. Now, 17 years later, he’s finally delivered with a new record called New Blue Sun… only, instead of rapping he’s playing the flute.
KEXP’s Dusty Henry shares his reflections on why the album is one of his favorites of 2023 and how Andre 3000’s direction into ambient/New Age music might be the calming salve we need for our current times.
What’s your favorite album of the year? KEXP is asking listeners to vote for their favorite records in our Best of 2023 countdown. Vote now at KEXP.org and tune in December 15th to hear what albums made the list.
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Many venues in Seattle and beyond aren’t equipped to get wheelchair users inside or on stage, pointing to a broader issue of accessibility in live music. Emily Fox speaks with venues, performers, and concertgoers about this issue, including:
We also hear from Seattle artist King Khazm about his song, disAbility.
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Sudan Tapes Archive is a DIY project started by Haneen Sidhamed where she digitizes and makes Sudanese music cassette tapes available to stream online. This project is important amid ongoing war in Sudan, the closure of recording and publishing companies, and the physical burning and destruction of cassette tapes. KEXP’s Julianna Covarrubias speaks with Sidhamed about the project.
https://www.sudantapesarchive.com/
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The First Nations electronic duo The Halluci Nation is out with the first part of a two-part EP inspired by wrestling. It's called 'Path of The Heel' and it features Damian Abraham of the Canadian hardcore band, Fucked Up.
Bear Witness and 2oolman of The Halluci Nation talk with Emily Fox about the wrestling storyline of the EP and how they go about incorporating powwow music into their electronic beats.
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Seattle's Duff McKagan is best known for being the bassist of Guns N' Roses. He’s now out with his third solo album, 'Lighthouse.'
Emily Fox speaks with McKagan about the new record and how his sensei and martial arts practice inspired one of his new songs. He also shares his story of addiction, recovery, and his struggles with panic attacks.
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The Beatles released their so-called “last new song,” titled “Now and Then” on November 2nd. The song involves all four members of The Beatles — thanks to the help of artificial intelligence. For a quick breakdown of the song and how it happened, KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour speaks with KEXP’s Music Director, Chris Sanley, and our Associate Director of Editorial, Dusty Henry.
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For the first time in more than 30 years, KEXP got a new Music Director. They listen to all the music coming into the station each week and suggest which songs and albums should be played more often on-air.
Emily Fox caught up with KEXP’s new Music Director, Chris Sanley, to learn about her through music.
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SXSW recently increased payments to performers from $250 to $350 but performers still have to choose between getting paid or getting access to a free wristband to attend the festival. This change happened as SXSW expanded its global footprint and just put on SXSW Sydney. Contributor Celine Teo-Blockey went to the festival and spoke to artists on what they think is fair treatment and pay.
Hear more about the open letter that called for higher pay at SXSW: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2023/2/14/250/
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Heatmiser was a band co-lead by Elliott Smith and Neil Gust. It was a vital part of Portland’s early 90s punk scene. It was also the launching point for Smith’s prolific and influential solo career until his death in 2003. The band recently released a compilation record of early recordings called The Music of Heatmiser. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with the rest of the band’s original lineup to learn more about the early days of the group and what they took away from revisiting this old material.
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Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore has released a memoir called 'Sonic Life.' It is a chronicle of the singer/guitarist’s lifelong obsession with music and the relationships he’s made along the way.
KEXP’s Martin Douglas speaks to Thurston about 'Sonic Life,' his interest in record collecting, and why he didn’t dive into his personal life in the book.
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New York duo Armand Hammer returned with a new album last month called 'We Buy Diabetic Test Strips.' KEXP’s Dusty Henry caught up with the rappers and talked about searching for hope in a chaotic world, and the story behind their eye-catching album title.
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Jenn Champion is out with a new album. It’s called 'The Last Night of Sadness.' It’s so sad that a friend had told her to put an existential dread warning on the album after hearing the demos. The album has Champion writing about her own struggles with depression, addiction and losing loved ones to drugs and alcohol.
In conversation with Emily Fox, Champion breaks down some songs on the album, shares her story of going to rehab and getting sober, and reflects on her move from Seattle to LA.
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A 23-foot-tall harp used to stand on a bluff on Bainbridge Island. It was played by the wind.
Producer Sam J. Leeds talks with people who remember the harp and how it created community in the neighborhood.
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During KEXP’s fall fund drive, discover the variety of music podcasts we produce at KEXP and hear some of our favorite clips from each one. We’re thankful to the thousands of amplifiers who already donate to KEXP, building the foundation for our community of storytelling, and we want you to join them with a one-time donation or a recurring gift!
50 Years of Hip-Hop: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/50-years-of-hip-hop/
El Sonido: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/el-sonido/
Fresh off the Spaceship: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/fresh-off-the-spaceship/
Live on KEXP: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/live-on-kexp/
Sound and Vision: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/
Song of the Day: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/song-of-the-day/
KEXP Podcasts on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kexppodcasts
Donate today: kexp.org/donate
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The Inuk artist Elisapie recently released a covers album sung in her native language of Inuktitut. The album includes covers of songs by Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, Cyndi Lauper, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and more. She chose each song for the personal memory it holds from her upbringing in a small village in northern Quebec. In an interview with Emily Fox, she shares some of those memories as well as how colonialism and boarding schools have impacted her Inuit community.
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Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers talks with KEXP's Dusty Henry about growing up as the only native family in his Utah school, starting his first punk band in his 40s, and about the Dead Pioneers’ songs, "Bad Indian" and "We Were Punk First."
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Jeremy Dutcher is a Polaris Prize and Juno Award-winning Wolastoqiyik artist from Canada. They speak with Emily Fox about their new album, 'Motewolonuwok,' the two spirit Cherokee poet who inspired some of the songs, the Indigenous issues addressed in the record, and language revitalization.
Listen to Jeremy Dutcher’s 2021 interview with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox about their first album: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/11/23/preserving-indigenous-language-through-music/
Donate to Sound & Vision: kexp.org/sound
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Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is a Coast Salish writer and musician whose 2022 memoir recently won the Washington State Book Award. Her memoir is called 'Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk.' It travels across generations to tell a story of healing, weaving in narratives of Sasha’s ancestors with her own experiences growing up on the Swinomish reservation and getting involved in the Pacific Northwest DIY punk scene. She performs vocals for the bands Medusa Stare and Fleur du Louve.
Sasha speaks with KEXP’s Isabel Khalili on location at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center. They discuss Sasha’s early musical influences and the impact of Kathleen Hanna’s voice, her search for a sense of permanence in a post settler colonial landscape, creating her own rituals through punk music, and the importance of storytelling as a means of preservation.
Celebrate Indigenous Peoples' Day with KEXP at kexp.org/indigenous-peoples-day/ .
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No-No Boy released his album, 'Empire Electric,' on September 29th. His previous work was part of his PhD dissertation, with albums that looked at WWII Japanese incarceration camps, his mother’s Vietnamese family history, and his own racial identity. This latest album also explores Asian American history, family, and identity, but was not part of his degree.
Julian Saporiti of No-No Boy talks with Emily Fox about the stories and histories he’s sharing in this new record, such as how Asian sailors arrived in Oregon two centuries before Lewis and Clark. They also discuss how the album was largely inspired by a trip Saporiti took to a Buddhist monastery after feeling narrow-minded through his experience in academia.
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As part of KEXP’s Latinx Heritage month programming, Aqui y Ahora, KEXP’s Albina Cabrera shares five tracks from artists reshaping alternative Latin music right now.
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BIGSOUND is Australia’s biggest, most established showcase for emerging local artists. Celine Teo-Blockey went to the event and shares a highlight reel of the music she saw.
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The instrumental group Explosions in the Sky released their eighth studio album, titled 'End,' on September 15th. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour speaks with drummer Chris Hrasky about how this isn’t in fact “the end” for the band. They also discuss inspiration behind the new album and how four friends with fairly average lives strive to create music that hits you right in the gut.
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Vagabon released her third album, 'Sorry I Haven’t Called,' on September 15th. It’s her most upbeat, produced, and poppy album to date. It was written following the passing of Vagabon’s dear friend and collaborator, Eric Littmann. Vagabon talks with Emily Fox about Eric Littman’s impact on her, making upbeat music through grief, and retreating to Germany for a mental reset while she made this album.
“I felt tremendous guilt about the music that was coming out of me in this time. I fully thought I would make a somber record. I had all these things that I wanted to say but it turned out I didn’t want to say those things on songs. I was having those conversations in my life . . . and so the music I was making ended up being kind of opposite from the grief I was living in. It really was a form of escapism for me and an honor to Eric’s life because he lived so vibrantly,” Vagabon says.
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Corinne Bailey Rae of “Put Your Records On” fame has released her fourth studio album, called 'Black Rainbows.' It was largely inspired by Theaster Gates' arts-focused restoration of The Stony Island Arts Bank, a former community savings and loan building in the south side of Chicago that has been transformed into what’s been described as a cathedral of Black art.
On this episode, Corinne Bailey Rae talks about the history of the building and what kind of art and artifacts it now showcases, and how those collections have inspired songs on the record. She also talks about getting "extraterrestrial" on this album as she explored the idea of transformation.
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After six years away, New York-based singer-songwriter Julie Byrne returns with a new album, 'The Greater Wings.' The time away represented a sea change in her life as well as an opportunity to explore new songs. During the recording of the album, Byrne’s creative partner Eric Littman passed away. Byrne finished the album, which she describes as a testament to the depth of chosen family.
KEXP’s Dusty Henry catches up with Byrne to learn more about the process of writing the record and the stories behind some of the songs.
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Genesis Owusu’s latest album “Struggler” has him genre shifting while telling a story of a cockroach which represents humanity. This comes after his debut album, “Smiling with No Teeth” explored issues of racism and depression through the characters of two black dogs. Genesis Owusu talks with Emily Fox about moving away from feeling like he can only make music as a form of therapy. He also talks about moving to Australia from Ghana as a young child and growing up in a small white city and feeling like an outsider. He says he’s embraced that outsider identity as an artist.
“That label as an outsider became a badge of honor as I went on in life and I figured out it’s really cool to live on the outskirts of these cultures and be able to take what I want but be able to meld it into my own way and avert people’s expectations. And when I started making art then it became, I get to put all these little twists and turns and all these genre spikes in my music that no one would expect,” Owusu says.
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There’s a new book out looking at the history of Seattle and the Northwest music scene from the late 50s to mid-60s. It’s called Stomp and Shout—R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll. Author Peter Blecha talks with Emily Fox about the book and Seattle’s music history.
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Description: Emily Fox and KEXP DJ Troy Nelson break down KEXP’s top played songs of the summer. They are:
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Melvins are playing a 40-year anniversary show at The Showbox in Seattle on Friday September 1. Buzz Osborne of Melvins talks about the highlights of the band’s career, being an influence on Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Nirvana, and the songs that define the band.
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After a short-lived but dramatic hockey residency, Seattle supergroup Who Is She (members of Chastity Belt, Tacocat, and Lisa Prank) return with their second album. ‘Goddess Energy’ finds the band penning odes to Shania Twain, Marianne Williamson, and Anne Hathaway. KEXP’s Dusty Henry talk with the band to learn more about what it means to have “too much goddess energy” and the group’s innovative use of wedding registries for merch sales.
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The Seattle band Brad released their final record following the death of singer Shawn Smith. Brad members Stone Gossard (also of Pearl Jam) and Regan Hager (also of Satchel and Malfunkshun) talk about Shawn’s legacy as a person and as a musician.
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Shamir has released their 9th album, 'Homo Anxietatem.' Each of Shamir’s albums sound very different from one another, showcasing huge sonic and genre leaps and shifts. Shamir looks at each of their albums as “a scrapbook” that represents the sound of their mind state during that time. In this conversation, they walk us through the sonic character of their previous albums and how they came back to indie pop on their newest release. They also discuss the tribute to Sinéad O'Connor on this album, and how they've navigated their own mental health journey and a bipolar diagnosis and made peace with their anxiety.
“Managing mental illness has not been easy but [it’s] worth it. I think that really describes 'Homo Anxietatem' in correlation with this sound sonically. It means anxiety, it means anxious man but it sounds really breezy and easy and has this colorful sound to it and I think it’s me making peace with that anxiety,” Shamir explains.
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Bratmobile was one of the most visible bands of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement in the early 1990s. As part of KEXP’s northwest music column, Throwaway Style, Martin Douglas spoke with founding members Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman. In this excerpt, they talk about activism, the origins of Bratmobile and the riot grrrl scene.
Read the full interview here: https://kexp.org/read/2023/7/27/throwaway-style-an-interview-with-bratmobiles-allison-wolfe-and-molly-neuman/
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Arlo Parks’ latest album, 'My Soft Machine,' has been the most played album on KEXP so far this year. Arlo Parks' lyrics read like a diary, or a poetic handwritten note to a close friend or long-distance lover, or even a novel. In this episode, she talks about lyricism but also how she manages burnout, which caused the cancellation of a few of her tour stops last fall.
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The craze with artificial intelligence has continued dominating people’s attention across industries — creating images, deepfake videos and writing essays. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour gives a rundown on how A.I. has been playing out in the music industry and chats with musician and writer, Kelly Bishop, about her Vice article titled, “Is AI Music a Genuine Threat to Real Artists?”
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Guitarist Steve Turner had a front row seat to Seattle’s grunge scene. He played in the band Green River, a band which included future members of Pearl Jam and was the first to be described with the word, "grunge." Turner went on to play with Mudhoney, which has been hugely influential to Seattle’s grunge scene. He’s written a memoir about it all called 'Mud Ride: A Messy Trip Through the Grunge Explosion.' He speaks with Emily Fox about the book.
Related content:
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KEXP’s Production Manager Jackson Long has published a booklet called 'Hiding in Plain Sight—Studios of Seattle & Tacoma.' In it, he features nine recording studios in the area that you’d likely miss if you drove by them. Jackson spoke with Emily Fox about the stories behind these spaces that have recorded Seattle artists including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Death Cab for Cutie, The Sonics, and many more.
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Seattle-based producer John Goodmanson has worked with many notable artists including Bikini Kill, Death Cab for Cutie, Harvey Danger, Soundgarden and more. He talks with KEXP’s Owen Murphy about the craft of producing, some notable moments in his career, and what artists should look for in a producer.
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For our series, Mix & Match, Jasmine Albertson creates a cocktail inspired by a Seattle band. This week she features Linda From Work. She teams up with KEXP’s Martin Douglas to discuss a range of topics with the band, from the persona of the fictional character that is "Linda from Work" to writing through insomnia and reflecting on the overturn of Roe v. Wade through music.
How Linda Got Her Groove Back Cocktail recipe:
1 oz Mezcal
1 oz Jilotepec Nixta
½ oz lime
¼ oz simple syrup
¼ citric acid
¼ oz watermelon syrup
Pinch of Tajine
Shake a strain into rocks glass with an edible flower garnish
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Alicia Keys is performing at Seattle’s Climate Pledge arena on July 30. Contributor Mia Imani shares a little bit of Alicia Key’s personal story and discography and shares her own memories set to the key of Alicia.
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Roughly 2% of producers are women. Femme House is trying to change that number by providing free online workshops to teach women and gender expansive individuals how to produce and DJ. LP Giobbi is a producer and DJ behind the project. She talks about the training sessions, her process for getting more femmes booked on festival stages and the impact her first piano teacher had on her life and career.
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Danielle Ponder talks about leaving her job as a public defender to pursue music full time at 40. She talks about the clients she worked with as a public defender and how restorative justice and resources were needed instead of jail time. She also breaks down what it takes to make a living in music today.
“I had a mother whose [four-year-old] daughter was in an apartment hallway. . . running up and down. The mother went to the corner store. She thought her older daughter was watching her, she wasn’t. The mother was arrested for endangering the welfare of her child. The child wasn’t hurt, but it was the fact that she wasn’t home and the daughter was in the hallway. We all can have our opinions about what the mother should have done and shouldn’t have done, but the reality is she was a single mom trying to provide for her kids, trying to go grocery shopping for her kids and ended up in jail instead of looking at how she could have been supported with things like daycare and things of that nature,” Ponder said.
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Protomartyr released their sixth album, titled 'Formal Growth in the Desert,' in June. Prior to their performance at Treefort Music Festival in March, KEXP’s Martin Douglas caught up with vocalist Joe Casey to talk about the new album, Protomartyr’s musical evolution, and being so closely associated with their hometown of Detroit.
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Nabihah Iqbal’s latest album, DREAMER, is a lush and atmospheric meditation on love and loss. It incorporates elements of shoegaze and dance music and weaves in instrumentation that nods to her Pakistani roots.
Nabihah speaks with KEXP’s Isabel Khalili about how a studio burglary led her to a more stripped-down approach to songwriting for this album, the first poem that made her cry, and how her practices with karate, DJing, and poetry all relate to her music-making.
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Seattle’s summer music festival season is upon us. KEXP’s Emily Fox, Dusty Henry, Jasmine Albertson, Martin Douglas, and Leah Capindo give their recommendations for which artists and bands to see at Capitol Hill Block Party, Timber, Day In Day Out, THING, and Bumbershoot. They also discuss the different vibes and audiences you may find at each festival.
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Janelle Monáe dropped her latest album, 'The Age of Pleasure' on June 9th. Contributor Mia Imani has this review of Monáe’s journey of sensuality, queerness, and joy.
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Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile are both gay Americana and Country artists from Washington State. The two have teamed up on Brandy Clark’s new solo album with Carlile on production credits. Emily Fox caught up with Brandy Clark to talk about the record, her Tony award winning musical, songwriting for other country stars and gay representation in country music.
“What went along with being an artist, I just didn’t think I could ever really be. One of those things being that I was openly gay and I just didn’t see a lot of space for that in commercial country music. . . and right about the time I thought ‘that’ll never happen,’ boom, I got the opportunity to make a record,” Clark says.
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The Icelandic band Sigur Rós made a surprise album release on June 16. It’s called 'ÁTTA,' which means “eight” in Icelandic. It’s their eighth studio album, and it features eight tracks heavy with strings. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour immersed himself in the album and brings us this review.
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The artist K.Flay lost hearing in one ear last fall and it hasn’t returned since. She’s planning to release a new album in September and is now on her first tour since the hearing loss. She’s performing at Showbox Sodo in Seattle on Friday June 23. Emily Fox caught up with her to talk about her experience and what it’s like performing and making music under her new condition.
"Just kind of like you need two eyes for depth perception, you need two ears for echolocation. As a consequence, restaurants or concerts, places with lots of ambient noise coming from all directions feel very psychologically overwhelming,” K.Flay says.
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Erykah Badu will perform at Seattle’s WAMU Theater on Friday June 23rd. Seattle native, writer and interdisciplinary artist Mia Imani reflects on how the high priestess of neo soul has influenced her own artistry, spirituality and Blackness.
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This is a special Father’s Day episode of Apparently—Our series featuring musicians who are also parents. This story is about two parents who made music when their daughter was in the womb. A few years ago, Iván Diaz Mathé attached biosonic midi devices to a then pregnant Elizabeth Hart. She and her very pregnant belly sat for hours while her body and fetus created the sounds you hear on the record called “Luca Yupanqui—Sounds of the Unborn”. Luca is the name of their child who was in utero at the time of this recording. Emily Fox caught up with Ivan and Elizabeth to learn more about the project and how biosonic midi technology works.
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On this special Father’s Day episode of Apparently—Our series about music and parenthood. On this episode, rapper billy woods talks about fatherhood and his new chidren’s book with M. Musgrove – A Is For Anarchist. Dusty Henry chats with the prolific rapper about the lessons he learned from his academic and revolutionary parents, parenting while touring, and his latest album, ‘Maps,’ with Kenny Segal.
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W.I.T.C.H. talks about the elements that came together to form Zamrock in the 60s. They discuss how Zambia’s economic struggles, forced curfews as well as disco caused the band to stop playing in the 80s. Then they talk about how reissues of their albums in recent years, a documentary out about them, and their new album has allowed them to be rediscovered on an international scale, decades later.
“We belonged to a federation,” frontman Jagari Chanda explains “That was Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Because of the federation, we did similar things in terms of social amenities and get togethers and it was like a crisscross pollination. People from different countries brought their own cultures and their own traditions. They brought their own dances, and this is where we got the traditional aspect of music. But the international influence came from the western world, from our colonial masters. They brought in the guitar, the jukeboxes, especially the radio.”
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Everything But The Girl is known for their hit “Missing” from the 90s (“like the deserts miss the rain. . . ”) The duo made up of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt is back with their first album in 24 years. They talk about making choices that were best for them instead of chasing fame or money, including taking a long hiatus shortly after turning down a stadium tour with U2 in the 90s.
“We had a feeling that our status as a band got about as big as we were comfortable with it being. Even our own gigs had got bigger. And in some respects, we felt something was lost as well as gained,” Tracey Thorn explains.
During Everything But The Girl’s long hiatus, Thorn and Watt got married, Thorn spent years being a stay at home Mom, she’s written multiple autobiographical books, published columns and put out some solo records. Watt has worked as a DJ, producer, club owner and runs his own record label.
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A new documentary about Little Richard, titled 'Little Richard: I Am Everything,' was recently released to rave reviews. One of those reviews came in the form of an essay for the New Yorker written by Hanif Abdurraqib called “What Little Richard Deserved.” KEXP's Martin Douglas speaks to Hanif about the film, and Little Richard's life.
“Little Richard is as loud and joyfully brash and bold as they come and that did not stop his achievements from being whitewashed and then washed away,” Abdurraqib says.
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Sound & Vision’s mini series Day Job explores how artists and musicians juggle their craft and day jobs to make it all work. Rachel Stevens caught up with KEXP’s own DJ Yaddy about balancing DJing and being a teacher.
Check out DJ Yaddy at Seattle’s Lazer Dome: https://pacificsciencecenter.org/events/pacsci-kexp-laser/
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Mix & Match is our miniseries where KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson combines her reporting skills with her bartending skills to craft a cocktail for an artist based on their sound and their story. This week she makes a drink for local band, Racoma. They released their sophomore record, 'Good a Place As Any,' last October.
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Mike Park is the only person behind Asian Man records. The label has helped break ska and punk bands including Alkaline Trio and Less Than Jake. Park recently turned down an offer to have Asian Man Records be bought out by a larger label for $3 million. He’ll instead continue running it out of his mom’s garage, like he has been for nearly 30 years.
KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Park to learn more about the label’s history, the ethos that’s kept it alive and the bands it’s worked with along the way.
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The band Draag talks with Emily Fox about how their experiences being in a religious cult and dealing with substance abuse come up on their latest record, 'Dark Fire Heresy.' They also discuss representation in the music industry and their perspective as a POC-fronted band.
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Karl Blau has been a staple in the Northwest Music scene. He started the Anacortes Music Channel, a live music venue and a 24/7 streaming station of exclusively Anacortes music. He launched a monthly music publication titled Show Chime, and founded the Anacortes Music Project, a non-profit with goals of preserving Anacortes history, and boosting local shows and local artist profiles. He was recently priced out of Anacortes. He now lives in Philadelphia with his family and has just released a debut EP featuring members of The War on Drugs. KEXP’s Janice Headley talks with Karl about the move and new musical project called Opal Eskar.
Read the story here: https://www.kexp.org/read/2023/5/19/karl-blau-continues-to-shine-with-new-project-opal-eskar-featuring-members-of-the-war-on-drugs/
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On her debut solo album, ‘Flowers At Your Feet,’ Rahill Jamalifard of Habibi continues to embrace the sounds and stories of her Iranian heritage, this time evoking memories of her loved ones through sonic artifacts like field recordings, audio from home movies, and references to Persian film and poetry.
Rahill joins KEXP’s Isabel Khalili to discuss the vulnerability of the new album and how it helped her arrive at the place of self-love she embodied as a child. They also discuss the origins of surf rock, the sampling of Middle Eastern music in hip-hop, the process of grief, and how Rahill’s childhood encouraged her to celebrate diversity and individuality.
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Seattle’s Kassa Overall is about to drop a new record later this month. Back in April DJ Miss Ashley sat down with Kassa to talk about his new album, the ending of Washington Middle School’s band program in Seattle, of which Kassa attended, and mental health.
Listen to an interview with Kassa and his Washington Middle School band teacher: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/6/22/kassa-overall-and-his-middle-school-band-teacher-discuss-lasting-lessons/
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Durand Jones of Durand Jones and the Indications talks about his debut solo album, 'Wait Til I Get Over.' It’s an homage to his hometown in the rural south and a love letter to his 17-year-old self. The album also features the first love song Jones has ever written for another man, a process he says was “freeing.”
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Y La Bamba has just released their sixth studio album, 'Lucha.' The project is fronted by Luz Elena Mendoza, whose dreamy vocals weave between Spanish and English.
Mendoza speaks with KEXP’s Albina Cabrera about family, Mexican American identity, queerness, and mental health, and how these themes show up in their music. They also discuss Mendoza's recent move from Portland to Mexico and their production work on the new record.
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Blondshell reflects on the ways she's grown from toxic relationships, the different ways addiction manifests in her life, and how these themes come up on her self-titled debut album. She also shares her views on the importance of boundaries, both personal and within the music industry, and embracing the emotions of being a rising 25-year-old musician.
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More and more people are discovering the power of artificial intelligence through services like ChatGPT. So, tech companies are getting more and more into art spaces — including music discovery. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour brings us this review of RadioGPT and Spotify DJ.
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Lonnie Holley has lived a storied life. He was taken from his family by a burlesque dancer who performed in carnivals when he was a baby, suffered head injuries from getting hit by a car as a kid, then put in the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, also known as Mount Meigs. He went on to become a visual artist whose works have been on display at The White House and The Smithsonian.
Holley started releasing music about a decade ago when he was in his 60s. He’s now out with his seventh album. It’s called 'Oh Me Oh My' and features collaborations with Bon Iver, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Sharon Van Etten, and more. Lonnie Holley shares his life story and how his experiences have informed his new record.
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Schoolhouse Rock turned 50 years old this year. KEXP’s Eva Walker caught up with one of the songwriters and performers of the program, Lynn Ahrens, to talk about the music of the show and the show’s legacy.
“The original premise of Schoolhouse Rock, the president of that agency, a guy named David B. McCall had five kids and they could not remember their times tables but they could remember the lyrics to songs all the time and it was his brainchild to marry education with pop music and that’s how the whole series was born,” Ahrens says.
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Adi Oasis is a French Caribbean singer and bass player. She spoke with Emily Fox about the themes of gun violence, black resilience, and female empowerment that come up in her new album, 'Lotus Glow.'
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For KEXP’s "Music Heals: Addiction & Recovery" programming, Macklemore shares his journey on the subject and how a robbery at his studio ultimately helped someone else’s path to recovery.
We also share a listener email that came in during Music Heals from Seattle’s Abbey Simmons whose story starts with Macklemore and ends with finding sobriety on tour.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs immediate help, call the toll-free, 24-hour hotline of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 9-8-8.
More resources can be found here: kexp.org/musicheals/addiction/resources.
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The Garages is one of the top-selling Seattle bands on Bandcamp. It’s an 80-plus member collective with a massive following on Twitch that has put out more than 50 albums on Bandcamp since the group formed less than three years ago. Members June September and Yana Caoránach tell us more about the band and what makes the group so prolific.
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Jónsi is the beautiful falsetto voice of the band Sigur Rós. He is also now the artist behind a multi-sensory installation called “Flood” at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle. KEXP’s Kevin Cole went to the museum to talk to Jónsi about the installation, about making perfumes with a product description that includes “a beached whale is about to explode” and Sigur Rós’ upcoming album.
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Miss Grit talks about how their debut LP, 'Follow the Cyborg' helped them explore being nonbinary.
“The cyborg being such a limitless entity was something that inspired me to kind of take my own identity into my own hands,” Miss Grit says. “There’s so much that people are born into when it comes to gender roles or racial stereotypes. There’s so much that our environment has an effect on how we see ourselves. I was really inspired to take my own identity into my own hands and figure out what it was that I felt about myself and how I wanted to be portrayed to the outside world.”
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Larry Mizell, Jr., Martin Douglas, and Jasmine Albertson talk about their musical highlights from Treefort Music Fest in Boise, ID.
Artists Discussed:
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If you've ever listened to KEXP's broadcast, you've probably heard us say, "KEXP, where the music matters." But there’s at least one person at the station who isn’t sold on the idea of music itself. KEXP’s Dusty Henry shares his opinion on why music doesn’t matter.
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As Women’s History Month comes to a close, KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson talks with three women in the touring industry (Stephanie Escoto, Alicia Blake, and Robin Taylor) about barriers to entry, gender inequities in the music industry, their general advice to bands that want to tour, and the wins they’ve had in their work.
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Grace Love talks with Larry Mizell Jr. about her new solo EP, “Work In Protest.”
“This is a protest. I am standing up for myself that there are more curvy, big black women in the industry that can do all kinds of things,” Love says.
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Living Singles is the series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, Martin Douglas, writer behind KEXP’s local music column, Throwaway Style, and Eva Walker, host of our northwest music show, Audioasis, each share two songs from local artists.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Sound & Vision is bringing back Living Singles, where we talk with a KEXP staff member about three songs they are loving right now. Today we catch up with DJ Alex Ruder who hosts our downtempo, atmospheric and ambient music show, Pacific Notions (airing Sundays from 6-9am).
Songs featured in this episode:
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This week is KEXP’s spring fundraising drive! We’re sharing listener stories about how music has helped them connect with friends and family. Please amplify listener-powered storytelling today at kexp.org/sound.
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KEXP DJ Sharlese Metcalf gets nostalgic about a previous era of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood with Adam Miller of Chromatics. They talk about what house parties meant to the Capitol Hill area and the trouble they got into that would never fly today.
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Trans Musicales is a long-running music festival in Rennes, France that brings together a consistently incredible lineup of new and emerging artists from around the world. KEXP’s DJ Morgan Chosnyk shares some of the highlights from the 16 sessions KEXP filmed while at the festival.
Artists discussed:
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Bobby McFerrin is the renowned vocalist and Grammy award-winning songwriter behind “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” He’s not the only notable McFerrin who has made waves in the music industry, though. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with two of the McFerrins, Taylor and Madison, to learn more about their family history and how the siblings are continuing the McFerrin musical legacy.
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The Raincoats emerged from the London punk scene in the late ’70s and were one of the very first all-female bands who wrote and performed all their own music. Now, 40 years later, co-founding member Gina Birch has just released her first solo album, titled 'I Play My Bass Loud.'
KEXP’s Janice Headley talks with Gina about the new release, her time with The Raincoats, and how Kurt Cobain got a copy of The Raincoats' first LP.
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KEXP's Martin Douglas explores the here and now of Black punk culture, featuring a handful of notable Black punks to tell their own stories and inspirations. He also sheds light on the Black origins of punk music, the importance of DIY, and how the ethos of punk culture unites "outsiders" of all kinds.
Voices featured:
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Earlier this month, KEXP celebrated International Clash Day but KEXP’s Janice Headley wanted to celebrate the female-fronted bands of the time, who were truly making a revolution in the male-dominated late-‘70s London punk scene.
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Earlier this month, KEXP celebrated a holiday we invented called International Clash Day. The Clash stood for a lot of things. As Clash member Joe strummer once said, “We’re anti-fascist, we’re anti-violence, we’re anti-racist, and we’re pro-creative. We’re against ignorance.”
As part of the celebration, Larry Mizell Jr. chatted with The Clash’s videographer Don Letts about the band’s legacy and the culture clash of punk and reggae.
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Katherine Paul (KP) of Black Belt Eagle Scout talks about her connection to nature and her homeland in her new album, The Land, The Water, The Sky. The album was written after she moved from Portland back home to the land of Washington’s Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.
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The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers has published an open letter calling for higher pay for artists performing at SXSW. The letter says that over the past 10 years, showcasing artists have been paid either $250 dollars for a band, $100 dollars for solo artists, or get a free wristband for the festival. Letter organizer René Kladzyk (artist name: Ziemba) talks about the list of demands. Alaia D’Alessandro of the Seattle band Tres Leches talks about the prevalence of getting paid $250 at festivals, so much so, her band wrote a song about it called, “Two-Fifty.”
Meanwhile, two types of Visas that international artists use to perform in the US could cost around 250% more under a proposal from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Rosalyn Dennett, Executive Director of Folk Music Ontario, and Liana White, Executive Director of the Canadian Federation of Musicians talk about how these proposed changes could impact foreign musicians and U.S.-based venues.
A link for public comment: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/04/2022-27066/us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-fee-schedule-and-changes-to-certain-other-immigration#open-comment
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KEXP DJ Kevin Cole recently attended Eurosonic in the Netherlands. It’s the largest music festival in Europe dedicated to new and emerging artists. Emily Fox caught up with Kevin to talk about the festival and some of the many artists that stood out to him.
Music discussed:
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On January 27th, Lil Yachty dropped a surprise psych rock album called 'Let’s Start Here.'
KEXP’s Emily Fox, Martin Douglas, Larry Mizell Jr., Marco Collins, Dusty Henry, and Jasmine Albertson discuss the record and how it isn’t as surprising as it might seem.
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The Arcs are out with a new record, 'Electrophonic Chronic.' It’s their first since their debut release in 2015. The band was formed by Black Keys guitarist and vocalist, Dan Auerbach. The late Richard Swift was also in the band.
The Arcs member and co-producer Leon Michels talks with Emily Fox about how the record was recorded while Swift was alive and how “the process of finishing the record helped me and Dan grieve his death.”
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Seattle supergroup Who Is She (members of Chastity Belt, Tacocat, and Lisa Prank) were slated last week for a residency performing at the Kraken hockey games at Climate Pledge Arena. The band only made it one performance before they were asked to not come back after singing a song calling Amazon founder Jeff Bezos a “total jerk.” Prior to these developments, KEXP’s Dusty Henry did a tongue-in-cheek interview with the band about their love of hockey and jock jams.
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A party in the Bronx on August 11th, 1973 is widely considered to be the birthplace of hip-hop. The art form has since touched every corner of our world and evolved into one of the most significant cultural forces today. This year, on hip-hop's 50th anniversary, we’re giving it a proper tribute.
50 Years of Hip-Hop is KEXP’s newest podcast. Hosted by Larry Mizell Jr, the series highlights a different year of rap history each week. Jumping around the timeline from 1973 to today, expect personal reflections, iconic tracks and albums, and conversations around the genesis of the culture. New episodes drop every Wednesday starting February 1.
Subscribe to 50 Years of Hip-Hop now and learn more at KEXP.org.
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Hammock releases their twelfth album on January 27, 2023. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour speaks with Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson about their latest (and loudest) record, 'Love in the Void,' and also about managing a band that doesn’t rely on live shows to make ends meet.
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KEXP’s Albina Cabrera speaks with music journalist Nuria Net and Songmess podcast's Richard Villegas about their favorite Latin albums of 2022.
Songs discussed include:
Read more here: https://www.kexp.org/read/2023/1/20/the-big-picture-looking-back-at-the-best-latin-american-music-of-2022/
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Minnesota’s Tall Paul recently released an album that chronicles the story of the Native American athlete, Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was an Olympic gold medalist in track & field, a pro football and college football hall of famer, a professional baseball player, and so much more.
Tall Paul talks with Emily Fox about his album, 'The Story of Jim Thorpe.' He also shares his views on the importance of role models, current challenges to tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and how foster care can be like modern day boarding school.
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During the pandemic, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, along with drummer Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet, formed The Smile. The group recently stopped by the KEXP studios for a live performance that can be viewed in full on KEXP's YouTube channel.
On this episode, KEXP DJ Morgan Chosnyk and KEXP’s Video Manager Jim Beckmann take us behind the scenes of the session and discuss The Smile's debut album. Then, the Seattle-based New York Times Bestselling writer, Ijeoma Oluo, shares a personal essay reflecting on the idea of change, inspired by attending The Smile's KEXP performance.
Watch the full session with The Smile here.
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Travis Thompson is a 26-year-old artist from Seattle. He put out an EP this fall and also made his acting debut on the hit show, Reservation Dogs. He talks about his new music and Indigenous representation on television and on the mic.
“When I pulled up on set, it was a crazy experience for me, but they were treating me like a famous rapper because they had all listened to me before,” Thompson says. “The Native creative community knows each other.”
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Michael Stein and Rod Ronquillo, the original DJs of KEXP’s northwest music show, Audioasis, share songs that were staples of Seattle’s music scene when the show began 40 years ago. Then, Audioasis’ current DJ, Eva Walker, shares songs that represent the scene today. In this episode, we also get a little history lesson in Seattle’s early jazz and funk scenes and beyond.
Artists discussed:
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Mix & Match is a mini series where we meet up with an artist and try to “mix” an adult beverage and “match” it with an artist. Today, KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson catches up with Deep Sea Diver’s Jessica Dobson over a drink. They talk about music and Jessica’s journey of meeting her birth parents.
Deep Ahumada Recipe
In a stirring vessel combine:
- 2oz mezcal
- .5 spiced simple
- 3 dashes aztec chocolate bitters
- Add ice, stir, and strain into a bucket with fresh ice
- Garnish with orange peel and cinnamon stick
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Mix & Match is a new miniseries where we meet up with a Seattle artist and try to “mix” an adult beverage and “match” it with an artist. Today, KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson brings us the first “Mix and Match” featuring local musician, Mt. Fog.
Here’s the recipe make a “Forest Fog”
- 1.5oz pisco
- .5 cardi simple
- 2 dashes black walnut bitters
- 2oz earl grey tea
- 2oz foamed oat milk
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It’s Living Singles! The series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, Sharlese Metcalf—host of KEXP’s Mechanical Breakdown—brings us a very new wave edition.
Songs featured in this episode:
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KEXP DJs Miss Ashley, Kevin Cole and Larry Mizell Jr. break down the top played albums on KEXP in 2022. The albums are:
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It’s a very special Christmas edition of Living Singles, the series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, KEXP’s defacto Christmas DJ, Brian Foss, shares some non-traditional Christmas songs he’ll be playing on air on Christmas day. You can catch his show live from noon - 9pm PT on December 25th, at 90.3 FM in Seattle or KEXP.org / the KEXP App worldwide.
Brian’s Featured Songs:
Plus, Rachel Stevens shares some new Christmas songs for 2022:
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Larry Mizell Jr. reflects on the hip hop artists we lost this year and beyond, in what MF Doom has called, “the world’s most strangest most dangerous occupation.”
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Living Singles is the series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. This episode features, KEXP’s Digital Content Manager. He admits to usually covering “super serious” music for KEXP, but he chose one song for Living Singles that’s playful and fun.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Cellist Lori Goldston has been carving her own path in the world of rock music for over three decades. She’s performed and recorded with some iconic artists like Nirvana, David Byrne, and Cat Power among many others. She’s an unsung hero of Seattle’s music scene.
In October, she released a new solo album called High and Low. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Goldston to walk through her career and learn more about the inspiration behind the new album.
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Living Singles is the series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, Sound & Vision’s senior producer and host Emily Fox returns from maternity leave to talk about the songs that got her through postpartum blues and the following joy of being a new mom.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Rachel Stevens talks with KEXP DJs Kevin Cole, Larry Mizell Jr, Evie Stokes, and Eva Walker about some of their favorite albums the year.
Artists discussed:
You can vote on your favorite albums of the year at https://www.kexp.org/countdowns/best-of-2022/. KEXP DJs will play the winning albums on air on Friday, December 16th.
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It’s Living Singles! The series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, Sound & Vision’s own Roddy Nikpour gets us ready for hibernation with some warm, mellow tracks.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Our occasional series Day Job highlights musicians who work a day job to be able to pursue their passion of music. This episode took Rachel Stevens to Pike Place Fish Market to talk with shipping manager Hillary Branyik, who is also a singer-songwriter under the name Branik.
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It’s Living Singles! The series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, our Social Media Manager Tia Ho takes us all over the country to keep us warm with these vibey tunes.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Independent music and independent pro wrestling may seem like disparate art forms, but that’s until you dig deeper into their histories. Many of the subcultures in both worlds have held events in the same places, shared the same personnel, and have held the same ideas of community.
KEXP’s Martin Douglas talks with Jim Perry, Daniel Makabe, and Damien Abraham about how the art, ethos, and business of professional wrestling and music have always walked hand-in-hand.
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. This time, Social Media Intern Leah Capindo joins Rachel Stevens to share the music that's brought her into a deep autumnal vibe.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Maral is an Iranian American producer and DJ who uses her influences of dub, shoegaze, and anarcho-punk to reinterpret Persian folk, classical and pop music. The result is a heavy yet transcendent "folk club" sound. Her experimental approach has led to collaborations with Panda Bear of Animal Collective, Penny Rimbaud of Crass, and Lee "Scratch" Perry. She recently released her third full length album, 'Ground Groove,' on Leaving Records.
KEXP’s Isabel Khalili talks with Maral about the new album and how her approach to sampling is inspired by Persian classical music philosophy, the enduring legacy of poet Forugh Farrokhzad, and how her music reflects the resilience of Iranian culture and people.
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On November 5th, we learned the sad news that Mimi Parker of the band Low had passed away from ovarian cancer. Mimi was only 55, but had done so much in her life as a mother, as a musician, and as a human. She was married to her bandmate, Alan Sparhawk, and they made thirteen albums together from 1994 to 2021 as the band Low.
Rachel Stevens talks with KEXP Digital Content Producer Janice Headley and DJ Kevin Cole about Mimi’s voice and her profound impact on the music world.
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It’s Living Singles! Sound & Vision’s segment where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re super into right now. Today, Rachel Stevens talks with Content Producer Martin Douglas about three tracks and why they all kinda feel like they were made in a garage.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Rocky Votolato is a mainstay in the Seattle music scene. KEXP’s Dusty Henry talks with Rocky about his latest album, 'Wild Roots' and the inspiration behind it, including the tragic loss of one of his children.
This special episode is in conjunction with KEXP’s Death & Music event and special day of programming, "Music Heals: Grief." Find out more here: https://www.kexp.org/events/kexp-events/death-music/ And here: https://www.kexp.org/events/kexp-events/music-heals-grief/
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For more than a month, Iran has been experiencing another revolution of sorts. The death of a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa "Jina" Amini has sparked mass protests and one song has become a rallying cry across the world. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour talks about what “Baraye” by Shervin Hajipour means to him, his family, and a country.
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It’s Living Singles! The series where a KEXP staff member shares three songs they’re really into right now. Content Producer Jasmine Albertson has been all over the world recently and it has brought her to a really good place — here talking with Rachel Stevens about music.
Songs featured in this episode:
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KEXP’s Morning Show Producer Owen Murphy is a huge fan of Austin-based band The Black Angels. Owen got to talk to frontman Alex Maas about their latest album, “Wilderness of Mirrors,” and why psychedelic music makes for the best concerts.
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. This time, Afternoon Show Intern Syd Gladu joins Sound & Vision producer Roddy Nikpour, offering three songs that deal with emotion in very different ways.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Larry Mizell Jr. talks to Chaz Bear (aka Toro y Moi) about his latest album, 'Mahal,' and how embracing his mixed Black and Filipino heritage is resulting in his best work yet. They also discuss how Chaz has learned to see things through and follow his own vision, the unique challenges of being mixed race, and how he's using his platform to spotlight other Black and Brown indie artists.
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. On this episode, the incredible DJ Evie Stokes shares an eclectic trio. If you like these tracks, you’ll love her show on Sundays from 3-6pm PT.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Rachel Stevens talks to rock and roll royalty Corin Tucker about Sleater-Kinney’s new album, 'Dig Me In: A Dig Me Out Covers Album' (out Friday, October 21st). Corin chats about how the band chose the artists to cover the 13 tracks, how the album is a benefit for SMYRC, how she’s all about community, and how’s there’s really no such thing as a “cold call from Sleater-Kinney.”
Also, it’s KEXP’s Fall Fundraising Drive! Please consider a one-time $20 gift to Sound & Vision at www.kexp.org/sound and thank you for being a part of this community!
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. In this very special edition, we’re celebrating both Aquí y Ahora (KEXP’s celebration of Latinx Heritage Month) AND Indigenous Peoples’ Day, because Albina Cabrera is an absolute champion of the people and music of Latin America.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Nirvana’s 'Nevermind' came out in 1991, when KEXP DJs Riz Rollins and Marco Collins were already playing influential roles in Seattle radio at KCMU and KNDD, respectively. Larry Mizell Jr. talks to Riz and Marco about what it was like being at ground-zero when the album came out and took over the world.
They share stories about debuting "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on KEXP (when it was KCMU), the food fight that got Kurt Cobain kicked out of his own party, and finding 'Nevermind' CDs for sale in the French countryside. Plus, how it feels to hear Nirvana's music now.
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. In this special Aquí y Ahora edition, we get a sneak peek of what it’s like to be on the KEXP video team and watch live music so up close and personal. Mere hours before KEXP’s video producer Alaia D’Alessandro got on a plane, she sat down with Rachel Stevens to talk about which artists she was most excited to film at KEXP Live from Argentina.
Songs featured in this episode:
Look out for videos from all the Live from Argentina sessions on KEXP’s YouTube channel
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Brandi Diaz is a local Latina musician who creates psychedelic soul under the name Nada Rosa. Even through challenging times, she has continually trusted the process of following her bliss.
Years ago, when Brandi was 25-years-old, she made a promise to herself that if she got through a family crisis of having to become the guardian of her niece, she would give herself the space to continue making music. Her family is doing great now and she is fulfilling her promise, creating "cinematic dreamscapes to other worlds" with her music. By extension, she is asserting her right to take up space as her full self. KEXP's Rachel Stevens talks with Brandi from her West Seattle home studio.
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. This week, we flipped the script a bit KEXP’s own Martin Douglas interviews Sound & Vision host Rachel Stevens and asks what she’s into these days. Rachel over comes imposter syndrome to share three vibey songs getting her through.
Songs featured in this episode:
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You’ve heard of Summer Jams, but where’s the love for Autumnal Tunes? Here. The answer is here. Isabel Khalili, Martin Douglas, and Dusty Henry join Rachel Stevens to recap their favorite Summer Jams and share what's on their playlists as things cool down.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Doris Anahí Muñoz is a singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. She is also the subject of the new documentary, 'Mija,' which will be released on Disney+**. The film follows Doris as she starts her career in music management and grapples with the guilt of being the first American-born member of her family. “Mija”—the title of the film—comes from the first company Doris ever started, called “Mija Management,” but the word also translates directly to “my daughter” and is used as a term of endearment.
Rachel Stevens talks with Doris about each of their favorite moments from the film. They also discuss Doris' family's immigration story, her role as both an artist manager and a mentor, and how her path eventually led her back to making her own music.
**In this episode, we say that the film 'Mija' will be released on September 23rd, but the documentary release on Disney+ is postponed until further notice.
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It’s been a minute since we’ve heard new music from Built to Spill — their last record came out in 2015. Well, now they’re back with their ninth studio album. It’s called 'When the Wind Forgets Your Name.'
KEXP DJ and producer Sharlese Metcalf talks with guitarist and vocalist Doug Martsch about song inspiration and “superfanning.”
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. This week, KEXP Podcast Manager Isabel Khalili shares three “end of summer jams" that she’s been digging lately. You can practically hear the sun setting just a little bit earlier in these mellow tracks.
Songs featured in this episode:
*UPDATE: Between the recording and the release of this episode, Kelela released a new song and video (dreams really do come true).
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Santi White (aka Santigold) released her fourth album, 'Spirituals,' on Friday, September 8. Rachel Stevens talks with Santi about inspiration for the album, breaking boundaries, and plans to make art beyond music.
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Warning: This episode discusses gun violence and suicide.
On Thursday, September 8, KEXP brings you Music Heals: Mental Health. It’s a day of on-air and online programming acknowledging the struggles of mental health and emotional well-being that so many of us deal with, and how music and community can make a real difference.
In this episode of Sound & Vision, KEXP listener and amplifier TJ Shushereba shares his story dealing with an abrupt loss, and how music continues to help him heal from tragedy.
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Four people have accused Arcade Fire’s frontman, Win Butler, of sexual misconduct. It’s another in a long list of musicians who have abused their fame to harm others. A team of badass women joins Rachel Stevens to find hope for the future: Alexandra Brodsky, a civil rights lawyer and the author of the book “Sexual Justice”; Jill Krajewski, a culture writer based in Toronto whose work has appeared in Vulture, SPIN, Pitchfork, and more; Evie Stokes, a KEXP DJ who has played Arcade Fire more than any other woman DJ on KEXP (besides Cheryl Waters); and Ashley McDonald, a KEXP DJ and lead teacher of the station's Youth DJ program.
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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. On this episode, Digital Content Producer Janice Headley gets deep with some amazing, some emotional, and some amazingly emotional music with host Rachel Stevens.
Songs featured in this episode:
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As part of our series about breaking musicians, Emily Fox talks to KEXP’s video manager Jim Beckmann about what "Live on KEXP" has done for bands. They discuss what it was like to film the sessions that have since blown up, including Of Monsters and Men, Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio, Grimes, and Charles Bradley.
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We’re kicking off a new series called Living Singles, where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. On this episode, Digital Content Producer Jasmine Albertson dives into three songs and also becomes BFFs with host Rachel Stevens.
Songs featured in this episode:
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
In this episode, Rachel Stevens talks to Sharon Van Etten about being on tour and managing while missing her son’s first day of kindergarten. Sharon’s new album, ‘We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong,’ addresses the guilt of the working parent, but also gives grace to the subject.
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Overnight Afrobeats DJ Lace Cadence talks to Rachel Stevens about discovering his African roots later in life and why Burna Boy’s latest album is his best work yet.
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Sylvan Esso’s fourth studio album, 'No Rules Sandy,' is out now. Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn talk to Rachel Stevens about how marriage is trash for women, Richard Swift is good for the heart, and trusting the process can result in some of your favorite art.
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BEYONCÉ. That’s the description. Rachel Stevens talks about the buzz behind the new Beyoncé album 'Renaissance' with fellow fans from the BeyHive: KEXP Afternoon Show Host Larry Mizell Jr., Stas Thee Boss, and KUOW Arts and Culture Reporter Mike Davis.
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Last year, Fred Gibson (under the moniker Fred again..) quietly dropped an electronic album that sampled audio from his actual life, and gave it the fitting title, ‘Actual Life (April 14 - December 17 2020)’. Since then, the artist has gained seismic traction and a global following, including KEXP’s Social Media Manager Tia Ho. In this episode, Tia travels track-by-track with Fred through the album, and the two discuss choosing to be joyful, keeping journals, and whiskey preferences.
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In our series about “breaking” artists on KEXP, Emily Fox talks to DJ Morgan about Altin Gün and then Eva Walker takes us down a “Walker Wormhole Wednesday.”
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The psychedelic indie pop project Of Montreal has put out more than 20 albums since their debut in 1997. The latest album, 'Freewave Lucifer f<ck f^ck f>ck,' is an experiment in “painting with sound” through despair and euphoria. The band’s frontperson Kevin Barnes talks with Roddy Nikpour about their vision for their latest release.
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In our series about “breaking” artists on KEXP, Emily Fox talks to "The Roadhouse" DJ Greg Vandy about Courtney Marie Andrews and Daniel Norgren. She then talks to KEXP's resident jazz-expert, John Gilbreath, about Kassa Overall and Kris Davis.
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The Washington-born duo ODESZA is now out with their fourth studio album, 'The Last Goodbye.' Rachel Stevens talks to band members Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills about what Seattle means to them and to this album.
But first, Rachel and KEXP's resident ODESZA expert, Eva Walker, do a short review on the new album.
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Introducing a new Sound & Vision mini-series, “Break It," where we talk to KEXP DJs about how they “break” an artist.
Rachel Stevens talks to Marco Collins about Garbage, Weezer, and many more 90s darlings. Emily Fox talks to John Richards about the Lumineers, Phantogram, numerous other artists, and what it’s like to know Jimmy Fallon is listening.
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James Smith found out that Sir Elton John is a fan of his band Yard Act, so he had the courage to ask for a collaboration. KEXP’s Rachel Stevens asks James what it’s like to work with Elton John — and how you politely tell Elton John to try something a little different after the first draft.
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Miki Ratsula recently released a covers EP which changes lyrics of some of their favorite songs to be gender neutral. KEXP’s Rachel Stevens talks to Miki about what coming out as non-binary means for their life and music.
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Emily Fox talks with KEXP DJs Evie Stokes and Larry Mizell Jr. about the top five played songs of 2022 on KEXP thus far. Some are true bangers and some are because we are nothing if not loyal to the artists we love. Find out where your favorites have landed!
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Atlanta rapper, actor and activist Killer Mike released a new solo single called “Run” this week. It’s Killer Mike’s first solo release in a decade and his first music not produced by El-P, his partner in Run the Jewels, since 2011. The new song features Young Thug and an intro by Dave Chappelle. It’s also no coincidence that he released the song on the Fourth of July.
KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. speaks with Killer Mike about the continued struggle of being Black in America, and how it inspired his track “Run.”
Killer Mike says of the song, "it's relit a fire in me to make more records reflective of what I feel like is the Black experience in this country and beyond.”
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On June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade after nearly 50 years. The constitutional right to an abortion no longer exists. This news has shaken many communities, including the music industry. KEXP’s Rachel Stevens talks with Ani DiFranco, Adia Victoria, and Amanda Palmer about their experiences with abortion and the songs they’ve written about it.
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Zola Jesus breaks down a few songs from her new album, 'Arkhon.' She discusses her Russian and Ukrainian heritage, her battles with anxiety and depression, and how she uses music to heal. She also talks about some of the issues facing independent musicians, like the exhaustion of touring and releasing music without time to reflect, and trying to stay relevant in a society looking for viral hits.
“The only things that are being rewarded are the things that get the most popular and the only way to get popular is to stimulate the attention of people in a very immediate and primal way,” she says.
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The indie-pop trio MUNA talks about being an openly queer band since they started in 2014, and why they believe the conversation should go beyond “Representation.” They also discuss the transition from a major record label, RCA, to Phoebe Bridgers’ indie label, Saddest Factory Records.
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Bartees Strange talks about how his latest album, Farm to Table reflects on resilience, family and the death of George Floyd.
“I think a lot of people see climate change, racism, gender struggles, women’s rights, all these issues are so humongous, huge. Multigenerational struggles. And we all want to fix it, but the way to fix it is to start with yourself. And that’s kind of the message of a lot of songs on Farm to Table is I can’t fix the world, but I can fix me. I can have an impact on my brother and sister. I can have an impact on my community. Looking at the people that made you and the people that you are around and the people you choose to be with and starting there,” Bartees Strange says.
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To celebrate Juneteenth, we are going to go on a journey through the sonics of Black spirituality. Seattle native and writer Mia Imani highlights some of the musicians and songs that have helped elevate the conversation about Black spirituality, from Sun Ra and Alice Coltrane, to Solange and Flying Lotus.
https://www.kexp.org/read/2022/6/17/conscious-creations-examining-the-sonics-of-black-spirituality/
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Nabil Ayers released a memoir this month called “My Life in the Sunshine.” Ayers is the son of jazz great Roy Ayers who’s known for the song, “Everybody Loves The Sunshine.” Nabil Ayers went on to co-found Seattle’s Sonic Boom records. He played in a few bands including The Long Winters. He was the General Manager of the storied record label 4AD, and this year became the president of an amazing group of record labels called Beggars Group. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. sat down with Nabil Ayers recently to talk about his memoir in which he explores issues of race and about being the son of a famous musician, a man he had only met a handful of times in his life.
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Nataly Dawn and Jack Conte of Pomplamoose talk about starting their career more than a decade ago by posting viral music videos to YouTube, going on to co-found Patreon and its importance to creators in the music industry, and Nataly talks about recording her new solo record after getting a skin cancer diagnosis.
“Pomplamoose gets 5-6 million views a month on YouTube and when we were just relying on the ad revenue from that in 2012, 2011, we were making maybe $1,000 a month in ad revenue and I just felt like that is not indicative of the connection and the energy and the community that is out there. We’re not being paid fairly for our contribution and for the work that we are doing,” Conte says. “The really nice thing about Patreon is even with a couple thousand fans, we only have [about] 2,500 Patrons but we’re making $15,000 a month through Patreon.”
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Poliça’s previous album was written after frontwoman Channy Leaneagh almost gave up her career in music. That’s until she fell off her roof trying to remove ice. Her doctor suggested she rewrite the story of her fall to make it seem less traumatic. The result was the album ‘When We Stay Alive.' It was released just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic swept America. During the pandemic, Channy and the band worked day jobs to get by, but they kept making music together. They have just released a new record called ‘Madness’. On the album, Channy reflects on her pandemic day job working at a grocery store and reclaiming her sexuality after reflecting on her personal experiences with sexual abuse and assault.
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Fantastic Negrito talks about his new album, 'White Jesus Black Problems,' which was inspired by his discovery that his 7th generation grandparents were an interracial couple, a white indentured servant and an enslaved Black man, who put their lives in danger and challenged white supremacy in the name of love.
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We believe that everyone who runs should have a great soundtrack. Not one curated by an algorithm, but one that’s hand-picked by a DJ who runs too. The Runcast with John Richards brings you a dynamic mix of music and inspiration to keep you company and motivate you on your run, no matter what your level.
Subscribe to KEXP's The Runcast with John Richards, wherever you podcast, and enjoy new episodes every two weeks, June 3 - October 7, 2022.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians, performers and arts workers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, singer-songwriter Michaela Anne talks about singing Carole King's “Child of Mine” at her mother’s hospital bedside for months after her mother had a stroke. At the time, Michaela was pregnant, and her child now recognizes the song when she sings it. Anne discusses the feeling of watching both her baby and mom learn and relearn how to walk and talk together.
“My daughter is learning to walk and I’m just walking the length of the house back and forth with her and that’s what I’ve spent so much time doing with my Mom,” Michaela Anne says.
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Emmy the Great talks about splitting her childhood between China and the UK and how she felt conflicted with her biracial identity. She was seen as white when living in China and "threw away" her Cantonese language when she was living in England.
“I just sort of grew up code switching, as a natural way of being,” She says. “And as I get older I don’t want to always compartmentalize everything.”
Celine Teo-Blockey reports on how music and motherhood is helping Emmy The Great embrace both sides of her heritage.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians, performers and arts workers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, our guest is Shana Cleveland of the Seattle-born and California-based band, La Luz. KEXP’s Evie Stokes talks with Cleveland about her journey of becoming a mother shortly before the pandemic, receiving a cancer diagnosis, and despite the obstacles, continuing her career in music.
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Washington’s Allen Stone talks about what it was like being a finalist in NBC’s "American Song Contest" and how he was able to make it happen in the final days of his mother’s life. He also discusses the realities of trying to make a living off music even after you have a national following.
Listen back to a previous Sound & Vision episode featuring Allen Stone here.
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Chris Bathgate talks about his new record, ‘The Significance of Peaches,’ which was released after living in a national forest in Michigan, farming in California, working at a tech startup in San Francisco, having a child and moving back home to Michigan. He talks about his journey and the album’s themes of nature, ‘baby fever,’ and the social inequities he saw in San Francisco between the working elite and the homeless.
“I was shocked that a person could be in obvious need of immediate help and everyone can just walk past on their phone talking about where they are going to get oysters later [while] people [are] sleeping in the doorstep of Dolce & Gabbana,” Bathgate says.
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In 1973, the Seattle-area band Lavender Country released what’s considered to be the first openly gay country album. The self-titled album went relatively unnoticed outside of Stonewall activists at the time. Shortly after the album’s release, the band broke up and frontman Patrick Haggerty went on to run for office in the city of Seattle and Washington State, advocating for racial justice and gay rights. Lavender Country’s debut album was rediscovered and reissued in 2014. The band’s story has since been turned into a few documentaries and there’s talks of it becoming a feature-length film. Nearly 50 years later, the band is now releasing their follow up album, 'Blackberry Rose,' and performing again.
Frontman Patrick Haggerty shares the story of the band and explains why he shouldn’t be seen as an icon. He also breaks down themes from the album, including fighting white supremacy, biracial gay relationships, and feminism.
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Tennyson talks about his new album, 'Rot,' written after he developed a hearing condition brought on by mold exposure that caused intense sensitivity to sound.
“It started suddenly. I was upstairs and someone was doing dishes and I noticed that it was extremely loud. I went outside to try and relax and the sound of the birds were piercing and the sound of the wind in the leaves of the trees felt like sandpaper,” Tennyson says.
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Hollis Wong-Wear sits down with Larry Mizell Jr. to talk about her new album, moving to LA from Seattle, and going from producing music videos for Macklemore and Ryan Lewis to having Ryan Lewis produce her own song, “Let Me Not.” She calls the music video for that track her “love letter to Seattle.”
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The Belgium-based electronic duo, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul talk about the themes of wokeness, racism, and the #Metoo movement that end up on their latest album, 'Topical Dancer.'
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The Head and The Heart talk about their new record and starting therapy together as a band, 12 years since they formed in Seattle.
“If we are going to make this work long term and it’s the hardest to stay together when you’re in relationships and in a polygamous band relationship, it’s like, let’s f___ing do it. . . we gotta make it healthy, otherwise it’s not sustainable,” Charity Rose Thielen says.
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Hatchie talks about the themes of shame and self-acceptance on her latest record, 'Giving The World Away,' and how she worked a day job during COVID to save up to tour so she could pay her band and crew.
“I really wanted this record to be as big as possible on tour so I wanted to add extra members to the lineup and I wanted to have our own soundperson and have a lighting show so that meant that I had to make some personal sacrifices and had to go back to work part-time so I could balance that and budget for it so that I can save up and not have to pay myself on tour, whereas I have to pay a band,” Hatchie says.
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Maren Morris talks about themes of motherhood and the death of her longtime friend and producer, Michael Busbee on her new record, 'Humble Quest.' She also discusses her crossover sound and the need for more diversity in country music.
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Vancouver, B.C.-based band Destroyer released their 13th album, “Labyrinthitis,” on March 25. Since their first album nearly 30 years ago, the band’s sound has evolved from experimental folk to pulsing disco. Sound & Vision’s assistant producer Roddy Nikpour spoke with frontman Dan Bejar about Destroyer’s new album, their upcoming tour, and what keeps him inspired.
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Lucius released their latest studio album, 'Second Nature,' on April 8. Vocalist and songwriter Jess Wolfe talks about how this album was written while she processed her divorce and how the music is meant to make light through the darkness and dance through it. She also discusses the collaborations on the album with Brandi Carlile and Sheryl Crow.
“It’s such a fine line to want to honor sadness and darkness . . . but also to want to somehow move it towards joy or bend it in a way that makes you want to move and want to celebrate something because life is short,” Wolfe says.
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Kae Tempest has published six poetry collections, written two books, staged three plays and is now out with their fourth studio album, 'The Line Is A Curve.' Tempest talks about the power of lyricism and the process of creating this album, which is the first album they’ve released since coming out as trans nonbinary.
“Music gave me an escape and it also gave me a pass. It enabled me to exist in a room without having to be interrogated for what I was or why I was there. And I didn’t have to feel like a total failure as either girl or a boy because I was neither and both. I could just be a lyricist and be respected on those grounds and that was addictive and exhilarating and refreshing and powerful,” Tempest says.
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Our favorite fringe masked gay cowboy Orville Peck released the final chapter in his three-part record, 'Bronco,' on Friday. Orville Peck talks about musical inspiration from growing up in South Africa, telling biographical tales in his music that seem fictional, and creating 'Bronco' after struggling with depression and almost giving up on music during the pandemic.
“I was deeply, deeply depressed and almost quit music when COVID hit because I stopped working and stopped touring and like so many of us I realized that I had been escaping into my routine and my busy lifestyle and I looked at my personal life and it was a nightmare, and I looked at the fact that I was feeling so lost, and when I came out of that and started writing 'Bronco' it was like this big catharsis,” Peck says.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians, performers and arts workers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
Today we hear the epic story of parenthood from Lowland Hum, who make “quiet music,” but their experience as new parents were anything but quiet. (Cue a tornado, colic and a miscarriage.)
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians, performers and arts workers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, contributor Celine Teo-Blockey profiles the Australian band Middle Kids and how they lost money in order to do a US tour during a pandemic with a toddler in tow.
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What is the Black Constellation? If you know, you'll want to listen to this podcast. If you don't, you'll want to listen, too.
"Fresh off the Spaceship" is the newest podcast from KEXP, telling the story of the highly influential yet scarcely documented artist collective. The Black Constellation has included such varied musical acts as Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, Ya Tseen and Porter Ray.
Hosted by KEXP's Larry Mizell Jr. and Martin Douglas, each episode in this 10-part series takes listeners on an audio journey connecting the stars of the Constellation, shedding light on their art and their ethos along the way.
New episodes come out every Friday from March 18 - May 27, 2022. Find out more at KEXP.org/fresh-off-the-spaceship.
Watch a video version of the trailer and explore more work from the artists of the Constellation on KEXP's Fresh off the Spaceship YouTube playlist.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians, performers and arts workers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, we get parenting advice from Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq. She talks about the importance of staying calm for your children and allowing them to be bored. She also talks about intergenerational wisdom, being a single mom, and her song about motherhood called “Earth Monster” from her latest album, 'Tongues.'
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In honor of Women’s History Month, Sound & Vision is bringing you another installment of Apparently, where we talk with musicians and those involved in the field about their art and parenthood.
Today, KEXP's "Drive Time" Producer Rachel Stevens shares her journey through pregnancy loss and job loss, to now giving her all to her daughter while also being a working mom. She reads her New York Times essay, "Swimming Upstream in Heels and Skinny Pants." Plus, Emily Fox has a special announcement.
Read Rachel's piece, "How 'Nothing Arrived' by Villagers Got Me Through My Miscarriage".
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Seattle’s Brittany Davis has released a debut EP on Pearl Jam Guitarist Stone Gossard’s label, Loosegroove Records. Davis was born blind and started recording music around the age of 13 when they were homeless. They talk about their musical journey, reflecting on the past two years through music, collaborating with Gossard and addressing blindness in a song.
“As much as blindness as disability is romanticized, nah dude, that stuff ain’t romantic. That stuff impacts you in ways that a lot of people don’t think about,” Davis says.
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Band of Horses is out with their first new album in six years. While it's called ‘Things Are Great,' the lyrics paint a different picture. Frontman Ben Bridwell talks about how the record was inspired by heartache and breakups. He also discusses his experience arriving in Seattle homeless years ago before starting the band. Finally, he shares his thoughts on the music industry and how he spent between $350k-$500k on this album in hopes the band's record label and sales would pay out.
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James Bookert used to tour with a well-known bluegrass punk band, Whiskey Shivers (they even made an appearance in the movie Pitch Perfect 3.) After burnout and a battle with seizures, Bookert is making new music and community at his day job at a local liquor store.
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DakhaBrakha is a band from Ukraine whose live performance on KEXP from 2017 has garnered more than two million views on our YouTube channel. One member of that band, Iryna Kovalenko, has been living in Seattle for the past five years. She spoke with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox on March 11 while her husband, Oleksandr Cherniyenko helped with interpretations. They talked about what is going on between Ukraine and Russia right now.
Watch DakhaBrakha's Live on KEXP session here.
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Musicians who score video games have found luck making connections and finding work here in the Pacific Northwest rather than larger cities like New York or LA. Seattle is a hub for big video game developers like Microsoft, Nintendo, and Valve, and indie musicians have found (or even made) their own opportunities here, too.
Sound & Vision’s Roddy Nikpour brings us the story of two Seattle-based composers, Eric Barone and Andrew Rohrmann, and explores what it takes to break into the world of scoring video games with sound designer Akash Thakkar.
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Laura Ballance is the bassist of the band Superchunk as well as a co-founder of Merge Records. Nearly 10 years ago, she stopped touring with Superchunk because of a hearing condition she developed from being exposed to loud sounds and music. Ballance talks about how her hearing issues have impacted her career in music.
“If I’m around loud noises, which can be as minor as people talking too loudly when there’s more than a few people in a room, it hurts my ear. I get sort of a staticky feedback thing going on in my right ear. Being around drums or guitar amps is intolerable,” Ballance says.
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Jen Malone is the music supervisor behind the hit TV shows Euphoria, Yellowjackets, Atlanta and more. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. is a big fan of those shows and a fan of Malone’s work. He caught up with her recently to learn how it takes both a music lover and a sleuth to get songs placed on television.
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It has been 25 years since the one-hit wonder White Town released the album that contained the hit, "Your Woman." The man behind White Town, Jyoti Mishra, breaks down how the song came together and why he wrote a song from a woman’s perspective. He discusses the bullying and racism he faced growing up in “white towns” in the UK after his family moved from India, his struggles with mental health, and the power of music in his life. He also explains how he pulled his single in the US when it was climbing the charts because he was not ready for the fame.
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Screaming Trees lead vocalist Mark Lanegan died February 22 at the age of 57. On today's bonus episode, we hear reflections on Lanegan's music, career, personality and life.
To share with us are founding Screaming Trees member and drummer, Mark Pickerel, along with guitarist Jeff Fielder who played with Lanegan from 2010-2020.
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Last Friday marked the official release of Beach House’s latest album, 'Once Twice Melody,' out via Sub Pop Records. Fans had already heard more than half of the album, though, since the band released it digitally in four “chapters” each month starting last November. Sound & Vision’s assistant producer Roddy Nikpour brings us this review of 'Once Twice Melody.'
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Yoko Ono turned 89 last Friday, the same day a new covers album of her music was released. The album was curated by Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard and features artists like Japanese Breakfast, Sharon Van Etten, and David Byrne.
Gibbard talks about how Yoko Ono's work has been overlooked and that he hopes this tribute album "is not just a reevaluation but an evaluation" of her work as an artist and songwriter.
“This is an incredibly talented woman who mastered multiple mediums in a way that I can’t think of another artist in the 20th century doing and one component of her work that has been wildly overlooked is her songwriting,” Gibbard says.
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Anaïs Mitchell has won a Grammy and 8 Tony awards for her musical, 'Hadestown.' She’s also in the band Bonny Light Horseman and has been featured as part of Big Red Machine, the musical project of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Aaron Dessner of the National. She’s now out with her first new solo album in a decade.
Mitchell talks with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox about leaving New York City early in the pandemic to give birth at her parents’ farm in Vermont, and staying there to write an album that’s filled with childhood nostalgia.
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Animal Collective’s Josh Dibb aka Deakin talks about the various inspirations for the band's latest record, 'Time Skiffs,' including concerns over climate change, the feeling of losing human connection during COVID, and a musical art installation in New Orleans.
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The band Bait Bag calls North Haven Island, Maine, home, but their influences come from Washington State’s Riot Grrrl movement of the 90s. Their feminist punk sound and ethos challenges sexism, racism, transphobia and fascism and responds to reproductive justice, childbirth, climate change, and biology.
Contributor Caroline Losneck reports on Bait Bag’s inspiration and perception on their small, isolated island-- population 350.
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The late MC and producer J Dilla would have been 48 years old on February 7th. In honor of his birthday, KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with author Dan Charnas about his new book, “Dilla Time: The Life and Afterlife of J Dilla, the Hip-Hop Producer Who Reinvented Rhythm.”
“To slam swing rhythms against straight rhythms simultaneously in ways that put them in a kind of rhythm conflict, this is that Dilla feel,” Charnas says.
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Discord is a communication software that lets users chat in real time via text, audio, or video. Gamers have been using the platform since 2015.
Sound & Vision’s Roddy Nikpour reports on how Discord is growing in the music industry and is being used to connect with fans, especially during the pandemic.
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Seattle had a thriving funk and soul scene in the 60s and 70s. There were dozens of bands and more than 20 venues specializing in the genres.
For today’s episode, Emily Fox talks with KEXP DJ Supreme La Rock about how he first discovered Seattle’s funk and soul scene while digging for records. His discoveries later turned into a compilation called 'Wheedle’s Groove,' released by Light in the Attic Records in 2004.
We also hear about the scene from drummer Robbie Hill of the Seattle funk bands Black on White Affair and Robbie Hill’s Family Affair, and why he turned down an opportunity to be signed to RCA records.
Watch the Wheedle's Groove documentary here
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-robbie-hill
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The soulful trio Gabriels released their first EP in 2021. Elton John called it “one of the most seminal records I've heard in the last 10 years.” They’re now out with their latest EP, 'Bloodline.' Singer Jacob Lusk (who was a former American Idol contestant) talks about being “the most myself I’ve ever been” with this group. He also discusses how the theme of family lineage comes up in the EP.
“The overarching theme within the EP 'Bloodline,' there’s this thing of, ‘It’s in the bloodline. My dad was an alcoholic and my grandfather was an alcoholic, so I am. My mom was abused, my grandma was abused, my sister was abused, so I’m abused'. . . No, you don’t have to do that. You don’t have to live that life. You don’t have to be what your circumstances are. You can do whatever you want to do and be whoever you want to be,” Lusk says.
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January 22, 2022 was the 49th anniversary of Roe v Wade, the landmark US Supreme Court case that legalized abortion across the nation. Today on the podcast, we reflect on the human rights issue through music:
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Cat Power produced and released her 11th studio album and third covers album on January 14th. The cover songs span decades and genres, from old school country and Billie Holiday, to Nick Cave and Bob Seger, to contemporary artists like Lana Del Rey and Frank Ocean.
Chan Marshall of Cat Power spoke with Emily Fox about the record, overcoming her struggles with mental health, and how motherhood has grounded her and given her strength.
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Bonobo's most recent full-length album, 'Fragments,' came out on January 14. He talks with Emily Fox about the samples he used in the record, getting through his writer's block with the help of modular synths, and finding solace in nature on tour and during the pandemic.
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KEXP DJs Riz Rollins and Larry Mizell Jr. discuss the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King and remember the time before he had his own holiday.
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Alda Agustiano goes by the stage name Chong The Nomad. She’s composed music for the TV series Modern Love, contributed to a video game soundtrack, helped produce the lead single to the Marvel movie, Shang Chi, and so much more. That’s all since she quit her day job as a line cook in 2019. We go back to her days as a line cook to find out how she found musical inspiration at her day job.
(This story originally aired in October 2019)
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The Seattle area’s Vashon Island is home to a surprising number of creatives, including a few famous musicians, like Zola Jesus and Chris Ballew of The Presidents of The United States of America. Drew Pine reports on what it is about the island that attracts the creative type.
(This story originally aired as part of the December 10, 2019 episode)
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Ketamine treatment centers are opening all over Seattle. The psychedelic drug is used to help with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and other ailments, but it does come with controversy. These treatments look and feel much different than most mental health treatments. It also sounds different because music is an important part of Ketamine infusions. KEXP’s Rachel Stevens reports on how the treatments work.
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KEXP staff share their favorite music of 2021.
Dig deeper with these personal essays from KEXP staff.
Check out this collection of KEXP DJs' top ten lists.
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Emily Fox and Larry Mizell Jr. break down the top three most played albums on KEXP this year, as well as listeners' top three albums of 2021.
Top Played Albums on KEXP in 2021:
KEXP Listeners' Top Albums of 2021:
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DJ Brian Foss shares his favorite non-traditional Christmas tunes spanning genres from garage rock to punk. He also talks about how he became KEXP's de-facto Christmas DJ.
Brian will be taking over KEXP’s airwaves on Christmas Day from noon to 6pm and again from 9pm to midnight Pacific Time. Tune in on 90.3 FM in Seattle or KEXP.org worldwide.
You can also check out Brian's non-traditional Christmas picks this week on KEXP's Song of the Day podcast.
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DJ John Richards drops by to tell you about KEXP's Song of the Day podcast, where you get a DJ-curated song delivered straight to your feed each weekday. You also get to learn some context around the song, right there in the episode description.
To enjoy this convenient mode of music discovery, subscribe to KEXP's Song of the Day wherever you get your podcasts.
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Vinyl has seen a resurgence in recent years, but the increased demand for the old-school format has been impacted by manufacturing and supply chain issues that are delaying pressing schedules by eight to nine months. Reporter George Mocharko looks at how these production bottlenecks are affecting independent recording artists and their record labels struggling to get albums out.
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KEXP's Gabriel Teodros interviews DJ Bonds and DJ Breeze about their documentary, 'Where We’re From: Rise of L.A. Underground Hip Hop.' They also discuss issues around space in the underground hip hop community from LA to Seattle, such as needing to write essays to promoters to put on a hip hop show or needing extra insurance. Bonds and Breeze also talk about the venue they ran called "Elements."
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The Seattle band Acid Tongue released a new album earlier this month called 'Arboretum.' It’s an ode to Seattle’s Arboretum, where band member Guy Keltner came to terms with drug and alcohol abuse, as well as his struggles with his bipolar diagnosis, during the pandemic.
Keltner and fellow member Ian Cunningham talk about their paths to sobriety and how collaborating with many musicians on this album was necessary during a low point in the band’s career.
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Social media feeds were filled with fans' and musicians' “Spotify Wrapped” results last week. The feature shows listeners what artists they streamed the most this year, and musicians get a breakdown of how many times they were streamed, for how long and from how many countries.
KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros, who is an artist himself, walks us through his "Spotify Wrapped" numbers and showcases just how little musicians make on the streaming site. He reads his post on the subject.
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Seattle’s historic Crocodile theater had its stage graced by Pearl Jam, Mudhoney and Nirvana early in their careers. Last year, the music venue’s lease was up and the landlord didn’t want to renew. With the commercial real estate market down due to the pandemic, The Crocodile decided it would shut its doors and reopen in a bigger space a few blocks away.
The new space has multiple stages and comes with a boutique hotel on the top floor. After more than 20 months without live music, The Crocodile reopened its doors at its new location last week. Reporter Grace Madigan gives us a tour of the new spot.
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In the year 2000, David Bowie recorded an album made up of songs he created decades prior. That album was called 'Toy.' It was never officially released until now.
Emily Fox catches up with the producer and mixer of 'Toy,' Mark Plati, who also played guitar on the record. They talk about David Bowie and why it took the album so long to get an official release.
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The British band Wet Leg swept KEXP by storm with their singles, “Wet Dream” and “Chaise Longue” this year. They dropped two new singles Monday and announced their self-titled debut album will be released in April 2022.
KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. sat down with founding members Rhian Teasdale and Hester Chambers, and realized just how silly this band really is.
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The First Nations Hip Hop duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids talk about addressing generational trauma in their music and being the change they want to see in their community.
“Our people were stripped of a lot of things in the past—our culture, our traditions, opportunities. We’re the seventh generation, we’re trying to gain everything that not only we lost but the opportunities that they never had,” says Darren “Young D” Metz.
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In 2018, Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize was awarded to Jeremy Dutcher for his album, 'Walastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa.' It fused classical music and his operatic voice with old wax cylinder recordings of the Walastoqiyik singing in their Indigenous language, Wolastoqey. There are only around 100 native speakers of Wolastoqey today. Jeremy Dutcher talks about trying to keep the language alive through music and through a new language immersion school his family has been working to create.
You can contribute to the GoFundMe for Dutcher's language immersion school here.
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John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants talks about their new album, 'BOOK,' and the playful things the band has done during their 40-year career, including their Dial-A-Song music answering machine service.
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Today, we bring you an episode of the Live on KEXP podcast, featuring the recent session with José González.
For over 18 years, José González has been a master at constructing soft, contemplative guitar tunes. While, sonically, his latest album ‘Local Valley’ sounds much like his prior work, KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. chats with the Swedish/Argentinian musician about how his two children influenced him to inject more playfulness and creativity into his tunes, as well as write songs in his mother tongue of Spanish for the first time.
Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube
For a new KEXP session delivered to your feed every week, including recent favorites like Ya Tseen, Japanese Breakfast, Yu Su, and Little Simz, subscribe to Live on KEXP wherever you listen to podcasts.
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After being part of the bands Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn is out with a new solo record called 'The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows.' Damon Albarn talks about how the project was originally intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland.
“I’ve been staring out of my window at this amazing landscape for years and years and years in Iceland and [thought] it would be amazing if I could get like-minded orchestral musicians to sit there with me and play the landscape. Play the movement of the clouds and the transference of rain into snow and the birds and the sea and the ravens flying outside,” Albarn says.
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The War On Drugs released a new album at the end of October, titled 'I Don't Live Here Anymore.' KEXP’s Janice Headley spoke with the band’s frontman, Adam Granduciel, about the record's optimism despite being mostly written during a pandemic. They also discuss how his creativity has been influenced by being a new dad.
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Mudhoney, known for their hit “Touch Me I’m Sick,” was a precursor to Seattle’s grunge scene. But you’d never hear Mudhoney bassist Guy Maddison uttering the words “Touch Me I’m Sick” to his patients during his day job as a nurse at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. Maddison talks with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox about his life in music and medicine during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Tori Amos talks about her new album, 'Ocean to Ocean,' and how she experiences visual trips of synesthesia when playing and listening to music. She also discusses how the pandemic impacted her mental health, strengthened her connection to nature, and influenced songs on the album.
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Sound & Vision's mini-series, Behind the Console, highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field.
Today we feature two engineers who got their start in Seattle and both love playing with sound. First we meet Alice Wilder, who has done front of house sound for Big Thief, Third Eye Blind, M.I.A., Future Islands and more. Then we speak with Talaya Logan, who at 22 is just getting started in the industry and is already fluent in recording, mixing and mastering. She also just put out her own solo record.
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Sound & Vision's mini-series, Behind the Console, highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field.
Today we meet two monitor engineers. The first is Karrie Keyes, who was just on the road with Pearl Jam, and has previously worked for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Sonic Youth, Social Distortion and more. She talks about mentoring the next generation of women and nonbinary audio engineers through her organization, Sound Girls, and balancing her work with raising twins as a single mom.
We also hear from Christina Moon, who has worked with Sleater-Kinney, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, Death Cab for Cutie and Cat Power. She talks about managing artists' emotions on stage while delivering audio, and striving to be a good engineer, not just a good female engineer.
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Sound & Vision's mini-series, Behind the Console, highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field.
Today we meet two front of house audio engineers who both have had to pivot their careers. The first is Dana Wachs, who has worked with Yvyes Tumor, Perfume Genius, MGMT, Grizzly Bear, Cat Power, St. Vincent, Deerhunter and more. Dana talks about losing work during the pandemic when tours got cancelled. She was living off her savings and spending 7 hours a day on the phone with the Department of Labor to stay afloat. She eventually pivoted from doing sound for touring acts to finding a salaried job engineering live audio streams.
We then meet Seattle-based Alicia Blake who took a few-years hiatus from music to become a baker. In the past she’s worked with Head and the Heart, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Destroyer and more. She’s now back on the road, tour managing for Sylvan Esso.
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Sound & Vision's mini-series, Behind the Console, highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field.
Today we meet Susan Rogers, who engineered for Prince for four years, working on albums like Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times. She also has credits with David Byrne, Tricky, and the Barenaked Ladies. She talks about what it was like keeping up with Prince's tireless creativity, and how it could be both exhausting and exhilarating. She also discusses eventually leaving engineering in her 40s to get her PhD in Music Cognition and Psychoacoustics, and how that has influenced her work in unexpected ways.
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Sound & Vision's new mini-series, Behind the Console, highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field. The University of Southern California calculated that only 3 percent of Grammy nominated songs were engineered by women. The organization Sound Girls estimates that women only make up 5% of the professional workforce in audio.
Today we talk with two mastering engineers, who put the final touches on music before it’s released. It’s Seattle’s Rachel Field, who has worked with Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, and the Cairo-born, Brooklyn-based engineer Heba Kadry, who has worked with Björk, Lucy Dacus, Slowdive, The Mars Volta and more. They discuss the gender inequities they have seen both at home and abroad, the women who pioneered audio yet were largely left out of the narrative, and what makes them hopeful for positive change.
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Noah Gundersen talks about his new record and its themes of moving away from Seattle. He also talks about his collaboration with Phoebe Bridgers and changing the way he tours to make it more manageable.
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In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Sound & Vision Assistant Producer Grace Madigan profiles Native musicians Lil Mike & Funnybone, Samantha Crain, and Halluci Nation about their involvement in the recent TV shows Reservation Dogs as well as in Halluci Nation’s case, Rutherford Falls, and how important and meaningful Native representation is in mainstream entertainment.
KEXP’s Martin Douglas also chats with the music supervisor for Reservation Dogs, Tiffany Anders. Hear about the older Native American folk and psych rock musicians whose music did and didn’t make the cut for the show.
This is a special Indigenous Peoples’ Day Episode of the Sound & Vision podcast. We're releasing this episode one day early to coincide with KEXP's celebration of Indigenous People’s Day. Check out KEXP.org, the KEXP mobile app, or 90.3 FM in Seattle on Monday, October 11th, for music celebrating Indigenous peoples of the world. If you miss it in real time, you can still access this special day of programming until October 25th on KEXP's 2-week archive.
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Ann Wilson is a Bellevue, Washington-raised rock and roll hall of fame inductee who’s best known for being the lead singer in the band Heart. She’ll be performing a solo show at Seattle’s Neptune Theater on October 13th, 16th and 17th.
She talks with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox about her long career in the music industry, the corruption and sexism she’s faced along the way, and the new solo material she’s been working on during the pandemic.
Further reading:
https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/5/27/hearts-nancy-wilson-first-solo-album/
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, musician Ezra Furman talks about what led her to come out as a trans mom, and what it means for her to leave her young son at home once touring begins again.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, Ella Vos talks about how getting pregnant inspired her to become a solo artist and how her popular song, "White Noise," was about her struggles with postpartum depression and the loneliness of being a new mom.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, Seattle-area musician and visual artist, J’Von, talks about how becoming the father he never had comes up in his music.
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Three musicians break down the stories behind their songs about Seattle. They are:
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The south has played a big part in the music of South Carolina-raised, Adia Victoria. The south is very present in her latest album, 'A Southern Gothic.' Adia Victoria talks about the record and how it reimagines the south’s whitewashed history.
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Before finding the balance between his rap career and his personal training business, Darnel's Barbells, Bruce Leroy held an entire lifetime's worth of jobs. He worked at shoe stores, bagged cannabis for a medical dispensary, engraved headstones, and even donned the Chuck E. Cheese suit. KEXP’s Martin Douglas speaks to the Tacoma MC about his many places of employment, working with community youth in addition to on bars in both the gym and the studio, getting fired from Dairy Queen, and much more.
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Popular YouTube and Spotify playlister "Alex Rainbird Music" talks about helping break indie artists, music discovery and monetization in the streaming era.
To hear how to make a living as an artist through playlists: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2020/12/10/better-staying-independent/
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Malina Moye is one of Fender's first Black left-handed, upside-down guitar playing female endorsees. Her album, 'Bad As I Want to Be,' was number one for two weeks straight on the Billboard Blues Chart in 2018.
KEXP DJ and musician Eva Walker speaks with Moye about her rise to success and her inspiration along the way.
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KEXP DJs Larry Mizell Jr. and Gabriel Teodros share songs they played this week to honor New Orleans as it deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Ida. They also discuss how New Orleans hurricanes bring to light environmental and racial justice issues.
Organizations Doing Mutual Aid in Louisiana:
https://www.cultureaidnola.orgImagine
https://www.imaginewaterworks.org
https://neworleansmusiciansclinic.org
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KEXP DJs Larry Mizell, Jr. and Riz Rollins discuss the new Aretha Franklin biopic. They talk about what the film got right and what was missing. Plus, we hear stories from Riz about seeing Aretha Franklin live.
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Questlove-directed documentary 'Summer of Soul' tells the story of the 1969 music festival in Harlem that featured Stevie Wonder, BB King, Mavis Staples, Nina Simone, Gladys Knight and more. It was attended by hundreds of thousands of people and happened the same summer as Woodstock, but was largely forgotten about until now.
KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. catches up with one of the film’s producers, Joseph Patel, to learn more about the festival and how its story was told.
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The Melbourne-based band Hiatus Kaiyote have found a passionate global following for their sound, a futurist vision of proggy fusion jazz-funk. Their latest album, 'Mood Valiant,’ was released this summer and includes contributions from the legendary Brazilian artist Arthur Verocai. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with the band's bassist Paul Bender about pushing their creative boundaries and refusing to compromise their vision for commercial appeal.
“I don't think there's ever going to be a moment that Hiatus truly breaks out into the true mainstream because we just pretty much always throw in something that's going to make that not happen musically,” Bender says. He describes the band’s sound as “between being kind of catchy and likable and a bit obscure.”
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Larry Mizell, Jr. talks with writer Donald Morrison about his investigation into the unsolved murder of rapper Mac Dre.
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Neko Case’s connection to nature has always been present in her music. The rural Vermont-living singer/songwriter has written songs about wishing she was the moon, about a tornado falling in love, and about birds and fields.
Neko Case has now started a newsletter on Substack about her connection to nature, called "The Lung." She spoke about her newsletter and relationship with nature with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox.
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Jungle’s single “Keep Moving” has been the top played song on KEXP so far in 2021. The British duo has just released their third album, 'Loving in Stereo.' Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox caught up with Jungle’s Josh Lloyd-Watson about how the album came together. He said the previous Jungle records seem like a demo of this record.
“This is like a grander realization of some of those sonics and ideas,” Lloyd-Watson says. “It’s just rawer than we’ve ever been on record and I think it’s like, ‘why weren’t we like this before’?”
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A Prince album recorded in 2010 called “Welcome 2 America” was recently released. KEXP DJ and resident Prince expert, DJ Kevin Cole talks about the ethics of releasing an album following an artist’s death and discusses the themes on the record.
“What struck me about listening to Welcome 2 America, here’s an album that Prince recorded 12 years ago, it’s been in the vault since then and the themes that he addressed are as relevant and as important as they were when he recorded it 12 years ago. In fact, some of it is eerily foreshadowing a lot of what went down last year in 2020-- the political division, the use of the internet and social media for disinformation, sexism and racism. That blew me away, how relevant it is now,” Cole says.
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Sound & Vision is exploring the Filipino influence on Seattle’s hip hop scene through the mini-series, Filipino Hip Hop 206. In this episode, KEXP DJ Gabriel Teodros profiles Nasty Nes. He was the first DJ to have a rap radio show on the west coast and started an independent record label with Sir-Mix-A-Lot.
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Sound & Vision is exploring the Filipino influence on Seattle’s hip hop scene through the mini-series, Filipino Hip Hop 206. In this episode, KEXP DJ Mike Ramos reports on the legacy of the breakdancing crew Massive Monkees, including how they became world champions and how they give back to the Seattle hip hop community today.
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As part of Sound & Vision’s mini-series exploring the Filipino influence on Seattle’s hip hop scene, today we highlight isangmahal arts kollective. KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros speaks with MCs Prometheus Brown (aka Geo of Blue Scholars) and El Dia (co-founder of Youth Speaks Seattle) about how isangmahal was foundational in the work they did and created a much needed all ages space that gave rise to some talented MCs in the city.
“It was like a bubble of creative youth expression in the city that centered a lot of marginalized voices,” Geo says.
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Filipino Hip Hop 206 is a new mini series exploring the Filipino impact on Seattle’s hip hop scene. From the first DJ to have a rap radio show on the west coast to a world championship breakdancing crew to countless MCs, there’s no denying how much Filipinos contributed to the scene.
During these next few episodes, KEXP DJs Gabriel Teodros, Mike Ramos and Larry Mizell, Jr. will share interviews and the stories of some of these folks and their legacy. To set things up, Gabriel, Mike and Larry catch up to preview what’s to come.
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Last year we saw protests and conversations around racism, particularly anti-Black racism, in America following the death of George Floyd. In 2020, we also saw a sharp rise in racially-motivated violence towards Asian Americans. KEXP’s Tia Ho spoke with KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros and artist Kimmortal on a song they collaborated on that was inspired by the need for Black and Asian solidarity.
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Amythyst Kiah talks about her new album featuring the Grammy-nominated single, "Black Myself." She discusses mental health and the song written about her mother’s death, "Wild Turkey." She talks about breaking free of the “shut up and sing” policy and how she's now able to fully express herself as a Black and queer artist in her music and on stage.
“I represent the very thing I needed to see when I was growing up,” Kiah says.
TW: this episode discusses topics of suicide and trauma
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Seattle’s Prom Queen is releasing a Britney Spears covers EP on July 30th that will benefit the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse. Emily Fox caught up with Prom Queen’s Leeni Ramadan to talk about the EP and the latest on Britney Spears’ 13-year conservatorship controlled by her father– whom she’s trying to remove from the post.
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The anonymous British collective called SAULT released their fifth album, ‘9,’ this summer. It's only going to be available for 99 days.
KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. and Gabriel Teodros discuss how this limited release sparks questions around value in the age of streaming. They also talk about how humor shows up on the album, how different songs have impacted them, and both the local and global aspects of the group's messages.
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Maria Zardoya and Josh Conway of The Marías started out writing music for film. On their debut album, Cinema, they pay tribute to those early days. The bilingual album sets out to capture the feeling of a film through genre shifts and recurring motifs. Conway says, “We did want it to feel like watching a movie, maybe listening to a movie.”
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Ambar Lucid talks about how a trip on magic mushrooms inspired the title track of her new EP, 'Get Lost in the Music.' She also talks about a documentary about being reunited with her dad years after he was deported to Mexico, and how she hopes to heal her own and others' generational trauma through her music.
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The band Garbage, known for hit songs “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains” is out with their seventh album, 'No Gods No Masters.' Frontwoman Shirley Manson discusses the album’s themes of racism and sexism.
“As a woman, a lot of the time you’re not judged for your work, you’re judged for your beauty and your youth,” Manson says. “For women there is a future beyond your 30s when you develop your first wrinkle.”
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David McGraw is the drummer for the Seattle band, The True Loves and is an acupuncturist by day. Reporter Sararosa Davies caught up with the band’s drummer to hear how his day job informs his music.
“In both cases, you're dealing with other human beings and you have to be very sensitive to how they are interacting with you. Both in the healing space of an acupuncture treatment room, but also on the stage. I think both of them make me better listeners,” McGraw says
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The record label Cinco7 Discos y Tapes has released a punk record made entirely through artificial intelligence. The labels founder Alejandro Chouza explains how.
Learn more at obroiion.com
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Mustafa recently released his debut album, 'When Smoke Rises.' At its core, the album is an expression of love – love for friends he lost to gun violence, and love for his community in Regent Park, Toronto.
KEXP's Gabriel Teodros caught up with Mustafa during his recent Live on KEXP at Home session. They spoke about the connection between Regent Park and Seattle's South End, the tests of "unconditional love," healing from trauma, and the search for nuance and truth.
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Kassa Overall (Seattle-raised, New York-based) is a GRAMMY-nominated MC and jazz drummer. Kassa says his middle school band teacher was integral to his success and taught him life lessons he still thinks about today. His teacher, Mr. Robert Knatt, taught at Washington Middle School near the Central District in Seattle for 36 years. Kassa says he was tough and made students want to push themselves to their fullest potential, but also made room for fun along the way.
In this conversation between Kassa and his former teacher, we hear how Mr. Robert Knatt learned aspects of his teaching philosophy from his own high school band teacher. They also discuss the meaning of awards, how Mr. Knatt motivated his students, and the unique drive of Seattle musicians.
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Some artists and musicians have been able to make millions off of NFTs. George Mocharko reports on how smaller independent labels and venues feel about the new technology.
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Nat Puff, known by the stage name Left At London has released her first full length album. This comes three years after her self-titled EP and the Transgender Street Legend Volume 1 and Volume 2 EPs. This new full-length album is an exploration of Left at London’s mental health. The music weaves between acoustic indie folk to pop, punk, rock, hip hop and electronica, sometimes all within one song—the switches seem to indicate different moods or mental states.
“There are some days when you are angry in a way that you can’t describe and there are some days when you’re absolutely defeated in a way you can’t describe. Then there’s manic episodes, there’s dissociative episodes, all these sorts of things I feel are unintentionally represented in the genre switches,” Puff says. “Each track represents a different part of my mental state—from suicidal ideations, to hope and healing."
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, Kate Stables of This Is The Kit talks with KEXP’s Rachel Stevens about what it was like taking her baby on tour and how she released an album with her now teenage daughter during the pandemic.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave discusses her new book, ‘Seeing Sideways: A Memoir of Music and Motherhood.' She talks with KEXP's Rachel Stevens about touring with four boys and navigating an industry she hates in order to do what she loves.
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
On this episode, Seattle musician JusMoni elaborates on the letter she wrote to her son, called A Recollection of our Becoming, which she performed as a spoken word piece for Wing Luke Museum. The piece reflects on motherhood at 16, historical trauma, and freedom of the spirit.
“Writing this letter to my son, felt really on time,” JusMoni says, “Especially digging into myself and recognizing my own traumas and realizing all the ways that that's affecting my parenting. I wanted to touch on themes without being super explicit around what the experience has been like for me to be Black and Asian. I wanted to lay out what ‘continuum' really looks like and what that looks like in our lives.”
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New Zealand has been relatively free of COVID-19 since June 2020. It’s a rare spot in the world where live music thrived this past year. Ayisha Jaffer reports on how New Zealand focused on it’s local music scene in a way they never have before, and sees music as a key pillar to recovery once the global pandemic is over.
We also hear from Amanda Palmer who’s been living in New Zealand since the last stop of an international tour that landed her in the country in mid-March of 2020. She shares her journey and take on the country’s music scene from an outside perspective.
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Nancy Wilson is a rock and roll hall of fame inductee who’s best known for being the singer/songwriter and guitarist of Heart. Nearly 50 years after joining Heart, the Bellevue-raised artist is out with her first solo record, ‘You and Me’.
Wilson talks about writing songs inspired by Seattle musicians we’ve lost, Heart's upcoming biopic directed by Carrie Brownstein, and more.
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It’s been 50 years since the release of Marvin Gaye’s record, 'What’s Going On.' KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with Emily Fox about the history of the record, breaks down some lesser-known tracks, and discusses how the album’s themes of police brutality, racism, addiction, and concerns about ecological disaster are still relevant today.
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Musician and producer St. Vincent is out with her sixth solo studio album, 'Daddy’s Home.' It was inspired by the music of the 70s. KEXP’s Cheryl Waters recently caught up with St. Vincent to talk about the record, what about the 70s inspired her, the power of backup singers and the women St. Vincent shouts out in her song, "Melting Of The Sun."
“Whether it was Nina Simone speaking out about civil rights or Tori Amos speaking about sexual assault and being punished for being honest, I just wanted to say thank you for being brave and being authentically yourselves, even when the world was hostile to that,” St. Vincent said. “You made my life easier as a female artist, and I hope that I make the next generation's life easier too"
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A new tribute album is coming out in a few weeks that covers songs by The English post punk band, Gang of Four. The album features Gang of Four Covers by The Dandy Warhols, IDLES and more. This album, titled 'The Problem of Leisure,' is a celebration of Gang of Four guitarist, Andy Gill, who died February 1, 2020. It was an album Andy Gill was working on at a hospital in the final days of his life. His widow, author and activist Catherine Mayer has worked to ensure the album's release. She talks about the record, Andy Gill’s death, grief and her upcoming book, 'Good Grief: Embracing Life at a Time of Death.'
“The way to move through grief is not to try to expel it but to embrace it because you are embracing the person you’ve lost. And what you want to be able to do is get to a point where the dead are part of your life and that gives you pleasure and sustenance and you are able to remember them with joy instead of just flinching with pain.”
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Reports of violence against Asian Americans have increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic, by nearly 150 percent in 2020 compared to the year before. Then 2021 saw a mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six Asian Americans. The rise in media coverage about racism towards Asian American communities has ignited a conversation about how we, as a country, view Asian Americans.
Grace Madigan reports on how Asian American musicians have been impacted and responded through their music.
Resources:
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'Can’t Stop Won’t Stop' was a book first published in 2005 by Jeff Chang that chronicled the early hip hop scene. It has now been rereleased with updates and a focus on a young adult audience with writing contributions by DJ, historian and professor Davey D Cook. KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros caught up with Davey D and Jeff Chang about the new edition and the power of hip hop.
“This is the hidden history of America,” Chang says. “Hip hop has that sort of hidden transcript of what really went on, what didn’t end up on the front page.”
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'Can’t Stop Won’t Stop' was a book first published in 2005 by Jeff Chang that chronicled the early hip hop scene. It has now been rereleased with updates and a focus on a young adult audience with writing contributions by DJ, historian and professor Davey D Cook. KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros caught up with Davey D and Jeff Chang about the new edition and the power of hip hop.
“This is the hidden history of America,” Chang says. “Hip hop has that sort of hidden transcript of what really went on, what didn’t end up on the front page.”
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Before Seattle's Duff McKagan went on to become the bassist for Guns N’ Roses and before Seattle’s Mother Love Bone started influencing the city’s grunge sound, there was The Living. It was an early 80’s Seattle punk band made up of a teenage Duff McKagan on guitar, Greg Gilmore (of Mother Love Bone) on drums, Todd Fleischman on bass, and John Conte as the band’s frontman.
Seattle’s Loosegroove Records, which is co-run by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard, has just released The Living’s album, titled ‘1982,' for the very first time. “It’s Seattle hardcore, pre-grunge [...] it really showcases who the real king of grunge is and I think it might be Duff and Greg and Todd and John,” Gossard says.
For this episode, drummer Greg Gilmore talks about the themes on the record and how it's finally seeing the light of day.
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London Grammar frontwoman Hannah Reid talks about how misogyny in the music industry inspired her band’s latest album, 'Californian Soil.'
“I just encountered a lot of what I would call daily sexist assumptions and microaggressions,” Reid says.
She also talks about nearly giving up on music, how burnout led to her developing fibromyalgia, which causes fatigue and pain all over the body, and how she manages it as a performer.
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When Tune-Yards first hit the scene with their 2009 album, 'Bird-brains,' you could hear that some songs pulled sounds, melodies and rhythms from African music traditions. Their 2018 album, ‘I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life,’ was written after frontwoman Merill Garbus took a six-month workshop on race. You can hear the effects of that workshop on the track, “Colonizer.”
With all that in mind, for Live on KEXP At Home, Larry Mizell Jr. chatted with Garbus about the work she’s done on race, on appropriation vs. inspiration and Tune-Yards' most recent album, released March 26th, called 'Sketchy.'
Watch the full session on KEXP's YouTube channel.
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It’s been one week since former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges for the killing of George Floyd. Larry Mizell Jr. was DJing live on KEXP the moment the verdict came down last Tuesday. Here’s his essay reflecting on the day, the death of George Floyd and many other Black lives, through music.
Read Larry's essay here.
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Sharon Van Etten has just released 'epic Ten,' a double album celebrating the tenth anniversary of her 2010 release, 'epic.' The release features both the original record and an LP of covers by Fiona Apple, Big Red Machine, IDLES, Courtney Barnett with Vagabon, Lucinda Williams, and more.
KEXP’s Cheryl Waters talks with Sharon Van Etten about ‘epic Ten' and has her break down some of the covers on the record.
You can read the full interview here.
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Japanese Breakfast frontwoman Michelle Zauner discusses her new memoir, 'Crying in H Mart.' In the book, she beautifully illustrates how she has dealt with the grief of losing her mother by cooking Korean food, and how her understanding of her mother has evolved since her death. She also discusses the complicated nature of being mixed race, and how she's found a sense of belonging through her artistic practices.
“Part of being mixed race and losing your parent that sort of connects you to that part of your culture, you just start to question, is this even an inherent part of my identity?” Zauner says. “I think that now I just really have to work to preserve that part of myself instead of it just being innately a part of me because of my mom’s existence.”
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We're taking a week off from posting podcasts and other online content, but you can always find a live DJ streaming on KEXP.org, the KEXP App, or 90.3 FM in Seattle.
New episodes will return to your Sound & Vision feed on Tuesday, April 20th!
Until then, visit old episodes or explore our other podcasts, Song of the Day, Live on KEXP, and The Weekly Mix. And if you haven't had the chance yet, there's still time to take the KEXP Podcast Survey.
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If you want to understand the impact of major labels on the music industry, look no further than a recent article in Wired titled, “Big Music Needs to Be Broken Up to Save the Industry.” It covers how corporate power has taken over streaming, recording, ticketing and music venues.
Author Ron Knox breaks down the history behind the music economy and its impacts, as well as possible solutions.
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Emily Fox discusses Brandi Carlile’s new memoir, ‘Broken Horses,’ with KEXP volunteer and mega Brandi Carlile fan, Bee Egan. They discuss themes from the book, like the power of Brandi's vulnerability, how she came into her identity through music and performance, and her chills-inducing 2019 Grammys performance, as well as Bee's personal connection to the artist.
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Spotify recently launched a website and initiative called Loud & Clear. It’s Spotify’s attempt at being transparent about how artists are paid and the economics of streaming. The Union of Musicians and Allied workers have been calling for greater transparency at Spotify along with a request to stop court battles that lower royalty rates for songwriters, and to pay artists one cent per stream.
Zack Nestel-Patt of UMAW breaks down how artists are paid through Spotify, discusses how Spotify still has not met the union’s demands and says that Loud & Clear was “further obfuscation of what’s going on mixed with baulking that Spotify is doing anything wrong and pointing the finger at other people.”
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As we wrap up Women's History Month, Emily Fox and KEXP DJs Morgan Chosnyk and Eva Walker break down the stories and songs behind the top three most played women artists on KEXP during March: Arlo Parks, Japanese Breakfast and Noname.
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KEXP recently celebrated Transit Operator Appreciation Day. There’s one transit operator in particular that has touched the life of KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. It’s Reggie “Smiley” Wilson. He’s hilarious and humble, he sings on the job, cracks jokes, shares words of wisdom and always drives with a colorful sign that says “Smile.”
“The best thing to do with a smile is give it away,” Wilson says.
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March 20th marked the one-year anniversary of Bandcamp Fridays. Once a month, Bandcamp has been waiving its 15% share on digital music and 10% share on artist merch to help support artists during the pandemic.
Josh Kim, COO of Bandcamp, talks about the impact of holding Bandcamp Friday every month for the past year.
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SoundCloud is rolling out a new payment method for artists on its platform on April 1st called “fan-powered royalties.” Instead of artists being paid according to their share of overall streams on the platform, listeners’ ad revenue and subscription fees will go directly to the artists they listen to.
SoundCloud’s Head of Rights Administration and Strategy, Michael Pelczynski, breaks down how the new “fan-powered royalties” model will work.
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Musicians have been making millions of dollars in recent weeks for auctioning off their music in the form of an NFT (Non-Fungible Token). Grimes made nearly $6 million in 20 minutes doing it, EDM artist 3lau has made more than $11 million and Kings of Leon just released a full album as an NFT.
Chase Danzig joins this episode to fill us in on how NFTs work. He runs a YouTube channel called “The Bitcoin Express," and recently released a video titled, “How NFT Will Take Over the Music Industry.”
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the intersection of parenthood and being a musician.
For this next artist, he’s also struggled with addiction on top of it all. Pearl Nelson, also known as Pearl Dragon of the band Champagne Champagne, talks about idolizing Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix, falling into addiction on tour, and his path to recovery. He also discusses finally being in a place where he’s ready to tour again with clarity and confidence in his sobriety.
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate to our Spring Drive today!
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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.
Today we meet Reese Umbaugh, who’s known on the drag stage as Cookie Couture. Cookie made headlines in 2019 for "Drag Queen Story Hour" at the Des Moines Public Library. Off the stage, Umbaugh mentors youth and has fostered 16 kids in the past decade. He is now the father of four adopted boys.
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate to our Spring Drive today!
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Sound & Vision is launching a new mini-series called Apparently where two new mothers, KEXP DJ Evie Stokes and KEXP Drive Time Producer Rachel Stevens introduce us to folks who are juggling being musicians and parents.
Today we hear from Grace Love about her journey of becoming a solo artist and a single mother at the same time.
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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.
Then, KEXP Audioasis DJ and The Black Tones frontwoman Eva Walker leads a panel of fellow Black musicians to react to Bam Bam’s music and story and discuss the landscape for Black rockers in Seattle’s music scene today.
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Adrian Younge is a multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer who has just released an album and a podcast for Black History Month. The album is called 'The American Negro' and the podcast is called 'Invisible Blackness.' The first track of the album, "Revisionist History," gets at the mission statement throughout the project: revising history to represent the real narratives around Black lives in America.
Adrian Younge spoke to Sound & Vision about the stories of Black America not typically taught in the U.S.
Listen to the ‘Invisible Blackness’ podcast here.
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Femi and Made Kuti are the descendants of Fela Kuti—the pioneer of Afrobeat. They are carrying on the family tradition and have put out a double album together as father and son. They talk about their work, their family's music legacy and the issues of corruption and historical impacts of colonialism still felt in their home of Nigeria today.
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February is Black History Month, but here at KEXP we're celebrating what we are calling 'Black History is Now.' Instead of relying on the music of legacy acts like those involved with Motown or the Golden Era of Hip-Hop, we are celebrating the artists who are making music and art today. KEXP’s web team got together, and each wrote an essay on Black artists they are gravitating to now. They wrote about it for this month's edition of KEXP's “In Our Headphones” column. Today’s podcast presents that article in audio form.
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London-based TV Priest recently released their debut record, 'Uppers,' through Sub Pop. Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater discusses the album's reflections on social media, misinformation, pandemics, gentrification and fatherhood.
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Langhorne Slim didn’t set out to write a record. He hadn’t written music in a year. At the end of 2019 he entered a program to tackle his issues with prescription drug abuse. Shortly after he came out of that program, a tornado struck his neighborhood in Nashville, then COVID-19 hit the nation. Trying to make sense of it all, Langhorne slim finally wrote a song. He was given the advice to write without any expectations and music started to flow again. The result is his latest album, 'Strawberry Mansion.'
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February 13 marks the 25th anniversary of the Fugees’ seminal album, 'The Score.' Fugees, short for refugees, was formed in New Jersey in the 90s and included Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. They were known for original hits like “Ready or Not" and covers such as “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” KEXP will be celebrating the album's anniversary all day on Friday, February 12 by playing album cuts, remixes, inspirations, and more.
KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. and Gabriel Teodros catch up to talk about the legacy of the Fugees and 'The Score' and why it matters. "To see this group who's Black who also has an immigrant experience embracing it and standing strong in it, I know it changed my life. I can only imagine what it did for countless artists," Teodros said.
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Russian feminist protest band, activist and performance art group Pussy Riot has a new song out called "RAGE" that calls for the release of Russian political prisoners. Two of Pussy Riot’s members now face jail time after being involved in recent protests in Russia. The protests were in response to the recent arrest and jailing of Russian activist and opposition leader, Alexi Navalny.
Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova talks about the new song, the political situation in Russia, her two-year experience in a Russian prison, and what Pussy Riot stands for.
Watch the video for "RAGE" here
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Music has become an investment opportunity. Last month, we heard the news that Bob Dylan sold his songwriting catalog to Universal for more than $300 million. Since then, artists such as Neil Young and Shakira have sold the rights to their songs to an investment company called Hipgnosis. To understand what this all might mean for the music industry is Marc Hogan. He’s a senior staff writer for Pitchfork who wrote an article titled “What To Know About Music’s Copyright Gold Rush.”
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After years of negotiations following the 2016 referendum for the UK to leave the EU, a deal over Brexit was finally hammered out just before the new year. We’re now one month into that deal and many questions remain. Isaac Kaplan-Woolner reports that with new borders, visas, work permits, and taxes, it looks like it will likely mean a lot of complications for UK bands trying to tour Europe.
We also chat with the London-based band, Goat Girl, about the themes of climate change, mental health and gender issues that come up on their new record, 'On All Fours.'
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Australian group The Avalanches released their third album, 'We Will Always Love You,' at the end of 2020, twenty years after their debut. The record takes listeners on a cosmic journey inspired by the Golden Voyager Record, a compilation of sounds, music and greetings from around our world that was sent into space in the late 70s. The album also features guest appearances from MGMT, Blood Orange, Leon Bridges, Tricky, and Sampa The Great.
Robbie Chater and Tony DiBlasi of The Avalanches discuss sampling, collaborating with different artists, and the love story behind the Golden Voyager Record involving its creators, Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan.
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Matt and Rachel Wilson are ranchers and musicians by trade who live in the tiny town of Silver Lake in the high desert of rural Oregon. On a normal year, half of their income comes from performing live as a musical duo called Wampus Cat. Once COVID-19 hit, that income disappeared and their cupboards went dry. The Wilsons had to sell some horses to get by and work two hours from their home to make ends meet. The Wilsons discuss their journey, hopes, and the silver linings of the pandemic.
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Entertainment attorney Dina LaPolt talks about her recent opinion piece in Variety titled, “Rap Lyrics Now Admissible in Court Evidence: A Dangerous Precedent.”
LaPolt says, “If all of a sudden every Black artist is afraid that everything that they rap about can be used against them if they were ever charged with a crime is very scary.” She adds that it’s been studied that when research participants were presented identical lyrics from different musical genres, writers of violent rap lyrics are perceived more negatively than if the same lyric came from a country or heavy metal artist.
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Karli Ingersoll, co-owner of Spokane's Lucky You Lounge, and Cedric Walker, musician and board member of Keep Music Live, discuss the recent passage of the Save Our Stages Act and what it will mean for venues. At the center of their conversation is equity, and how the music community in Washington state plans to build the live music scene back better.
Joe Seamons of Black & Tan Hall talks about the future of their newly purchased space in the south Seattle neighborhood of Hillman City. Their vision is to create a space that serves as a community institution and is welcoming to everyone. Integral to this vision is "creating a pathway to ownership for people who have been systemically denied ownership in business and land.”
Read more about Save Our Stages on KEXP.org
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Derrick “Vitamin D” Brown is a bonafide Seattle Legend: an MC, DJ, producer and engineer whose work has helped define the aesthetics and sensibilities of Seattle hip hop for over two decades.
KEXP's Larry Mizell Jr. profiles Vitamin D’s story, how he bridged Seattle's funk and soul era with the beginnings of its rap scene, and eventually created the unmatched sound that persists today.
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In part two of our series on Seattle hip hop, Larry Mizell, Jr. interviews Dr. Daudi Abe about his new book, ‘Emerald Street: A History of Hip Hop In Seattle.’ Abe talks about how Seattle’s geographic isolation allowed hip hop artists to break the mold in their lyrical content, sound and more.
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Seattle’s first rap group formed 40 years ago. They called themselves the Emerald Street Boys.
As part of Sound & Vision’s mini-series on the history of hip hop in Seattle, we look back at the Emerald Street Boys' beginnings, their distinctive performance style, their lasting impact on hip hop, and where they are now.
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DJ and professor Davey D along with KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros discuss how consolidation and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 drove out small, independent and Black-owned radio stations. The resulting centralized playlists hid more independent and socially conscious hip hop artists from the mainstream eye.
“It’s the same five artists over and over again. What do they talk about? They talk about money, sex and things that are dehumanizing. What does that mean when white America is learning about Black humanity through this very narrow lens that only a few executives that are not from the culture are painting? It becomes an attack,” Teodros says.
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As 2020 lurches towards a close, KEXP has been looking back at, and honoring, many of the music figures we lost in the last year. On Thursday, December 17th, KEXP DJs paid tribute all day long on the "People Who Died" show. But inevitably, there are more people to remember than there are hours in the day.
Sound & Vision’s Isaac Kaplan-Woolner brings a segment exploring some of the lesser known musicians, songwriters, and producers who passed away in 2020.
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Emily Fox and Larry Mizell, Jr. discuss KEXP's top played album and top played songs from 2020. Plus, KEXP DJs talk about their personal favorite tracks of the year.
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2020 brought a national conversation around race in America. It’s a subject musician and KEXP Audioasis host Eva Walker has been talking about with her friend and fellow musician Rani Weatherby of the band Champagne Honeybee. Weatherby was adopted as a child from India by a white single mother who lived in the largely white Seattle suburb of Snohomish. Walker says this year’s conversation around race has been largely black and white, justifiably so, but she wanted to hear the perspective from a brown, female adoptee. Weatherby talks with Walker about how her race, background and upbringing has impacted her music.
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Calexico released a Christmas album for 2020 called 'Seasonal Shift.' But rather than the typical holiday songs about good tidings and cheer, Calexico paints a more realistic picture of dysfunctional families, crying over a drink of Mezcal, and holiday meals ruined.
Vocalist and guitarist Joey Burns talks about the record and how it came together through collaborations with musicians from around the world.
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Bartees Cox Jr., AKA Bartees Strange, released his debut album this year, entitled 'Live Forever.' His sound traverses art-rock, emo, folk, R&B and even trap rap. Though many are surprised by the effortlessness with which Bartees Strange synthesizes these genres, to him it’s all at its root Black music, and as such, he wants more kids of color to see themselves on that same stage.
“I want to reclaim that space,” Strange says. “That's kind of what the record's all about. People think it's weird to see me do this, but it's not.”
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Iceland’s Sigur Rós recently released their first album in seven years, titled 'Odin’s Raven Magic.' It’s an orchestral album featuring a Paris-based orchestra and an Icelandic chamber choir. While you can hear glimmers of Sigur Rós’ signature ambient rock style and distinct vocals, much of this project sounds like something out of Medieval times.
“It sounds completely different from anything that we have done, [or] anything we will ever do again. At the same time it’s also completely different from anything I’ve heard before,” says Sigur Rós bassist Georg Holm.
Holm talks about the apocalyptic story behind the Norse Mythology poem, “Odin’s Raven Magic,” that inspired the project, and how it resonates today.
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Seattle independent artist Mark Diamond was surprised when he was able to pay his rent through song streams on Spotify. By persistence in reaching out to individual playlisters on the platform, he eventually gained a million streams per month. He later got picked up by a subsidiary label of Universal Music, only to realize he was making less money with the support of a label. He tells this story in his latest (independently released) single, “The Ride.”
Diamond discusses his life before streaming success, coming up in the scene while self-promoting and holding a day job, his emphasis on connecting directly with fans, and his illuminating journey through the music industry during his time in LA.
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Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard talks about his new side project, Painted Shield, with singer/songwriter Mason Jennings. Gossard elaborates on the fruitful collaboration and dives into the background of some songs from their eponymous debut. He also discusses how the relaunch of his label, Loosegroove Records, happened in part in response to the death of former band member, Shawn Smith.
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Nearly two years ago, Toronto’s Royal Mountain Records became what might be the first label to offer a mental health fund for its artists. It pledged that any artist on the label could anonymously access $1,500 in funds to go towards mental health services.
Label founder Menno Versteeg discusses why musicians may be more likely to struggle with mental health, why the industry should support them, and ultimately why he stands by the fund despite it digging into the label’s bottom line.
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Harpist and composer Nailah Hunter released her debut EP, ‘Spells,' in May of this year. Hunter says she sees composition as an act of magical healing and, as the title suggests, each song is like a spell. Her mystical approach to music-making has the power to transport listeners, while also allowing Hunter to deepen her connection with her Haitian roots.
In this interview with KEXP’s Dusty Henry, Hunter also explores mythology, the importance of rest, and her choice to remain soft amidst the hard realities of 2020.
“As a Black woman living in 2020, singing about dragons and princes and stuff is such a choice but I still feel like it is political in some ways,” Hunter says.
Read the full interview here.
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Dirty Projectors released five markedly different EPs in 2020, jumping between sonic realms of folk, classical, avant garde, bossa nova, and soulful pop.
The first four EPs in the series feature a different vocalist from the band singing lead on each. As frontman Dave Longstreth explains, “a goal was to present a kind of mosaic ideal of this band. One in which everyone takes turn singing lead.”
Longstreth joins Sound & Vision to share the band's collaborative process of songwriting for the inventive project.
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This year marks the 30th anniversary of Alice in Chains' debut album, 'Facelift.' On December 1st, the band will be presented Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture’s Founders Award.
To talk about the band’s legacy are founding members Sean Kinney (drummer) and Jerry Cantrell (vocals and guitar) as well as William DuVall (lead vocalist) who joined the band in 2006, four years after the death of frontman Layne Staley.
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Marie Davidson’s popular 2018 song, “Work It,” was a club hit, but also pointed to workaholism, in both her own life and society at large. Her latest album, 'Renegade Breakdown,' is a conscious departure from the club sound. It explores her process of detachment from commercial ideals and “industry in general."
In this episode, Davidson discusses working through her various addictions that were fueled by the pressures of capitalism, her connection to the life and music of Karen Carpenter, and how she’s embodied the punk rock spirit of “enough is enough” by being unapologetically herself.
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On November 1st, Germany announced that they would be in partial lockdown for the month of November. That meant bars, clubs and cinemas could not host any guests. This came one day after a study was published that found that if indoor music and sporting venues followed good ventilation and social distancing measures, chances of virus transmission would be low.
Dr. Michael Gekle is part of the team at Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg who conducted the study. He discusses the findings of the research and what venues will have to keep in mind in the future to prevent the spread of the virus.
Further reading:
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SassyBlack is an independent musician and educator, and a staple in the Seattle arts scene. After signing to Sub Pop at age 23 with her former duo THEESatisfation, she continues to evolve as a solo artist and this year was featured on Michelle Obama’s official Spotify playlist.
She’s out with a new EP, ’STUCK,’ which addresses mental health, working for free in the music industry, and the “Karen”s of the world.
Further reading:
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Marshall Law Band has been the de-facto house band for the ongoing Seattle protests that began following the death of George Floyd. The band is out with a new album, '12th and Pine,' representing their experience at the heart of the protests and the resounding messages they carry.
KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with frontman Marshall Hugh about the role of music in protest, the events and activists they highlighted in the new record, and how we all must sustain the movement through dedicated work.
“We really believe that 12th and Pine is something that all sides need to hear, no matter where you sit on this fence,” Hugh says. “It’s really important that you use music for education and understanding other people’s perspectives and we believe that 12th and Pine represents our perspective from a frontlines lens.”
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Sa-Roc’s latest release, ‘The Sharecropper’s Daughter,’ is KEXP DJ Gabriel Teodros’ favorite hip-hop album of 2020. Teodros spoke with Sa-Roc about her song, “Forever." She says her goal for the song was to champion “the individual, particularly individuals that didn’t see themselves reflected within media imagery, or if they saw themselves reflected, it was in a negative light.”
“Forever" is a song about self-love, but it also explicitly points out that the scars on her wrists are from self-harm. Sa-Roc says it’s an issue that’s not discussed in all communities and her fans responded. “As a Black woman who experienced self-harm, that’s rare or not talked about. So a lot of Black women were coming up to me and saying, ‘Thank you for sharing this, I thought I was the only one.’ Or, ‘My daughter had been experiencing this and I didn’t know how to deal with it because I thought it was something that happened outside of our community.'”
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The new album by the feminist hardcore punk band, War on Women takes on issues of race, gender and politics. It’s called 'Wonderful Hell.'
The theme of the record is encapsulated in the title track with the lyrics, “There’s got to be a better way than giving up and wallowing. Let’s raise some wonderful beautiful hell and make this world worth living in.” As frontwoman, Shawna Potter explains, “You’ll find that theme through the record. Stuff sucks but let’s get to work now.”
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Laura Veirs calls her latest album, 'My Echo,' her “my songs knew I was getting divorced before I did" album. Her now ex-husband, Tucker Martine, was her producer of 20 years and produced the record.
Veirs talks about how artist couples handle parenting, going through a divorce, her renewed sense of self and juggling music and motherhood during a pandemic.
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Backxwash was announced the winner of Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize last week. Backxwash describes her music as industrial hip hop and horrorcore.
She talks about how issues of mental health and her identity as a Black trans woman come up on her latest album, 'God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It,' and how she finds comfort in addressing these issues within the genre of horrorcore.
Check out the recent episode of The Weekly Mix featuring Backxwash's "Spells"
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Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco fame) set a goal for himself during the pandemic—to write one song a day. The resulting work makes up his latest album, ‘Love Is The King.’ He also just released a new book, ‘How To Write One Song,' sharing tips around his creative process.
Tweedy discusses the habits that helped him develop this prolific writing style, sometimes writing a song in just 15 minutes. He also shares the word games he uses to help conjure lyrics when he’s feeling uninspired.
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Kevin Morby feels a sense of melancholy when the sun goes down. That feeling inspired his latest album, ‘Sundowner.’ The album was written after Morby moved from LA to his hometown of Kansas City. He says this record was his “attempt to put the Middle American twilight—its beauty profound, though not always immediate— into sound.”
Many of the songs paint a picture of campfires, stars, dead deer on an open road and storms. And while the sunsets mark a darkening chapter of his day, he says they are particularly beautiful in the Midwest.
“They say it’s 'God’s country' or 'big sky country' and the clouds are so big out here and the clouds sort of act as these projectors for the light and just kind of hold on for a really long time,” Morby says.
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It’s now been seven months since music venues have been able to hold shows. Steven Severin of the Seattle venue, Neumos, talks about the efforts to rally for federal and state aid as well as the recent #KeepMusicLiveWA fundraising campaign to save independent music venues.
“If we don't get some type of funding, and soon, the venues are going to go away and they're not coming back,” Severin says.
Sound & Vision also hears from folks who worked in live music before the pandemic hit and have had to find jobs in different industries altogether—from wine to welding. For some, the switch is for good.
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Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver is out with their third album, 'Impossible Weight.' The album was written after frontwoman Jessica Dobson's experience with depression.
“I just hit this crazy wall where everything turned black and I couldn’t see a foot in front of me,” Dobson says.
On the journey to heal and overcome that sadness, Dobson started volunteering with a non-profit that works with unhoused, drug dependent Seattle-area residents. Conversations with folks there inspired the song, "Switchblade." Dobson says those conversations helped her tap into a stronger compassion for herself and empathy for others.
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Bob Mould has been making music for more than 40 years. His career started when he played in the punk band, Hüsker Dü, which was prominent in the 80s. Mould is now out with his 14th solo record, 'Blue Hearts.'
Mould discusses some prominent themes from the new album, as well as parallels he sees in politics of the 80s and today, and the importance of music as protest. He also talks about the role of musicians to use their platforms to speak out on issues like climate change. In the song "Next Generation," he urges listeners to actively engage with politics and their communities with the lyrics, "Please pay attention, take to the streets for your rights."
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The Cheater’s Guide to Spotify is a series on Medium by OneZero author, Peter Slattery. In the series, Slattery lays out various ways people game the Spotify system to rack up streams. In this episode, he talks about some of those methods, like creating playlists of popular soundtracks and adding in music that wasn’t part of the soundtrack to give a song more streams, faking a big name featured artist on a track, and increasing search optimization by using an artist name like “White Noise” or “Stress Relief.”
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Fleet Foxes recently released a surprise album at the exact moment of the fall equinox, 6:31am PT on September 22.
Frontman Robin Pecknold discusses the significance of the equinox on the record, tells stories behind some of the songs, and shares how he found a renewed appreciation for music during the pandemic.
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive!
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Pitchfork published an article last week titled, “What it’s Like to Be Black in Indie Music.” Its author, Matthew James-Wilson, talks about his personal experience in the scene as well as what he gathered from various musicians he interviewed for the story.
He says the artists he spoke with were “playing to largely white crowds and feeling like their music was subject to a predominantly white gaze because of the audiences they were playing to or the ways their music was being marketed.”
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive!
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Sylvan Esso is out with their third studio album, 'Free Love.' Sylvan Esso has said that this record is “about being increasingly terrified of the world around you and looking inward to remember all the times when loving other people seemed so easy, so that you can find your way back to that place.”
Amelia Meath of the pop duo breaks down some of the stories behind the music, explains how dancing is a major theme on the record, and shares her love of radio DJs, as demonstrated in the song “Frequency.”
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive!
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Aluna Francis started her career as one half of the electronic duo AlunaGeorge. But as a Black artist in dance music, Aluna always felt like an outsider. For her first solo record, 'Renaissance,' she wanted to create a record for Black folks and bring dance music to its roots. After all, techno was formed in the early 80s by Black artists in Detroit and House was created by Black DJs in Chicago around the same time. By the time electronic dance music was mainstream, however, the genre's origins were unknown to many.
“I had approached this idea as a visitor, as a guest to dance music, as someone trying to break into a world that was not mine and when I found out about the Black history of dance music I was, well, slightly enraged,” Aluna says.
Read Aluna's open letter on racial inequities in dance music.
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Music journalist Jessica Hopper has been writing about misogyny, sexism and abuse in the music industry for more than two decades. When reacting to the fallout of Burger Records because of sexual abuse and misconduct, she says abuse in the music industry is nothing new.
“Historically within music for male artists, women’s bodies, particularly young women’s bodies has been seen as their right. That it is a reward for playing a good show, etc. That it is part of what power can get you in these spaces, which is access to women,” Hopper says.
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Burger Records was a garage rock record label in Orange County that built its brand on bringing rock and roll to teens and putting the spotlight on underground bands. It folded in July after a wave of sexual assault and misconduct allegations were posted on social media that involved members of more than a dozen bands on the label.
Today’s story will dive into the rise and fall of Burger Records. We’ll hear from women who were abused by men on the label and from one of the former co-owners of the label. We’ll also hear what the music industry can do to prevent sexual assault—from labels to venues to bandmates.
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Shawna Potter is the singer of a hardcore, feminist punk band called War on Women. Last year she released a book called Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather. She discusses what a safe music venue should look like, how staff should be trained, and how patrons can respond to harassment.
We also hear from Sadie Dupuis of the bands Speedy Ortiz and Sad13 about putting Potter’s book into practice while on tour. She also talks about her hotline she created for fans to use if they are feeling unsafe at a show.
“We set up a phone number you could text if you were experiencing harassment at a show and it would forward to every member of our touring party and the hope is we could get someone to safety,” Dupuis says.
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Blimes and Gab, the rap duo consisting of Seattle MC Gabrielle “Gifted Gab” Kadushin and San Francisco’s Samantha “Blimes Brixton” McDonald, recently released their debut album, 'Talk About It.' They join KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros to discuss the new album, finding alternative income streams during the pandemic, and being authentically themselves in a music industry that wants them to be something else.
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Josiah Johnson released his first solo album on September 4th. This comes five years after he was kicked out of Head and the Heart for his struggles with addiction. They were in the middle of recording 'Signs of Light' and Johnson wasn’t showing up to the studio or answering his phone.
“They were like, we love you. Go figure your stuff out. We need to focus. We can’t worry whether or not you are alive,” Johnson explains.
After some soul searching, Johnson has found healing in music. He discusses his journey through recovery in his latest album, 'Every Feeling On A Loop.'
Parts of this interview originally aired on the February 4th episode of the Sound & Vision podcast.
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One month ago, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of Beirut exploded, causing at least 181 deaths and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. Among those whose homes were destroyed were all members of the band Postcards. One band member was also injured from the impact of the explosion.
KEXP's Owen Murphy catches up with Postcard's lead singer and co-songwriter Julia Sabra to discuss what happened that day. She also shares her perspective on the ongoing civil protests in Lebanon, why it's important not to normalize tragedy, and how the band is taking action to support local musicians.
Where to donate:
Learn more about Postcards' "Fossilized" in KEXP's Song of the Day feature
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Author Mark Ribowsky talks about the legacy of Little Richard, from the surprising story of his first hit single, "Tutti Frutti," to the many comebacks he had later in his career. Ribowsky also discusses the influential singer's struggles and frustrations with navigating a racist music industry, which he captures in his newly released biography, 'The Big Life of Little Richard.'
"I call it rock & roll's original sin. The people who actually made rock & roll, [and were] pivotal to the growth of this whole music industry, never were given a fair share of the financial results," Ribowsky says.
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Portland-raised rapper Aminé talks about how the racial tensions he felt in his hometown are reflected in his latest album, 'Limbo.'
“Growing up as a Black kid in Portland, Oregon, there just isn’t a lot of us there so we never felt like we were welcomed in with open arms or felt comfortable walking around in my own city, which I love dearly to my heart,” Aminé says.
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“The Postal Service is the last lifeline for us musicians," says Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver. On this episode, labels and musicians weigh in on changes to the USPS.
The Postmaster general has been testifying before Congress about changes at the Postal Service, including reducing overtime hours and the removal of mail sorting machines. The changes have led to accusations of slowing down mail delivery ahead of November’s presidential election. But slowdowns at the U.S. Postal Service will also affect small businesses who rely on the service -- including record labels and independent musicians. We hear from indie labels, Asian Man Records, Help Yourself Records and the band, Deep Sea Diver about their reliance on the USPS and what changes to the service could mean for them.
Learn more about KEXP’s “Good Mail Day,” taking place September 22nd.
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Unity Arena, a socially-distanced outdoor concert space with a 2,500-person capacity, has opened up in northern England. (Here’s what it looks like.) It’s hosted four massive shows so far with over 20 more planned or in the works. Steve Davis, Director and Promoter at SSD Concerts, which is operating Unity Arena, talks about what the arena looks like and how it functions while keeping people safe amid a pandemic.
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Indoor theaters and music venues opened back up in England on August 15th with social distance rules in place. Founder of Music Venues Trust, Mark Davyd, talks about what these reopenings will look like.
“Venues are operating at roughly 30% capacity. Everybody has to be seated. Drinks are only brought to the table. There are massive additional costs in meeting the health and safety demands of managing the virus. And frankly the kind of music you can program is also very limited. We’re not going to see any hardcore punk gigs. It’s going to be a lot of folk and jazz and singer/songwriters with acoustic guitars,” Davyd says.
Davyd adds that operating at 30% capacity will not be a financial benefit to music venues. He estimates that 93% of England’s music venues are still under threat of permanent closure because of COVID-19.
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Anacortes, WA native, Phil Elverum talks about how he tried to break nostalgia by creating a one-track, 45-minute album under his old stage name, The Microphones.
"I wanted to get at what The Microphones was,” Elverum says.
Elverum also talks about maintaining his DIY and indie approach to music-making and defying the streaming era model of money-making by releasing such a long song and avoiding streaming services altogether.
“It’s maybe an act of protest in a way,” Elverum says. “Songs are getting shorter, people’s attention spans are getting whittled away. I don’t feel great about that and I want to maybe push in the other direction.”
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Seattle electronic duo, ODESZA has teamed up with Australian EDM artist, Golden Features on a project called BRONSON. ODESZA talks about BRONSON’s new album, creating songs on opposite sides of the globe, and how COVID has impacted them as artists and the music industry as a whole.
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The Irish band, Fontaines D.C. just released a new album, 'A Hero’s Death.' Frontman Grian Chatten shares the stories behind the title of the album and the final track, “No," and explains how the sea inspires his music.
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and today we’re asking for your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now to help reach our Summer Fundraising Drive goal!
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Taylor Swift has now achieved her seventh No. 1 Album on the Billboard 200 chart for her latest record, ‘folklore.' At the end of April, Swift reached out to Aaron Dessner of the National to make an album. Three months later, ‘folklore' was released. The album is being dubbed Taylor Swift’s first indie-folk record, and has now been placed into heavy rotation at KEXP.
KEXP’s Music Director Don Yates explains why he put Taylor Swift into rotation for the very first time. KEXP’s DJ Abbie also weighs in on the record and the themes it explores, including gender inequities in the music industry and beyond.
KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and today we’re asking for your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now to help reach our Summer Fundraising Drive goal!
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Carla Sariñana is a Mexico-based musician. Her solo project is called Silver Rose, she plays bass in Ruido Rosa and is also label manager at Devil in the Woods. She says she wasn’t surprised when she heard that California’s Burger Records folded after members of more than a dozen bands on the label were accused of predatory behavior, sexual misconduct and assault, especially towards fans who were minors. She’s familiar with the sexist culture of the music industry, saying when she lived in Los Angeles, bookers “wouldn’t give me shows unless I would go out for a beer with them.”
Carla Sariñana joins Sound & Vision to discuss her reaction to the news about Burger Records and how labels have a duty to proactively prevent misconduct, the issue of gender-based violence and femicide in Mexico, the sexualized marketing of women in the music industry, and more.
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Total F*cking Godhead: The Biography of Chris Cornell is out today. Author Corbin Reiff discusses the stories behind the music of the vocalist of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog.
“Jeff Ament [of Pearl Jam] has once said that [Chris Cornell] is the best songwriter to come out of Seattle since Jimi Hendrix and that’s probably what I would go with his legacy as,” Reiff says. “He was just an immense talent. He had a lot of god given ability with his voice but he also had a lot of determination to become a great songwriter and he really pushed himself to do that, whatever it took to learn new skills, new tunings, new recording techniques. He was endlessly curious about that sort of thing. He might have been born with a lot of gifts but he really maximized them to the greatest ability.”
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The book, “Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound” by Andrea Swensson explores Minneapolis’ segregated music scenes and the systemic racism historically at play in the city.
Swensson speaks with KEXP DJ Kevin Cole about the overlooked bands and artists who shaped the city’s sound, the Highway Act that split largely-Black neighborhoods in Minneapolis and how Black artists, bands and venues were scrutinized by police and the local music industry. Swensson says Black artists told her they had to form racially integrated bands with white musicians as a form of survival.
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A legal battle over the name "Lady A" has brought up questions around white privilege and racism in the music industry. Amid global protests against police brutality and systemic racism, the country group Lady Antebellum said they would change their name to Lady A. That’s because the word Antebellum, which in Latin translates to “before the war,’ is associated with the US Civil War and the Confederacy. However, there’s already a Lady A. She’s a Black blues singer based in Seattle who’s gone by the name Lady A for more than 20 years. Lady Antebellum, an all-white band is now suing Seattle’s Lady A for the trademark over the name.
Seattle’s Lady A says that since the rebranding of Lady Antebellum to Lady A, her music has become buried on social media and music streaming sites. But she says her fight over her stage name isn’t just about music, it’s about the significance of a name from a historical perspective. She says white people have been taking from Black and Indigenous people for centuries, including their names. “When we came to this country, they [white people] took our names from us and gave us their names,” Lady A says. “This is about every Black, Indigenous person of this land and person of color who has had something taken from them– their land, their artistry, their culture, their language and their name.”
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Billboard announced this week that artists can no longer bundle album sales. Bundling is where an artist adds on, or “bundles” an album to a sale of a concert ticket or merch. For example, a fan would buy a ticket to a concert or an artist T-shirt and the artist adds in an album to that purchase. The idea was to game the billboard chart and count that sale of a ticket or sweatshirt as an album sale. The more album sales, the better your chances are of charting on billboard. Chris Molanphy is a pop critic, chart analyst and host of Slate’s Hit Parade Podcast. He says bundling was a response to the streaming era of music.
“The reason the industry has been eager to do this bundling tactic is that a traditional sale of an album counts far more for the chart than a stream does,” Molanphy says.
However, Billboard is pushing back against the practice of musicians giving away albums for free when fans purchase tickets or merch.
“Where the bundling thing just got shady was it was largely industry gamesmanship and it really, in Billboards own words, was not capturing consumer intent. Really the consumer went to buy a ticket or they went to buy a t-shirt, they didn’t go to buy an album, the album was an afterthought and now they are trying the best they can to measure consumer intent with these rule changes,” Molanphy says.
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Seattle hip hop artist Draze released a single called "Building Black Wealth." The message was simple—build Black wealth by buying from Black-owned businesses. Draze discusses the single and its message.
To understand the landscape of being a Black business owner in Seattle, Arif Gursel of the workspace, The Union, as well as Frank Ulwenya, the owner of Rumba Notes Lounge, talk about their experiences.
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In light of the news that Kanye West said he would run for president, we talk with another musician who went into politics. It’s Martha Reeves of Motown’s Martha Reeves and the Vandellas who had the hits, “Heat Wave” and “Dancing in the Streets”. She talks about her time as a Detroit City Councilwoman as well as Motown’s sound and how it united people when racial tensions were high in America.
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Independent music venues say they need help from the government or else they’ll have to close their doors completely. Guest Steven Severin is the co-owner of Neumos in Seattle, and is part of the Washington Nightlife Music Association (WANMA) and the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA). He discusses the state of independent music venues right now and how they are asking folks to get in contact with their congressmembers to pass the RESTART Act to help save venues and other small businesses.
Further reading:
https://www.saveourstages.com/
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3814
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Aisha Fukushima calls herself a RAPtivist. She says the mission of RAPtivism is to “challenge oppression with expression all around the globe.” About 10 years ago, Fukushima traveled to seven different countries as part of a fellowship program and recorded with musicians along the way. The final product ended up becoming her debut album, RAPtivism.
Her latest single is called “Pandemic." Guest host Gabriel Teodros asks Fukushima about the lyric in the song, "this pandemic is systemic."
“Me saying that this is systemic is saying that this is connected to income inequality. This is connected to not having universal healthcare. This is connected to the struggles of folks who are doing all sorts of work around ableism. Of course race is huge and racialization in this society and also globally. And a lot of these systems of power and oppression are interconnected and they also affect how this pandemic is being narrated and how it's spreading and/or who it's affecting the most and what kind of support and/or investment is taking place,” Fukushima says.
Songs:
"Show Me The World (feat. Confidence Soulful)" by Tan Matthews
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Khruangbin’s unique brand of psychedelic funk draws influences from their hometown of Houston, Texas, as well as from around the globe, starting with their appreciation of Thai funk tapes from the 60s. This has helped the band gain popularity with audiences across cultures who can all find elements in their music to relate to.
Drummer Donald “DJ” Johnson and bassist Laura Lee discuss how they developed such diverse influences, singing in 16 different languages, and their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. “We see music as a vehicle to highlight those similarities between people so people can stand together, listen to the same music together and experience it,” Laura Lee says.
Their third album, Mordechai, is out now on Dead Oceans.
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Jackie Shane, a Black transgender soul singer, gained prominence in the 1960s with her captivating stage presence and voice. Then, in 1971, she quit her career and faded from the public eye and into a reclusive life at home. New York Times writer Reggie Ugwu was able to track her down in 2017 and spoke to her on the phone from her home in Nashville. She passed away last year at the age of 78. Ugwu says many people see Jackie Shane as being way ahead of her time, but that she had always put it as “everyone else was behind."
When asked about Jackie Shane’s legacy, Ugwu says, “She was someone who was extremely confident and exuded dignity. She never let anyone define her or put her in a box and she never felt that she had to explain herself to anyone. So she was someone who believed deeply in personal liberation and personal freedom and 'live and let live' […] She’s a real model for how you can be yourself and not conform to the pressures of society."
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Australia’s Gordi is out with a new album, ‘Our Two Skins.' It addresses her queer identity, something she didn't come to terms with until recently. Gordi was supposed to tour the album on a bill with Of Monsters and Men but the tour was cancelled due to COVID-19. Having just wrapped up her medical degree in January, Gordi says she’s on call to put her medical degree to work if COVID-19 cases in Australia start to spike.
Gordi also discusses how the Bandcamp proceeds from her song, “Unready," are going to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. Gordi said putting out music amid worldwide protests over the police murder of George Floyd and others “felt gross” and she felt she needed to do something to support Black lives, including those in Australia. “Australia’s biggest shame is the treatment of our first people by white people,” Gordi says.
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Dua Saleh is a non-binary multidisciplinary artist from Minneapolis who released a single this month, “body cast,” in response to the murders of Black people at the hands of police. From their experience fleeing war and genocide in Sudan to the realities of institutional violence in the United States, Saleh expresses that there isn’t a place of safety for Black people.
Saleh also discusses their new EP, ‘Rosetta,' named after “the godmother of Rock & Roll,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Speaking to the importance of representation, Saleh says, "The inventor and creator of Rock & Roll being a Black, queer woman does a lot for my personal self-esteem."
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CHOP, or the Capitol Hill Occupied or Organized Protest, formerly known as CHAZ, has been in the headlines lately. On June 8th, Seattle Police officers boarded up the East Precinct on Capitol Hill after more than a week of sustained protests by residents following the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis. Since then, a police-free community has spread out to Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park and between Broadway and 12th on Pine.
While there were two shootings there over the weekend that left one dead and two injured, the area has been mostly peaceful, with almost a festival vibe to it. There’s art and music amplifying the message that Black Lives Matter. KEXP’s Sharlese Metcalf spent some time at CHOP last week and brought back an audio postcard.
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I Self Devine is a musician and community organizer from Minneapolis. In 2018 he released a collaborative album called 'Dismembered & Unarmed,’ meant to accompany the book, ‘My Grandmother’s Hands,’ by therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem. The book and music explore how white supremacy and racism affect Black bodies.
“He would tell me things like race very rarely stays in the body. And I just couldn't grasp that concept,” I Self Devine says of Menakem. “He's like, a lot of times we talk about race just from a historical or from a policy place, but not how it lives in the body.”
I Self Devine discusses 'Dismembered & Unarmed' as well as his philosophies around community organizing, learning and building off past movements, and doing the internal work.
“When it's time for me to transition into the spirit world, I want to be very light, meaning that I've handled all of my issues and I've done my work. What do they say? ‘What happened to you wasn’t your fault, but how you handle it is.’ I have a responsibility to ensure that as an organizer, I'm not a caricature of myself or of what it is that we're doing. I’m grounded in my teachings.”
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Most people in Seattle know Nikkita Oliver from her historic mayoral run in 2017. She lost the primary election by less than 2,000 votes. But Oliver is also a musician, a poet, an attorney, and the co-director of an incredible organization called Creative Justice, which works with youth most affected by the school-to-prison pipeline. She’s also been an active organizer in Seattle’s protests and advancing the demands to defund and demilitarize the police.
A few weeks ago, she participated in a 12,000 person march from Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park to city hall where she then livestreamed what was supposed to be a closed door meeting with Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan. Oliver laid out demands for the city—defund the police, fund community-based health and safety, and drop all charges against protesters.
KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros talks with Oliver about the importance of diversity within a movement, the false narrative of the good protester vs. bad protester, and what’s inspiring her during this moment.
Read a transcript of the conversation here
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Toki Wright is a musician, MC, producer, writer, radio DJ and community organizer from Minneapolis. He recently moved to Boston and is now chair of Berklee’s Professional Music Department. He’s been making music that addresses systemic racism, oppression and police violence for years. “I don’t sit around all day thinking about race,” Wright says. “I have a lot of things I really love to do. The problem is that race impacts all of them.”
Wright tells the stories behind some of his songs that address racism and police violence and discusses how those issues play out in Minneapolis.
Wright also talks about the white superiority complex within the Twin Cities’ music scene.
“Imagine what it's like standing on stage and looking out into the crowd and not seeing your people there. Your people want to be there, but they feel uncomfortable coming into that room because they're not being represented,” Wright says. “How this all kind of relates to George Floyd and the murdering cop that killed him is they both worked at a couple of music venues in town doing security. And it came out recently that they knew each other for years and that they had altercations and a lot of those altercations were based on how the officers would treat black patrons on nights when there were black crowds—there’s a heightened sense of security. There is a more intense treatment of people.”
Songs discussed:
“Nezhno feat. Toki Wright” by Sleep Sinatra
“Gatekeepers” by Toki Wright & Big Cats
“Time Bomb” by Toki Wright & Big Cats
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The Grammy Awards, as well as Republic Records, have announced they will no longer use the term “urban” in their award categories and music departments. Writer Jeremy Helligar discusses this welcome shift in language as a first step. He wrote a column in Variety titled, Down with Urban: It’s Time to Stop Categorizing Music by Race.
“How does ‘urban' equal Black?” Helligar says. “I think [the word] has been most harmful because it’s really corporate segregation. It’s putting Blacks in one box and Whites in another.”
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Today’s podcast is co-hosted by musician, community organizer and KEXP DJ, Gabriel Teodros. It celebrates the music of Black artists, some of whom are on the frontlines of the protests against police brutality, calling for long overdue systemic change.
We hear from Minneapolis musician, Nikki Jean, who’s been volunteering as a medic during the Minneapolis protests. She recounts seeing police fire rubber bullets and more into medic tents.
Teodros then shares some songs that reflect on systemic racism and the police killings of black folks.
Songs discussed:
“Greeny Jungle feat. Shakiah” by Gabriel Teodros & SoulChef
“Say My Name” by Maimouna Youssef & DJ Dummy
“A Tree Never Grown” by Mos Def
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Following the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Seattle has seen night after night of protests and KEXP DJs have responded by playing music by Black artists—music with a message. One of those DJs is Larry Mizell, Jr., host of Friday night’s "Street Sounds." He reflects on yet another death in the Black community, discusses the power of music to spread a message and shares the songs he turns to during these times.
“I think there’s nothing older, more central to music than delivering a message. That’s what it’s always been,” Mizell says. “Whether it is being used in a spiritual dimension, or it’s used, as it was early employed in the African American experience, by slaves in the fields who literally communicate plans, news that their overseers couldn’t decipher.”
Songs discussed:
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This month marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis. In just two years, Joy Division recorded three albums worth of material and performed 120 shows. Curtis tragically died by suicide at the age of 23, the night before Joy Division's U.S. tour, leaving behind a wife and a child. Curtis had struggled with epilepsy and depression. KEXP DJ Kevin Cole says Joy Division pioneered the post punk genre. In today’s episode, he discusses Joy Division’s legacy with Jon Savage, author of “This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: The Oral History.”
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Seattle Filmmaker, Lynn Shelton died May 16th at the age of 54 from a previously undiagnosed blood disorder. Her breakout movie, 'Humpday' won an award at Sundance Film Festival. She also directed for TV on the shows 'Mad Men,' 'New Girl' and 'Fresh Off the Boat' among others.
Even after national acclaim, Shelton stayed in Seattle. Tomo Nakayama is a Seattle musician who appeared in Shelton’s 2013 film 'Touchy Feely.'
“Her images are so expressive and so distinctively Northwest. The scenes of Seattle and Nature. There’s just something about her that you could recognize,” Nakayama says.
Shelton rarely, if ever built a set for a movie, she instead filmed her movies in Washington State. Even when she began taking trips to work in L.A, she kept her permanent residence 1,100 miles to the north in Seattle.
Nakayama remembers Shelton for this and her warm and open demeanor. How she would throw her head back and laugh at a joke. Her embrace of others.
“She changed me forever,” Nakayama says. “And in talking with her friends and stuff, we keep saying the same thing—that she made us better.”
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Moses Sumney is out with the second part of his album, ‘græ.' Sumney, a Ghanaian American, was born in Southern California but spent portions of his childhood in Ghana. He spent the early half of his career in Los Angeles before moving to quiet solitude in Asheville, North Carolina. With different experiences and lives lived across the world, he is not a product of any of these places, but instead a product of a space not bound by geography. Like Sumney, ‘græ' doesn’t come from a clear musical lineage or space, rather it explores the multiplicity of feelings and influences one can have. ‘græ' is a rejection of black and white thinking and instead, a look at the spaces between.
“It’s essentially all about greyness, about the in between or marginal identity and not living on either side of an extreme,” Sumney says.
We also hear from Jonah Mutono about his new record, ‘GERG.' Like Sumney, Mutono has lived in a lot of places in his life, including the UK, Uganda and the US all before graduating high school. Mutono now lives in California and has released an album under his full name, after previously releasing music under the alias, Kidepo. This album explores his journey through immigration and his sexual identity.
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Thao & The Get Down Stay Down released their fifth full length album, ‘Temple,' on May 15th. Frontwoman Thao Nguyen talks about how her latest album is about coming out to her Vietnamese family and processing her family’s story of war.
“It’s about the idea of existing as my full self and that full self is also acknowledging my heritage and who I come from and my culture,” Nguyen says.
Nguyen’s family fled the Vietnam war and came to the US in the 70s. Their story is addressed in the title track of the album, “Temple":
I lost my city in the light of day
Thick smoke
Helicopter blades
Heaven on earth I've never moved so fast
You'll never know the fear your mama has
I know your father can't call anymore
He never meant to be a man of war
But we found freedom what will you do now
Bury the burden baby make us proud
Nguyen’s father was a helicopter pilot for the south Vietnamese army and her mother worked for the south Vietnamese embassy. Nguyen says that’s “why they truly fled for their lives and they would have been at the very least forced into reeducation camps.”
Nguyen also discusses her powerful track, “Phenom," which addresses Asian American stereotypes and being a woman of color, with lyrics like “first of the secondary class” and “I’ve been so politely at the bottom.” She describes how she was able to make the music video for this song entirely on Zoom Meeting.
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Allen Stone is a soul singer and an actual son of a preacher. He started his music career in Seattle, but now with a wife and child in tow, he’s re-located to eastern Washington. His latest record, 'Building Balance,' was written in his family cabin in his tiny, one-stoplight hometown of Chewelah. KEXP caught up with Stone to talk about his karaoke music tour, having to cancel his album tour on his birthday due to COVID-19, how some of his songs have new meaning while under social isolation, and how he was, indeed, able to find balance through making his latest record.
“This whole record, Building Balance is really my journey towards center,” Stone says. “I went through several years of my life, growing up in the church and my ideology and world view had been kind of formed through that scope, and then I completely rebelled against that and left the church and was dancing with the devil for many years. Through the process of this record and the evolution of becoming a father and a husband and really an adult, I’ve managed to cultivate my own garden and find my own recipe to that life salad.”
Watch Allen Stone perform Live on KEXP
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Seattle’s 30-year-old Re-bar venue announced on May 9th that it will permanently close its location on Howell street in Seattle. The plans are to reopen in the fall of 2021 at a new space in South Seattle, where it’s more affordable. Re-bar owner, Dane Garfield Wilson says Re-bar has been at risk of closure because his building has been for sale for months. He’s also been having to pay $10,000 a month in rent and operation fees with no income for two months because of COVID-19. KEXP’s Sharlese Metcalf brings us an audio profile of what it felt like to be at Re-bar on a Sunday night. KEXP DJ Riz Rollins takes us through a history of the venue, including DJing for a Nirvana album release show. We also check in with Seattle’s Clockout Lounge, Tractor Tavern and The Crocodile to see how their independent music venues are faring under the extended "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order.
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Seattle’s Parisalexa is out with her first full-length album, '2 REAL.' She’s in her early 20s and is already cowriting songs for other artists in LA and has appeared in NBC’s songwriter show, ‘Songland.'
Parisalexa reflects on the lessons she’s learned from the music industry, talks about staying genuine in her songwriting and on social media and about the representation and body positivity reflected in her songs, "Chocolate" and "Slimthick."
“Hearing all the people that ‘Slimthick’ and ‘Chocolate' encourage is amazing,” Parisalexa says. “I think one of the best stories I’ve heard from ‘Chocolate' was a girl who told me that she is a dark-skinned Filipino girl and that in Asian culture there’s a lot of colorism. When I wrote 'Chocolate,' I was talking about me. But she says every time she hears that song, that’s her anthem, because she’s dark skinned and she’s felt different from everyone else and that song empowers her and makes her feel so proud to be who she is.”
Read more about Parisalexa and her experience in the music industry
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Rufus Wainwright was scheduled to release a new album on April 24th, but because of COVID-19, that album release has been moved to July. Part of the reason for the delay is that physical copies of the album couldn’t be pushed out in time. “All the hard copies, the vinyl and the CDs are all locked up in a warehouse,” Wainwright says. He also talks about his recent “Robe Recitals,” or “Quarantunes," where he performs songs from his repertoire for fans online daily, and how he fuses pop, classical, opera and musical theater into his music.
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The Library of Congress is launching a tool this summer that will make its massive audio collection of free to use and reuse works available to DJs, hip hop artists, and others to sample in their music for free. The project is called "Citizen DJ." It’s led by the Library of Congress’ “innovator in residence,” Brian Foo. Foo talks about how the project works and the music he’s already been able to make from the library’s archive.
Attorney Damien Riehl and coder Noah Rubin explain how they are creating algorithms to document every melody that can exist and putting those melodies into the public domain to minimize copyright infringement cases and give more freedom to artists.
Explore Citizen DJ's online tool
Learn about the copyright and melodies project
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Damien Jurado released his 19th (!) album today, titled 'What’s New, Tomboy?' Jurado talks about his songwriting process. He describes songwriting as reading stories from a teleprompter– they just show up in front of him without him fully knowing what they're about. “I just answer the call of the songs that show up in my life,” Jurado says.
Jurado also discusses how his struggles with addiction have led him to remove smartphones, computers and technology from his life, and how he prefers making money by being a prolific songwriter, rather than spending his time touring on the road.
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Seattle-based band, Deep Sea Diver has been getting creative with their weekly live stream performances on Instagram Live. Each week they give fans a “stem”—a drum beat or guitar riff to play with and create a song out of. The best songs get featured in Deep Sea Diver’s entertaining live stream sessions. Deep Sea Diver even used their own stems from the project to create their single, “Stop Pretending.”
We also hear from a Seattle Opera tenor who is spending his weekday evenings singing opera arias to his neighbors from his front lawn.
Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard talks about his Live from Home concert series he’s been doing since mid March and why it was important for his performances to be benefit shows that give back to local Seattle-area organizations and charities.
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Laura Marling has been releasing albums since she was 18. Now at the age of 30, she has released her seventh studio album, 'Song For Our Daughter.' Despite the title of the record, Marling admits she isn’t a mother herself.
“The title, ‘Song for our Daughter,’ was clearly a figurative consideration about what it would be like to raise a daughter given the experience of being a woman that I’ve had and what culture is going through at the moment, this kind of shift in empathetic relationships,” Marling explains.
She also talks about releasing her album early due to COVID-19, her guitar tutorials on Instagram, what she’s learned about trauma while pursuing a Master’s degree in psychoanalysis and the women’s stories she tells in the record.
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Lido Pimienta is a Toronto-based, Colombian-born musician who won Canada’s biggest music prize, the Polaris Prize, in 2017. Her latest album, ‘Miss Colombia,' combines cumbia, reggaeton and latin folk with orchestral production and electronic beats.
In this interview, Lido talks about the inspiration for the album, from pageant culture’s racist and nationalist undertones to being teased about her hair in school. She also discusses her experience being of Indigenous Wayuu and African descent and learning to celebrate this mixed heritage through her music.
"Since I've been born, I've never known peace. I've never known respect for a culture. I've never known empowering of Indigenous communities. I don't know what it's like to see Black people truly free in my country.” Lido is doing her part to change that.
Read more about one of the tracks, "No Pude," on KEXP's Song of the Day feature
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Radiohead guitarist, Ed O’Brien talks about his first solo album, EARTH. It was inspired by global travel, music festivals, spirituality, and the words of Walt Whitman and Carl Sagan.
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Ishmael Butler of the Seattle hip hop duo, Shabazz Palaces takes us on a cosmic journey through his new record, 'The Don of Diamond Dreams.'
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Katie Crutchfield of Waxahatchee discusses how her struggle with addiction and codependency influenced her latest record, 'Saint Cloud.' Crutchfield has been sober for two years now, and although sobriety presented new challenges to her songwriting process, the result is her truest and most hopeful record to date.
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Thundercat’s latest album, 'It Is What It Is,' touches on the loss of rapper and producer Mac Miller who died from a drug overdose in 2018. The album also showcases Thundercat’s profound sense of humor, an underrated feature throughout much of his music. Thundercat discusses the new record and how music and humor can be healing in times of adversity.
Read the full interview on KEXP.org
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As part of our Northwest Classics series, KEXP DJ Marco Collins talks with music journalist Charles R. Cross about the legacy of The Postal Service and how the group’s method of producing music remotely is relevant during COVID-19. We also hear Ben Gibbard’s new track, "Life in Quarantine."
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Many Seattle-area venues say they can only muster 8-9 weeks of being closed amid coronavirus until they have to shut down permanently. Washington State’s governor has extended shelter in place orders until at least May 4, which will put local venues at about the eight week mark. Even if venues can open on May 4, they won’t have performances ready. Venues often have to book performances months in advance and many musicians have cancelled their tours completely for 2020. Members of the newly formed Washington Nightlife and Music Association talk about the current state of music venues and the five steps that need to happen in order for them to survive. Plus we hear from listeners about the songs that make them hopeful.
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M. Ward has just released a new album called 'Migration Stories.' He talks about his family's personal story of migration and the other migration stories he's been told or read about along the way that inspired the new record.
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Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, musicians have cancelled their tours and venues have closed indefinitely. This episode explores how musicians and artists are taking their craft online to reach their audience. We report on how Twitch, a platform most known for streaming video games, has become a place for musicians to monetize their livestream performances. Musician Hollis Wong-Wear talks about how her performances and presentations at SXSW were cancelled due to COVID-19 and how she’s now taking her music and “Hollis Does Brunch" series, where she combines food and performance, to Youtube and Twitch. Meanwhile, Seattle choreographer Kate Wallich has found great success taking her “Dance Church” classes online amid COVID-19, with 10,000 streams a class. We also hear what songs are helping listeners get through social isolation.
Check out Hollis Wong-Wear's "Hollis Does Brunch" series on YouTube or Twitch
Catch one of Kate Wallich's "Dance Church" live streams
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We explore the stories of three musicians who work day jobs to supplement their work as artists. First is Lesli Wood, who fronts the band Skates! As a lawyer by day, she used to have to hide her tattoos and neon hair in court in order to be taken seriously. Then, we meet Mark Arm of the iconic Seattle grunge band, Mudhoney. His day job is stuffing records and managing the warehouse for the record label his band is on, Sub Pop. Lastly, we talk to Geo. He’s best known for his Seattle hip-hop group, Blue Scholars, but his main job now is running two acclaimed café/bars in Seattle called “Hood Famous."
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Bikini Kill talks about their role in the feminist punk rock, Riot Grrrl movement in the 90s and how some of their songs are still relevant today. Yuuki Matthews of The Shins talks about the side project he’s released called Teardrops. He created the project with the late Richard Swift. Richard Swift was a solo artist, producer and played with The Shins and Black Keys. He died in 2018 from complications from alcoholism.
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On March 11, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced a prohibition on events of more than 250 people and added criteria for events smaller than 250. The owners of Seattle music venues The Royal Room and The Crocodile discuss how this will impact their business and the music scene. Local writer Ijeoma Oluo talks about starting a Go Fund Me campaign to support artists struggling with cancellations due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Two musicians in Italy talk about how COVID-19 has impacted their country and music scene.
Read KEXP's Guide for Artists and Fans to Support Music During the COVID-19 Outbreak
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In celebration of International Women’s Day, this episode is dedicated to some badass women making music. Rachel Stevens reports on how Washington State’s new paid family leave law is impacting musicians in the gig economy. Soccer Mommy takes us through how she organized her latest album by different colors and moods. Bethany Cosentino of Best Coast talks about how her journey to sobriety has made her happier and helped her connect more to music. Phantogram will talk about their new album and how one song was a reflection on seeing so many suicides, overdoses and school shootings on the news.
Related stories: https://www.kexp.org/read/2020/3/6/northwest-womxn-their-experiences-music-industry-and-hopes-future/
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The southeast region of the US is home to the highest percentage of LGBTQ people in the country. KEXP's Bee Egan spoke with three LGBTQ musicians from the south to find out how southern culture and their sexuality impacted their upbringing and ultimately their music. Musician and poet Jamila Woods talks about how all of the tracks off her latest album were named after black and brown artists, musicians and writers and how Woods sees herself in each of those artists’ stories. Mike Dixon and Kris Dorr of Mobile Vinyl Recorders talk about how the fire at Apollo Masters Corp. will impact the vinyl record industry. KEXP’s Hans Anderson reports on producer Kearney Barton who captured and helped develop the Pacific Northwest sound when he recorded artists such as Ann Wilson of Heart, Quincy Jones, The Sonics and more. Icelandic musician Ásgeir Trausti talks about his songwriting process, how his poet father writes some of his lyrics and why he switches between singing in Icelandic and English.
Listen to KEXP’s Music That Matters mix featuring Jamila Woods
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Sound & Vision’s series, “Northwest Classics,” dives into the stories behind iconic records from the Pacific Northwest. In today’s edition, KEXP DJ Marco Collins and music journalist and author, Charles R Cross discuss Heart’s album, ‘Dreamboat Annie’ and Soundgarden’s record, ‘Superunknown.’
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Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, the Microphones) wrote two albums following the death of his wife, Geneviève Castrée. Castrée was a musician, illustrator and cartoonist who was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer four months after giving birth to her first child. She passed away the following year. This week, Elverum discusses the odd enhanced recognition he got from his albums that were written about death. KEXP DJ Kevin Cole talks with an old friend, former radio station program director and musician Jay Mathews about how he used music to cope with his terminal cancer diagnosis. KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters talks about her ongoing recovery from tongue cancer. Listeners share their personal stories of music and cancer.
Read the full interview with Phil Elverum
Read KEXP's piece about the life and works of Geneviève Castrée
Read Kevin Cole's interview with Jay Mathews
Thoughts on what you love about this podcast, or how it could be better? We’d love to hear from you! Submit your feedback to [email protected].
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On February 7th, KEXP celebrated “Clash for Climate” as part of International Clash Day, a holiday KEXP invented in 2013. The Clash stood for many important issues, including environmental justice, which is why KEXP chose to focus on climate change for this year's theme. In this episode, Morning Show host John Richards explains the origin story of the holiday and highlights his favorite songs and messages from The Clash. Weyes Blood explains the themes behind her song, “Wild Time” and why she's moving from awareness to activism. Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, a 19-year-old climate activist and musician talks about how hip hop has allowed him to spread urgent messages surrounding climate change and its effects on his generation. Listeners share their most meaningful Clash song memories and Washington governor Jay Inslee tells us why music matters.
Watch Weyes Blood perform live on KEXP
Read the full interview with Xiuhtezcatl Martinez
Read KEXP's interview with Governor Jay Inslee
Thoughts on what you love about this podcast, or how it could be better? We’d love to hear from you! Submit your feedback to [email protected].
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Former Head and the Heart member, Josiah Johnson talks about his new single, "World's Not Gonna End" and his struggle with addiction that led him to leave the band, get on a path to sobriety and start a solo career. Channy Leaneagh of Poliça talks about how she almost gave up on music until she fell off her roof shoveling snow, and how the accident and her recovery process inspired many of the songs off the new Poliça album, ‘When We Stay Alive.’ Guayaba discusses their new record, ‘Fantasmagoria,’ which draws influence from trap, opera and bossa nova. They explain the themes in the record and how they were inspired by nightmares, trauma and fear of death. We learn about Washington state’s new non-compete law and how it will impact performers, venues and music festivals. Lastly, we dive into answers from our listeners about which songs they feel capture a certain moment in history.
Watch Head and the Heart perform live on KEXP
Watch Poliça perform live on KEXP
Watch Guayaba perform live on KEXP
Thoughts on what you love about this podcast, or how it could be better? We’d love to hear from you! Submit your feedback to [email protected].
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Michael Kiwanuka talks about race and music, and how having his song selected as the intro music for HBO’s Big Little Lies pushed his career forward. Musician, activist and new GRAMMY voter, Madame Gandhi talks about the latest controversies surrounding the GRAMMYs and issues around gender and racial parity in the music industry. Leslie Fram of Country Music Television talks about why CMT pledged a 50/50 gender split on the videos played on their channel and why so few female artists are played on country radio.
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Nissim Black (formerly D. Black) talks about growing up in Seattle amidst crime and drugs. He describes how his music and his life have changed since converting to Judaism and moving to Jerusalem. This week’s edition of "Northwest Classics" profiles the debut album of Tacoma-based band, The Sonics. Music writer Charles R. Cross explains how the band influenced the sound of punk and grunge decades before the genres had names.
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FKA twigs talks about dance, feminism and the impact of her recent health complications. We launch our “Northwest Classics” series, where we’ll discuss iconic albums that came out of the Pacific Northwest. We start off by talking about the life and legacy of Jimi Hendrix through his album, ‘Are You Experienced,’ with KEXP’s Marco Collins and Hendrix biographer, Charles R. Cross. KEXP’s Darek Mazzone, host of Wo’ Pop, shares a variety of music from Iran in response to current events.
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KEXP DJs share their favorite songs of 2019. We also hear interviews with some of the station’s favorite bands of the year, including a conversation with Fontaines DC about using music and poetry to document gentrification in Dublin and a discussion with Combo Chimbita about how music is allowing their all-immigrant band to find a new identity in the US.
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We hear how Jewish composers wrote many of the most popular Christmas songs, including "White Christmas," "Let It Snow," "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and more. KEXP’s Brian Foss shares his favorite non-traditional Christmas songs and KEXP’s Owen Murphy and Troy Nelson share their favorite covers of Christmas songs.
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Angel Olsen discusses her latest album, ‘All Mirrors,’ how her rising fame has tested her closest relationships and the strength of learning to be on her own. Producer John Congleton breaks down the production of Angel Olsen’s song, “All Mirrors.” The hosts of the ‘Switched on Pop’ podcast break down the musical elements of some of the decade’s top pop hits as discussed in their new book, ‘Switched on Pop: How Popular Music Works, and Why it Matters.’ KEXP’s Owen Murphy and Troy Nelson talk about how some of the best songs came about accidentally in recording studios, and how Miya Folick takes Death Cab For Cutie’s song, “I’ll Follow You into the Dark” to another level in her cover version of the song.
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The coauthor of Bloomberg’s story, “K-Pop’s Dark Side: Assault, Prostitution, Suicide and Spycams” talks about how the K-Pop music industry functions and how it’s been riddled with controversies this year. We learn how a suburban dad became an indie pop star overnight under the name SYML, and what that name means to him. Madame Gandhi talks about misogyny in pop culture and why it’s important to value feminine energy in leadership. We explore why Vashon Island off the coast of Seattle is home to so many big name musicians.
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John Richards talks about his favorite performances at Iceland Airwaves and the financial struggles musicians are facing in that country. Icelandic musicians discuss how the harsh weather impacts their creativity, why there seems to be such a high concentration of musicians in the small country and how so many musicians collaborate across bands and projects.
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Brittany Howard says her song “Goat Head” is about society’s reaction to her parents’ interracial marriage in Alabama. She also talks about the “gay R&B song” she wrote about musician Georgia Anne Muldrow. Thunderpussy talks about female empowerment and diversifying their sound on their new EP, ‘Milk It.’ Mary Lambert says her experiences of mental health and sexual assault weave through her latest album, ‘Grief Creature.’ Hollis Wong-Wear talks about how poetry and her mother’s hustle starting up a Chinese restaurant as an immigrant inform her music career.
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We share stories of loss and how music can help us heal and process our grief. We’ll hear stories from listeners, musicians and John and Amy Richards.
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KEXP’s Dusty Henry talks about Iceland’s DIY music scene and how it’s more about doing it together than doing it yourself. A panel discusses Iceland’s music culture, music's impact on Iceland’s economy, and how Iceland helps financially support musicians. Panelists are: Sólveig Matthildur, from the band Kælan Mikla; Hlynur Guðjónsson, the Icelandic Trade Commissioner for North America; and Sigtryggur Baldursson, managing director for Iceland Music and founding member of the Björk-fronted Icelandic band The Sugarcubes.
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Sudan Archives shares why she fuses violin with electronic beats on her latest album. Minnesota rapper Dessa describes spending two years working with neuroscientists to train her brain to get over her ex. We’ll explore why only 2% of music producers are women and how some indie artists are working to buck that trend. Macklemore protégé Travis Thompson will talk about collaborating with three generations of Seattle hip hop artists on his latest album. Seattle musicians past and present will weigh in on why they signed the “No Music for ICE” pledge. Pitchfork’s Marc Hogan will talk about a court case that blames Lil Peep’s overdose death on the rapper’s management, and what that would mean for the music industry.
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Jim Sullivan was a struggling LA singer/songwriter in the 60s and 70s. In 1975 he left for Nashville to see if he could catch a break there. But on the way, he disappeared in the New Mexico desert and was never seen again. Matt Sullivan of Light in the Attic records talks about the mysterious disappearance and how he discovered Jim Sullivan’s music and rereleased it decades later. Seattle’s Rudy Willingham talks about how he uses collage in both art and music, and discusses how he finds the samples he uses in his songs. This week’s “Day Job” segment features Lindsey Kaghan of the band Salt Lick speaking about her job at a barbershop.
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Vagabon will talk about her latest album and the meaning behind her song, “Every Woman.” Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon will fill us in on how materialism, LA culture and her “trashy aesthetic” influenced her first solo record, ‘No Home Record.’ Jónsi & Alex talk about touring on their 10-year-old album, ‘Riceboy Sleeps,’ after their recent romantic breakup. Jónsi (also of Sigur Rós) discusses moving to LA to make pop music. In this installment of our series, “Day Job,” we speak with a musician who works at a call center for their 9 to 5. We hear about how the Austin-based organization Black Fret is coming to Seattle to help financially support musicians.
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In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Indigenous musicians will talk about joining traditional cultures with hip hop, jazz, funk and dance music. Calina Lawrence of the Suquamish Tribe will talk about using the Lushootseed language in a hip hop song of hers. A Tribe Called Red describes their song honoring John T. Williams, a Native American woodcarver who was shot and killed by a police officer in 2010. Musician and glassblower Preston Singletary talks about fusing his native Tlingit culture into contemporary works. And on this week’s edition of “Day Job,” Hozoji Roseanne Mathison-Margolis. By day she’s a shellfish diver for the Puyallup Tribe, by night she plays drums in the nautical inspired rock band, Helms Alee.
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The second installment of our “Day Job” series explores how a musician’s encounters while bartending end up being inspirations for songs. Electronic DJ and producer Octo Octa explains how nature inspires her music and discusses her gender transition. Jeff Tweedy talks about Wilco’s new album. Kurt Cobain’s biographer shares his idea on what should be done with Cobain’s Seattle home that’s now for sale. Seattle’s Parisalexa talks about breaking into the national music scene before graduating high school. We’ll also hear a new perspective on why it’s so hard for international bands to tour in the US.
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We kick off a new series called “Day Job.” The first story in this series explores how Chong The Nomad finds musical inspiration during her day job as a line cook. Carl Newman of The New Pornographers talks about how the state of America influenced the band’s latest album. We explore music of wrongful imprisonment, including a conversation about a new Broadway musical on the subject, the story of how Pearl Jam and Metallica helped get one man out of wrongful imprisonment, and a band made up entirely of exonerees. We also hear how 47SOUL fuses traditional Arabic music with electronic beats.
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Australia’s federal government will spend more than 3 times what the US will on artists and musicians this year. We hear how the Australian-based band, Haiku Hands is benefiting from their country’s funding model. Chastity Belt and Vivian Girls talk about their new albums. We hear why four Seattle musicians moved to Nashville and what that music city has to offer.
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SassyBlack discusses how mental health and Afrofuturism feature on her latest album. A Tribe Called Red talks about how the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls comes up in their music and Abigail Echo-Hawk of the Seattle Indian Health Board discusses how Seattle has the highest numbers of MMIWG in the nation. The Seattle-artist ZEMBU talks about how her song, “Human” is about her mother’s suicide. We hear stories of how music has helped listeners through their struggles with mental health.
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Natalie Hemby of the supergroup, Highwomen says their new album pushes for more female representation and narratives in country music. Sean Carey and Jenn Wasner of Bon Iver talk about the band’s change in sound. Plus, a panel discussion about how many music venues in Seattle are at risk of closure. (Panelists include Dana Sims of El Corazon/Funhouse, Dane Wilson of Re-Bar and James Keblas, former Director of Seattle’s Office of Film and Music.)
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Jeff Tweedy (Wilco), Black Belt Eagle Scout and Jay Som talk new music. Noah Gundersen on how he’s getting away from the sad male singer/songwriter trope with his most personal album to date. Former frontman of The Presidents of the United States of America, Chris Ballew says he feels more himself now that he's writing music for kids.
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ODESZA discusses their songwriting process, The Head and the Heart, iLe and Aurora discuss the themes in their new albums, Imogen Heap talks about her ideas to transform the music industry with technology.
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Carrie Brownstein talks about Sleater-Kinney’s latest album, The Center Won't Hold, Portishead reflects on the 25th anniversary of Dummy, and a panel discussion on why it’s so hard for international artists to tour in the USA.
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We’ll hear how the song “Nothing Arrived” by Villagers connected with one woman and helped her process her loss after a miscarriage. Weyes Blood will talk about how love and movies influenced her latest album, Titanic Rising. The band Lemolo will talk about their new single about self love and vulnerability. We’ll hear about the copyright infringement case involving Katy Perry’s 2013 hit Dark Horse and what it means for producers and songwriters moving forward.
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Lil Nas X of the country/trap song, Old Town Road was able to break the record for longest running #1 song on the billboard charts. (It’s been there since early April.) Yet billboard has denied the song from the country chart. We’ll hear what race might have to do with that. We'll also hear what has made the song a hit. Cherry Glazerr will talk about her songwriting process and John Van Deusen will talk about how issues with depression, the church and social media influenced the songs on his latest album.
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Of Monsters and Men discuss their latest album, musicians who have lived in larger cities discuss if Seattle's growing population and cost of living is really that bad, KEXP DJ Darek Mazzone talks about how extreme vetting is making it harder for international musicians to tour in the US, Washington State's Poet Laureate talks about how her experience fleeing El Salvador's civil war impacts her writing.
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KEXP's Owen Murphy and Troy Nelson break down a cover song for Mariah Carey's Fantasy. Frontman of the band Sky Cries Mary talks about rubbing elbows with the rising stars of the Seattle grunge scene in the late 80s and going on to make treehouses for the rich and famous. Rapper Perry Porter discusses how visual art influences his music and how black artists have been largely ignored from the art world.
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Nate Sloan (Vox Media's Switched On Pop) discusses how streaming has impacted song length and formats, Chris Molanphy (Hit Parade Podcast, Slate) talks about how musicians are gaming the billboard charts in the streaming era through "bundling." We explore the differences between Seattle and LA’s music scene by chatting with a musician who moved from LA to Seattle (Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver) and talk with another who left Seattle for LA (Jenn Champion).
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The first episode of KEXP’s Sound & Vision podcast features: Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, on the role that distance running has played in his life and struggles with alcohol abuse. Exoneree Amanda Knox, on the role music played during her time incarcerated in an Italian prison. US Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, telling the story of her life, activism and political career through music. Seattle-based rock band IMIJ, on navigating the music industry as an all-Black rock act in the 1990s, as interviewed by Eva Walker of The Black Tones.
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This week's episode is all about drag queens and gay cowboys. We'll hear from the first openly gay country band, Lavender Country and hear how that band influenced the country music of Orville Peck today. We'll also hear about the controversies around Drag Queen Story Time.
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Get a preview of Sound & Vision, the new podcast from KEXP featuring interviews, panels, reporting and commentary that digs into the stories behind the music, with in-depth discussion of the most important issues facing music and arts communities. Sound & Vision is hosted by Emily Fox and John Richards.
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En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.