Today's Song of the Day is a promise kept: before the 2021 Copa América international men's football championship (or as Americans call it, "soccer"), Argentinean DJ/producer Gonzalo Julián Conde (better known as Bizarrap) proposed that if his country beat Brazil in the finals, he would record a song with rappers Nicki Nicole and Duki. True to his word, the trio released the track "YaMeFui" following Argentina's first win in 28 years in the Copa América. – Janice Headley Support the show: https:...
Sep 14, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4056
Mexican-American singer-songwriter Omar Apollo [real name: Omar Apolonio Velasco] has had an inspiring rise to fame: while living in an attic and working two jobs (at Jimmy Johns and Guitar Center), he uploaded one of his songs to Spotify where it got 20,000 streams in a day. Shortly thereafter, his career blew up, culminating in his debut album Apolonio , released last year. On today's Song of the Day, the 24-year-old singer/songwriter worked with producers Carter Lang and Chromeo to craft the ...
Sep 13, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4055
Chris Carroll - "Rose Colored Glasses," a 2021 single on Raindrop Sound. Seattle-based, Filipino-American artist Chris Carroll has his roots in the local hip-hop scene, as a producer for musicians like Gifted Youngstaz, Ra Scion of Common Market, Entendres, and MADlines. With his solo work, he adds a lo-fi romanticism, layering his crooner-style vocals to the mix, and crafting a track that sounds both contemporary and like a golden oldie. Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show: https://...
Sep 10, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4054
Mystic - "The Life" from the 2021 re-release Cuts For Luck and Scars For Freedom on Beautiful Soundworks. Twenty years ago, west coast MC Mystic (real name: Mandolyn Wind Ludlum) released her debut full-length Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom , an album that landed her a Grammy Award nomination for the track "W'' and a BET Awards nomination for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist. Despite the accolades, the album suffered from poor distribution, and after a 2014 LP (titled Beautiful Resistance ), My...
Sep 09, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4053
MACK - "Fire Among Us (feat. Akua Naru)," a 2021 single on Deposito Zero Studios. Italian duo MACK combines the talents of Federico Squassabia (keyboards/bass synth/composition) and Marco Frattini (acoustic and electronic drums/live sampling/composition), who craft a genre-defying blend of hip-hop, jazz, kraut-rock, freestyle rap, and more. On their 2019 self-titled debut EP, they invite collaborators to contribute their own creativity, including AVEX, Devon Miles and Rachel Doe on vocals, Feder...
Sep 08, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4052
Gabriel Garzón-Montano - "Agüita (Remix) (feat. Sampa The Great & Amber Mark)" from the 2021 Agüita EP: I on Jagjaguwar/Stones Throw. Last year, New York-based artist Gabriel Garzón-Montano released his sophomore full-length, Agüita , an ambitious "anti-genre" album with everything from reggae to post-punk to funk to folk. This year, he's begun releasing the Agüita EP series, featuring re-workings of songs from that album. Today's Song of the Day is a remix of the title track, featuring new ...
Sep 07, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4051
The Halluci Nation - "It's Over (feat. Chippewa Travellers)" from the 2021 self-released album One More Saturday Night. Back in 2016, Canadian duo A Tribe Called Red released the album We Are the Halluci Nation . Now, in 2021, they've shed their old moniker, re-emerging as The Halluci Nation , a phrase borrowed from artist/activist John Trudell to "describe the vast global community of people who remember at their core what it means to be human." In a social media post , they declared, "These wo...
Sep 06, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4050
HOLLIS - "Less Like," a 2021 single on AntiFragile Music. Former-Seattleite/currently based in Los Angeles, Hollis has announced her highly-anticipated debut album, Subliminal , will be out this fall. “The album is a document of the highs and lows, all of the self-consciousness and soul-seeking, cracking myself open to find hope within all of the unknowns," she shared in a press release. "It was also a period of growth for me as a music creator, a lyricist, and a singer, and an opportunity to wo...
Sep 03, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4049
Ty Segall - "Harmonizer" from the 2021 album Harmonizer on Drag City. Wildly-prolific West Coast artist Ty Segall returned with his latest LP Harmonizer in early August. (Physical formats will be released via Drag City in October.) The album was co-produced and co-mixed by Cooper Crain, at Segall's own Harmonizer Studios in Topanga, California. Segall’s wife, Denée, contributed vocals, lyrics, and album art, and the Freedom Band—bassist Mikal Cronin, drummer and percussionist Charles Moothart, g...
Sep 02, 2021•5 min•Ep. 4048
Slothrust - "Once More For the Ocean," a 2021 single on Dangerbird Records. "This song felt like it was handed to me by the ocean," says Slothrust bandleader Leah Wellbaum about today's Song of the Day. The Brookline native continues: It came to me when I was sitting on some rocks and staring at one of my favorite oceans in the world, on Star Island off the coast of Rye, New Hampshire. The bass line arrived first, and then the melody and the lyrics came at the same time. I didn’t have an instrum...
Sep 01, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4047
Sleigh Bells - "Locust Laced," a 2021 single on Mom + Pop. Brooklyn noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells return with their sixth full-length this fall, Texis , out September 10th via Mom+Pop Music. If today's Song of the Day is any indication, it finds the pair returning to the highly-propulsive, anthemic sound of their 2010 debut Treats . “We stopped worrying about whether or not we’re in or out of our comfort zone, or if we were being repetitive or formulaic,” co-founder and guitarist Derek Miller said ...
Aug 31, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4046
Wau Wau Collectif - "Thiante" from the 2021 album Yaral Sa Doom on Sahel Sounds. The Wau Wau Collectif was formed in 2018 by Swedish musician/producer Karl Jonas Winqvist and Senegal-based studio engineer Arouna Kane. Utilizing over 20 musicians from both hometowns, the two traded recordings via WhatsApp. carefully constructing the album Yaral Sa Doom. “It’s like diving into the sea,” explains Kane in an album statement. “There are all different species of fish swimming around, but together they...
Aug 30, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4045
Left at London - "there is a place for you here." from the 2021 self-released album t.i.a.p.f.y.h.. On her debut full-length, t.i.a.p.f.y.h. , Seattle artist Left At London (aka Nat Puff) explores mental health against everything from folk to pop, punk, rock, hip hop, and electronica. “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 episod...
Aug 27, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4044
The Marías - "Hush" from the 2021 album CINEMA on Nice Life Recording Company and Atlantic Recording Corporation. Los Angeles band The Marías was formed in 2016 by vocalist María Zardoya and producer/drummer Josh Conway, and their relationship is at the heart of their highly-anticipated debut album, Cinema . "We dedicated our whole lives to this album and we were completely devoted," Zardoya told AL DÍA news. "This album is a direct reflection of Josh and I at this point in time, and our experie...
Aug 26, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4043
La Luz - "In The Country" from the 2021 album In The Country on Hardly Art. Today's Song of the Day transports LA-via-Seattle trio La Luz to the countryside, adding a gentle folk feel to their signature surf sound. It's the band's first new music in three years, since their 2018 album Floating Features. Principal songwriter Shana Cleveland explains in a press release, "I moved to the country a few years ago after living in cities for most of my life. Being out in the middle of nowhere makes it e...
Aug 25, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4042
L'Rain - "Two Face" from the 2021 album Fatigue on Mexican Summer. Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist L’Rain (real name: Taja Cheek) follows her powerful 2017 self-titled debut with Fatigue , a new album that infuses soul, gospel, jazz, and other styles into her experimental sound. Today's Song of the Day finds her reflecting on a failed friendship. As she states on her Bandcamp : This is a song about a falling out with a friend. The friend was a gemini, hence the title ‘Two Face.’ The song is...
Aug 24, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4041
Courtney Barnett - "Rae Street" from the 2021 album Things Take Time, Take Time on Mom+Pop/Marathon Records. Long-time KEXP fave Courtney Barnett has announced her third album, titled Things Take Time, Take Time , out November 12th on Mom+Pop Music / Marathon Artists. Today's Song of the Day features the opening track, the languid rocker "Rae Street." Things Take Time, Take Time was written over a two-year period, marking what's called "a particularly joyful time in her life." It was recorded to...
Aug 23, 2021•5 min•Ep. 4040
Nox Novacula - "Victim" from the 2021 album Ascension on Manic Depression. Seattle's Nox Novacula has brought a goth presence to the local music scene since 2017. On their debut full-length, Ascension , they combine electronic and post-punk sounds into a genre they call "Death Rock." Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Aug 20, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4039
Ash Code - "Fear (Forever Grey Remix)" from the 2021 self-released EP Fear. Throughout the pandemic, the predominant feeling has been "fear," which is what inspired the new EP from Italian darkwave trio Ash Code . Twin brothers Alessando and Adriano Belluccio and Claudia Nottebella had an album almost finished, but the lockdown just changed the mood. "We had a lot of songs almost finished and the plan was to release them in late summer 2020 as part of a US and Latin America tour," Adriano told G...
Aug 19, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4038
Balvanera - "¿Cuánto resiste el cuerpo?" from the 2021 album Courses of Action on DKA Records. Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the duo of Balvanera bring an EBM aesthetic to their dark electronic music. Vocalist Agustina and multi-instrumentalist Lucas both came from the DIY punk and hardcore scene before moving into electronics. "For some reason, electronic music feels like a continuation of punk to me," Agustina explained in an interview with Brutal Resonance . "Like in the '80s a lot of ex ...
Aug 18, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4037
NNHMN - "Tomorrow's Heroine" from the 2021 EP Tomorrow's Heroine on K Dream's. Berlin-based darkwave duo NNHMN (pronounced Non-Human) released the EP Tomorrow's Heroine earlier this year, a mini-album they describe as "five songs of hope, desire, and sheer electronic magic." Band members Lee Margot and Michal Laudarg (who's a techno DJ on the side) take a minimal approach to their sensual synth sound, drawing influence from "New Brutalists theatre, experimental electronic music, and techno cultu...
Aug 17, 2021•6 min•Ep. 4036
Camlann - "Metropolitan Boy" from the 2021 album Circa 1983 on Cold Transmission. It's fitting that the Jakarta-based darkwave trio Camlann named their latest album Circa 1983, because they easily channel the sounds of Depeche Mode and Soft Cell, despite the fact that its members weren't even born at the time. The self-described "dark disco" group consists of Ony Godfrey (17) on vocals and guitar, Bayu Triyudanto (17) on bass, and Fauzan Pratama (16) on synths. (There's also Chariszan (17), thei...
Aug 16, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4035
Tycho & Benjamin Gibbard - "Only Love," a 2021 single on Mom + Pop. Step aside, Jimmy Tamborello. Death Cab for Cutie frontman Benjamin Gibbard is lending his distinctive voice to a new electronic producer, Tycho (real name: Scott Hansen). In a press release, Hansen explained how the two came to collaborate: I had been a fan of Ben’s work for a long time when, in 2016, I had the chance to do a remix for Death Cab for Cutie’s track “The Ghosts of Beverly Drive.” Ben’s voice was a very inspiri...
Aug 13, 2021•5 min•Ep. 4034
Mac McCaughan - "Dawn Bends" from the 2021 album The Sound of Yourself on Merge. Superchunk frontman and Merge Records co-founder Mac McCaughan returns this fall with his second solo album, The Sound of Yourself . The release features a slew of guests including Mary Lattimore, Sabrina Ellis (A Giant Dog), TORRES' Mackenzie Scott, Telekinesis' Michael Benjamin Lerner, Annie Hayden, his brother Matt McCaughan, and on today's Song of the Day, drummer Jon Wurster and Yo La Tengo. ("I am aware of the...
Aug 12, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4033
Penelope Isles - "Sailing Still," a 2021 single on Bella Union. UK duo Penelope Isles — a project of siblings Lily and Jack Wolter — were able to use the pandemic lockdown to recover from the heavy touring they did for their 2018 debut album When The Tide Creeps In . “Before the enforced break due to COVID we spent pretty much all of 2019 driving ourselves around Europe and America having some incredible adventures as a band and it seems that everything since then has been falling apart," Jack e...
Aug 11, 2021•5 min•Ep. 4032
Film School - "Superperfection" from the 2021 album We Weren’t Here on Sonic Ritual. Long-running west coast shoegaze group Film School return this fall with the full-length We Weren’t Here , a nod to pandemic-related conditions in which they recorded the album. Band members — bassist Justin LaBo, guitarist Nyles Lannon, frontman Greg Bertens, and keyboardist Jason Ruck — were divided between the Bay Area and Los Angeles, recording their parts from their respective home studios and then emailing...
Aug 10, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4031
Jarv Dee & Bad Colours - "Black Skin (feat. Stas THEE Boss)," a 2021 self-released single. Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 06, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4029
Skyzoo - "Bed-Stuy Is Burning" from the 2021 album All the Brilliant Things on Mello. New York has long been embedded in the work of rapper Skyzoo . Born Gregory Skyler Taylor in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, he cites his hometown as an influence, telling The Living Room , "There’s certain values and morals that come with the neighborhood and era that I grew up in. Those are important musically and just in life." However, he laments the gentrification of his city on today's Song of...
Aug 05, 2021•5 min•Ep. 4028
K.ZIA - "Sanctuary," a 2021 single on Groove Attack. Brussels-born, Berlin-based artist K.ZIA unveils a "place beyond the physical" in today's KEXP Song of the Day. Born to a Martinican father and a Belgo-Congolese mother, she weaves the influence of her upbringing into this soulful single. “I am building a realm for the unheard," she explained in a press release. "For the ones that never found boxes to fit in because of their differences. To be able to exist freely, we will have our own boundle...
Aug 04, 2021•3 min•Ep. 4027
George Riley - "say yes (feat. Joe Armon-Jones)" from the 2021 self-released album interest rates, a tape. She may only be 23-years-old, but West London-based artist George Riley draws on her lifetime of influences on her latest release, interest rates, a tape . Her Jewish mother and Jamaican father would play R&B icons like Stevie Wonder, Aretha, and Sade in the house, and her dad was briefly a drummer and backing vocalist in '70s reggae group Steel Pulse. She channels all of that into inte...
Aug 03, 2021•4 min•Ep. 4026
