Sufjan Stevens - "Video Game" from the 2020 album The Ascension on Asthmatic Kitty. 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! As we reported back in August , acclaimed singer/songwriter Sufjan Stevens has returned with his eighth solo LP, The Ascension , his first since 2015's Carrie & Lowell . The song's video features Jalaiah Harmon, a 14-year-old dancer/choreographer who went viral on Tik-...
Oct 07, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3817
Tomberlin - "Wasted" from the 2020 Projections EP on Saddle Creek. 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! Sarah Beth Tomberlin (who records under the name Tomberlin ) teams up with lo-fi king Alex G on her forthcoming EP Projections , out October 16th via Saddle Creek. In a press statement, she explains that today's Song of the Day was "the most fun song to record," adding "I brought the song ...
Oct 06, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3816
Lost Horizons - "I Woke Up With An Open Heart (feat. The Hempolics)," from the 2020 album In Quiet Moments on Bella Union. 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! Lost Horizons unites the talents of Richie Thomas (aka Dif Juz) and Simon Raymonde (bassist of Cocteau Twins and founder of record label Bella Union), two former 4AD recording artists in the '80s. Their 2017 debut full-length Ojalá fe...
Oct 05, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3815
Left at London - "Do You See Us? (feat. Nobi)" from the 2020 self-released single Jenny Durkan, Resign in Disgrace. With a title like " Jenny Durkan, Resign in Disgrace ", it's pretty obvious Seattle artist Left at London (real name: Nat Puff) does not mince words. And in the verses of today's Song of the Day, she teams up with guest rapper Nobi to sing: Fuck you, and the slavers that you work for This song’s For the people you killed “I fucking despise her,” Puff says about Seattle's Mayor Durk...
Oct 02, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3814
The Budos Band - "Long in the Tooth" from the 2020 album Long in the Tooth on Daptone Records. Twenty years hardly makes one "long in the tooth," but Brooklyn's Budos Band are celebrating two decades as a musical unit (and 15 years from the release of their debut album) with their sixth LP, Long in the Tooth , out October 9th via Daptone Records. The album continues to expand on their soul-inspired instrumentals, sounding (as they put it) "as if Quentin Tarantino was the music supervisor for a B...
Oct 01, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3813
Sneaks - "Faith" from the 2020 album Happy Birthday on Merge Records. A new album from Sneaks is definitely 'cause for celebration, and this fourth full-length from Washington, DC’s Eva Moolchan provides a party-perfect groove with electronic dance beats and a Liquid Liquid-influenced bass line. Like last year's album, Highway Hypnosis , she teams up with mixing engineer Carlos Hernandez and legendary Grammy-Award-winning producer Jacknife Lee (U2, R.E.M., Taylor Swift, to name a few). The produ...
Sep 30, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3812
Smokescreens - "I Love Only You" from the 2020 album A Strange Dream on Slumberland Records. With their melodic, jangle-pop sound, you might mistake Smokescreens for a New Zealand band. But it's no surprise this Los Angeles-based band's music is infused with the classic "Flying Nun" sound, when David Kilgour, of legendary Dunedin band The Clean, is behind the production on their latest full-length A Strange Dream, out October 30th via Slumberland Records. "The Clean are one of my favorite bands ...
Sep 29, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3811
Bully - "Hours and Hours" from the 2020 album SUGAREGG on Sub Pop. On Bully 's third album SUGAREGG , frontwoman/songwriter Alicia Bognanno took a more introspective approach to her '90s-inspired, fuzzed-out grunge-pop. “There was change that needed to happen and it happened on this record,” she said in a press statement. “Derailing my ego and insecurities allowed me to give these songs the attention they deserved.” On today's Song of the Day, she reflected on her connection to her Mom. She expl...
Sep 28, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3810
Terror/Cactus - "Guanaco" from the 2020 self-released album Confluencia. Local producer Martín Selasco was born in Buenos Aires and raised in Miami, and he brings these influences to Seattle via his electro-cumbia project Terror/Cactus . His latest LP Confluencia is an auditory journey through the spectacular landscapes of South America, combining mesmerizing rhythms and psychedelic guitars. In an interview with Ballard Vox , Selasco talked about how his Latin American roots permeate his music: ...
Sep 25, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3809
Yanna - "Marcaperu," a 2020 self-released single. "My friends take care of me / Not the police" On her debut single "Marcaperu," Afro-Peruvian artist Yanna (real name: Brenda Carpio) uses her voice to denounce the injustices she sees around her: racism, discrimination, and violence. Raised in the San Martín de Porres district of Lima, Peru, Yanna moved to France to study International Business Administration and instead, fell in love with hip hop. "When I came back, it was a shock," she told El ...
Sep 24, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3808
Los Blenders - "Perdidos En Pantitlan" from the 2020 album Mazunte 2016 on Devil in the Woods. KEXP has been enamoured with Mexico City's Los Blenders since their 2015 debut album Chavos Bien . (Check out their infectious garage-punk in this 2016 KEXP session .) On their forthcoming full-length Mazunte 2016 , out September 25th via Devil in the Woods, the rambunctious quartet bring a new maturity to their surf sound, particularly on today's Song of the Day, inspired by recent events in their hom...
Sep 23, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3807
Ghetto Kumbé - "Vamo a Dale Duro" from the 2020 album Ghetto Kumbé on ZZK Records. Ghetto Kumbé take inspiration from their hometown of Bogotá, capital city of Colombia and just a quick flight from the Caribbean coast, infusing Afro-Colombian rhythms with modernized interpretations of dancehall, rumba, and traditional chants and call-and-response vocals. “I think what makes us different is that we’re going further back to the rhythmic roots, back to where the rhythm that exists in Colombia came ...
Sep 22, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3806
Marilina Bertoldi - "Fumar de Dia" from the 2018 album Prender un Fuego on Pelo Music S.A. Argentinan artist Marilina Bertoldi got her start as the frontwoman for the hard rockin' group Connor Questa, but since going solo in 2012, she's been exploring a range of sounds, landing the Best Rock Album of the Year award at the 2016 Latin Grammy Awards for her album Sexo Con Modelos . On her most recent release, 2018's Prender Un Fuego , she took inspiration from "Sheryl Crow, INXS, the soloist Cerati...
Sep 21, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3805
Lo Tom - "Start Payin'," from the 2020 self-released album LP2. Back in 2017, David Bazan and TW Walsh of Pedro the Lion teamed up with Trey Many and Jason Martin of Starflyer 59 to create Lo Tom , whose self-titled debut combined all the things we love about each of their respective bands: melodic, ‘90s-influenced rock, heavy with guitar riffs. As the band said themselves, "We had fun making the first album, so we decided to do it again." The sophomore release was funded by fans via Kickstarter...
Sep 18, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3804
Kelly Lee Owens - "On" from the 2020 album Inner Song on Smalltown Supersound. On her sophomore album, Inner Song , Welsh artist Kelly Lee Owens explores what she calls “the hardest three years of my life,” allowing her grief and sadness to express itself through her lush production work and her thoughtful lyrics. As reported in a recent episode of the Song Exploder podcast, today's Song of the Day was inspired by the loss of the Prodigy’s Keith Flint, who passed away last year at the age of 49....
Sep 17, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3803
Æ MAK - "i dance in the kitchen (feat. Seba Safe)," a 2020 self-released single. Irish artist Æ Mak (real name: Aoife McCann) has always brought an infectious energy to her work. (Who can forget her dynamic performance at KEXP's 2019 Iceland Airwaves broadcast?) And now she brings that vivacity to the culinary with her new single "i dance in the kitchen," a sneak peek at her forthcoming EP titled how to: make a kitsch pop song to show the world , which will be out September 18th. Written, record...
Sep 15, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3801
Loraine James - "Don't You See It (feat. Jonnine)" from the 2020 Nothing EP on Hyperdub. Throughout the pandemic, London-based producer Loraine James has exercised her creativity, sharing demos and songs that didn't make the cut for her acclaimed 2019 album For You & I , releasing the remix EP Bangers and Mash , and, in July, releasing the five-track EP Hmm , with songs titled "Ahh," "Erm," and "Umm." On her latest EP, titled Nothing , James reached out to a series of collaborators who she f...
Sep 14, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3800
Rose City Band - "Only Lonely" from the 2020 album Summerlong on Thrill Jockey. Portland-based musician Ripley Johnson returns with his project, the appropriately-titled Rose City Band , the latest addition to his musical resume that also includes Moon Duo and Wooden Shjips. While the "band" name might allude to a larger outfit, the Rose City Band is more of a solo endeavor for Johnson, with just the addition of John Jeffrey on drums. While his Moon Duo partner Sanae Yamada was committed to a th...
Sep 11, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3799
Jupiter & Okwess - "Na Kozonga," a 2020 single on Everloving Records. The phrase "Na Kozonga" translates to "the return" in the Congolese language of Lingala, and that's what Jupiter & Okwess was looking forward to after the 180-date worldwide tour promoting their 2017 album Kin Sonic : returning home. The song is dedicated to bandleader Jupiter Bokondji's father, who passed away recently, and the accompanying music video, filmed in his hometown of Kinshasa, shows the musician boarding a...
Sep 10, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3798
Noga Erez - "NO News on TV," a 2020 single on City Slang. With today's Song of the Day, Tel-Aviv based artist Noga Erez teams up with her partner Ori Rousso to reflect on the COVID-19 pandemic. In a press statement, she shares: "This song was written during a period where I had more time than I've had in a decade. I was able to sit down and work my ass off on new music without any emails disturbing the silence. No notifications, nothing. I wanted to write a song that talked about that. I felt a ...
Sep 09, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3797
Fantastic Negrito - "How Long?" from the 2020 album Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? on Cooking Vinyl. With his past two albums, soulful singer/songwriter Fantastic Negrito (real name: Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) won Best Contemporary Blues Album at the Grammy Awards, and with his latest LP, Have You Lost Your Mind Yet? , he's poised for a hat-trick. On his new album, Negrito says, "I wanted to write about people I knew, people I grew up with, people whose lives I could personally affect, and whose li...
Sep 08, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3796
Arlo Parks - "Hurt," a 2020 single on Transgressive Records. London-based poet and artist Arlo Parks understands the pain of the pandemic, sharing the new single "Hurt" to commiserate with listeners. The soulful jam provides a hypnotic groove to showcase Parks' warm vocals and reassuring lyrics. “‘Hurt’ surrounds the possibility of healing from pain and the temporary nature of suffering,” Parks said via a press statement. “It is supposed to uplift and comfort those going through hard times.” Par...
Sep 07, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3795
Naked Giants - "Take A Chance" from the 2020 album The Shadow on New West Records. Seattle trio Naked Giants return this month with their sophomore album The Shadow , an album they say is "much more honest" than their 2018 debut full-length SLUFF . “We’ve come to realize that the path to becoming a better person and bringing positivity into the world isn’t always linear, and there’s a lot of growth in taking an honest look at the “shadow-y” parts of life,” they told Spin Magazine . “Whether it’s...
Sep 04, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3794
Widowspeak - "Even True Love" from the 2020 album Plum on Captured Tracks. On their fifth full-length Plum , Brooklyn band Widowspeak continue to craft a dreamy folk-pop sound, punctuated by vocalist (and former Tacoma, WA native) Molly Hamilton's serenely-sweet vocals. In a press release, Hamilton shared: "Prior to writing “Even True Love,” I’d been sitting with some existential dread for the last year or so; honestly, sort of overwhelmed by the recognition that life is absurd and finite. The s...
Sep 03, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3793
Songhoy Blues - "Worry" from the 2020 album Optimisme on Fat Possum Records. Malian rock band Songhoy Blues have entranced us with their modern take on traditional West African music since their 2015 debut album Music In Exile . And now, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the band have released their first song ever sung entirely in English. In an interview with KEXP , vocalist Aliou Touré told us: "We need hope. We need to come together. And when we get worried, there's no way to think po...
Sep 02, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3792
TARA - "Oceans," a 2020 self-released single. Even though they've only been together for a few years, Brooklyn quintet TARA have quickly coalesced their different musical backgrounds into the cohesive shoegaze-influenced sound they've displayed on the handful of singles they've released so far, including today's featured track "Oceans." After relocating to New York from California, guitarist/vocalist Saagar Kurani met another west coast transplant, guitarist/vocalist Wesley Deimling. They added ...
Sep 01, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3791
Eep - "Hogar" from the 2020 self-released album Death of a Very Good Machine. With the song "Hogar," 52-year-old musician Rosie Varela launched a lifelong dream. Though she's been writing songs for over twenty years, it wasn't until she wrote this love song for her husband that she reached out to Ross Ingram, who owns Brainville Studios in Sunland Park, New Mexico. “I asked him if he thought it was silly to want to record a shoegaze song at my age,” she admitted to the blog Noise Artists . Inste...
Aug 31, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3790
Cumulus & Little Wins - "Doorway," a 2020 self-released single. Little Wins is the solo project of songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Andrew Vait, also of Seattle duo SISTERS. And Cumulus is the songwriting project of Seattle's own Alexandra Niedzialkowski. Before Vait moved away to California, the two teamed up to create this song. "This song is about no-one and everyone; a collage of all the people in our life we wish we had more time with, or another chance to say all the things we should h...
Aug 28, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3789
Pure X - "Angels of Love" from the 2020 album Pure X on Fire Talk Records. It's been six years, but Austin-based band Pure X have returned with their fourth full-length, their first since 2014's Angel . The new self-titled release was written over the past three years with band members working on their parts remotely from their respective homes before reuniting to record live over six days in the Texas countryside. “[After Angel ], as far as the world was concerned, we were broken up. That was a...
Aug 27, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3788
HÆLOS - "Unknown Melody," a 2020 single on Æ Recordings. London electronic quartet HÆLOS return with a new single, released via their own Æ imprint. “We found ourselves reminiscing about some mid-’00s electro releases and feeling a nostalgia for those early trips,” says band member Dom Goldsmith, who also produced the track. “Writing ‘Unknown Melody’ back in January, it just felt cathartic for us to remember some of the good times when everything felt so unstable. How little we knew. We’re liste...
Aug 26, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3787
