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 ...
Apr 08, 2025•44 min•Ep. 56
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,” Da...
Apr 01, 2025•26 min•Ep. 55
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 hel...
Mar 25, 2025•20 min•Ep. 54
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 gran...
Mar 18, 2025•18 min•Ep. 53
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 tha...
Mar 11, 2025•28 min•Ep. 52
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 n...
Mar 04, 2025•27 min•Ep. 51
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 25, 2025•22 min•Ep. 50
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Feb 22, 2025•8 min•Ep. 50
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informati...
Feb 18, 2025•30 min•Ep. 49
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 ho...
Feb 11, 2025•23 min•Ep. 48
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 08, 2025•25 min•Ep. 47
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Feb 04, 2025•19 min•Ep. 46
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/ Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 28, 2025•40 min•Ep. 45
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....
Jan 21, 2025•17 min•Ep. 44
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 roc...
Jan 14, 2025•30 min•Ep. 43
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/ Support the show: https:...
Jan 07, 2025•25 min•Ep. 42
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...
Dec 31, 2024•31 min•Ep. 41
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: "Starburster" by Fontaines D.C. "Like I Say (I runaway)" by Nilüfer Yanya "My Fun" by Suki Waterhouse "Favourite" by Fontaines D.C. "Sepricon" by Brittany Davis Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 24, 2024•16 min•Ep. 40
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 17, 2024•20 min•Ep. 39
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. Support the show: https:...
Dec 10, 2024•33 min•Ep. 38
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 your...
Dec 03, 2024•27 min•Ep. 37
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 26, 2024•25 min•Ep. 36
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Nov 19, 2024•15 min•Ep. 35
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nov 12, 2024•18 min•Ep. 34
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/...
Nov 05, 2024•26 min•Ep. 33
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Oct 29, 2024•24 min•Ep. 32
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...
Oct 22, 2024•20 min•Ep. 31
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. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Oct 14, 2024•28 min•Ep. 30
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. Support...
Oct 08, 2024•17 min•Ep. 29
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. Support the show: https://www.ke...
Oct 01, 2024•20 min•Ep. 28
