MorMor - "Don't Cry," a 2020 single on Don't Guess Inc. For the past couple of years, Toronto’s MorMor (musician Seth Nyquist) has been crafting spellbindingly evocative music that has the power to cut your heart in two. Following up 2018’s Heaven’s Only Wishful EP and last year’s Some Place Else EP comes the single “Don’t Cry.” Pulsating with a feverish darkness, the raw lyrics capture the anxiety of lockdown during which the song was made. “I’m tired of the days/ They came and went/ We were le...
Nov 18, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3847
Nilüfer Yanya - “Crash” from the 2020 Feeling Lucky? EP on ATO Records. After a momentous 2019 with her excellent, critically acclaimed debut ‘Miss Universe,’ Nilüfer Yanya is coming back for more. The English songwriter recently announced the ‘Feeling Lucky?’ EP, due out Dec. 11 through ATO Records. The first offering from the record comes with the anthemic single “Crash.” Co-written by Nick Hakim, “Crash” showcases layers of Yanya enigmatic vocals swirling above some of her most fuzzed-out ins...
Nov 17, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3846
Loma - “Half Silences” from the 2020 album Don’t Shy Away on Sub Pop. Loma never anticipated going this far. The project began as an impromptu collaboration with songwriter Emily Cross, recording engineer Dan Duszynski, and Shearwater’s Jonathan Meiburg, converging to record their 2018 self-titled debut. After releasing the record and touring, each member intended to go back to their own projects. However, it only took a few months away from each other before they realized they wanted to keep Lo...
Nov 16, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3845
Weep Wave - "Bury the Bones," a 2020 self-released single. If you've been missing the casual acquaintanceship of neighborhood pups during the quarantine, you are not alone. Local psych-rock trio Weep Wave feel your pain. “I started missing it being socially acceptable to approach strangers with dogs," frontman Dylan Fuentes admitted to Melted Magazine . "I do not have a dog of my own so I have to solely rely on the generous free pets of strangers and their adorable dogs,” said Dylan Fuentes. “I ...
Nov 13, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3844
Beabadoobee - "Sorry" from the 2020 album Fake It Flowers on Dirty Hit. Last month, British-based singer/songwriter Beabadoobee (real name: Bea Kristi) released her full-length debut Fake It Flowers , and it fulfilled all the anticipation that began brewing with her earlier EPs. "Fake It Flowers is pretty much my whole life in one album," she told i-D Magazine . "People are gonna know a lot, and it’s fun because I finally feel like this is really genuine -- the music and the way it sounds is som...
Nov 12, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3843
The Churchhill Garden - "birds," a 2020 self-released single. Under the stay-at-home order, many bands have taken to the internet in order to create and record new music, e-mailing each other files and rehearsing via Zoom calls. But for shoegaze duo The Churchhill Garden , collaborating across the ocean has long been their modus operandi. Vocalist Krissy Vanderwoude explained the process to Fade Away Radiate in 2018: “With [bandmate] Andy [Jossi] being in Switzerland and me in the US (Indiana), ...
Nov 11, 2020•7 min•Ep. 3842
TV Priest - "This Island" from the 2021 album Uppers on Sub Pop. With today's Song of the Day, London-based post-punk quartet TV Priest share an early look at their forthcoming full-length Uppers , out February 5th via Sub Pop. In a press statement, frontman Charlie Drinkwater calls the track "an unrequited love letter, and a howl of frustration; a mea culpa and a call to arms." He adds: "'This Island' is about incoherence and inarticulate responses, both personal and political, in a time and pl...
Nov 10, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3841
Ghost of Vroom - "Rona Pollona" from the 2020 Ghost of Vroom 2 EP on Mod y Vi Records. Back in the '90s, NYC-based band Soul Coughing combined improvisational jazz with samples and the stream-of-consciousness poetry of frontman Mike Doughty. Decades later, Doughty returns with Ghost of Vroom (the band name a nod to SC's debut 1994 album Ruby Vroom ), a project with bassist and longtime collaborator Andrew “Scrap” Livingston. "This is the Soul Coughing stuff that was never made," Doughty explaine...
Nov 09, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3840
J'Von - "cnn" from the 2020 album THUNDERBOY on PLZCOMEAGAIN. Seattle's own J'Von returned last month with his latest LP of lo-fi hip-hop titled Thunderboy . True to his history of multidisciplinary approach , J'Von wrote, arranged, produced, recorded, and mixed the album himself (with one track co-produced by grady), as well as created all the art, characters, and animations. Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy inf...
Nov 06, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3839
Dave B - "Worthy," a 2020 self-released single. With his single "Worthy," Renton, WA-based rapper Dave B wanted to remind the Black community that they are worthy of love and respect. "A lot of people post their black squares and do what they do and they get to throw it to the side they don't have to live it," he said to King 5 News . "We have to wake up every day and start to do this. I got to walk outside every day and I'm still worried about what might happen if I do the wrong thing or say th...
Nov 05, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3838
Quetzal - "Justice Never Dies," a 2020 self-released single. As we rebuild the world around us As others still fight and die We keep doing all we can “We don’t just survive We wanna thrive!” Since forming in the early '90s, East L.A.-based band Quetzal have long used their musical platform to speak out about social justice and education. Frontwoman Martha Gonzalez is an associate professor at Scripps College and just released the book Chican@ Artivistas: Music, Community and Transborder Tactics ...
Nov 04, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3837
Tiffany Wilson - "America (feat. Lady Tasz & Vitamin D)," a 2020 single on Loosegroove Records. You know a song is good when it brings a record label out of a twenty year hiatus, which is just what happened with Tiffany Wilson and Loosegroove Records, a label founded by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) and Regan Hagar (Malfunkshun, Brad). Based in Seattle, Wilson is also a former member of local gospel group SOUL. On her latest single (a first-listen to her forthcoming full length coming in 2021), ...
Nov 03, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3836
Sa-Roc - "The Black Renaissance (feat. Black Thought)" from the 2020 album The Sharecropper's Daughter on Rhymesayers. The first time Sa-Roc met Black Thought of The Roots, he was pulling her up on stage at the 2014 A3C Hip Hop Festival in front of tens of thousands of people. “We had a mutual friend who’s close to him and had been sharing music or whatever," the Atlanta-based MC remembered to HipHopDX . "He was anticipating meeting us there and Thought, being the Hip Hop icon who went through t...
Nov 02, 2020•5 min•Ep. 3835
Rell Be Free - "Paythefeee" from the 2020 self-released album P.T.F.D. Rell Be Free (real name: Jerrell Davis) is a self-described "musician, underground educator, and multifaceted entrepreneur" from the South End of Seattle. A rapper since the age of 12, Davis utilizes his skills to speak out for social justice. He's the Restorative Justice Director and co-founder of the youth organization WA-BLOC (Washington Building Leaders of Change) , serves as a Corner Greeter Coordinator for Rainier Beach...
Oct 30, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3834
Harleighblu & Bluestaeb - "Queeen Dem (feat. Janne Robinson)" from the 2019 self-released album She. British R&B vocalist Harleighblu teams up with German producer Bluestaeb on the collaborative album She . On today's Song of the Day, the duo find inspiration in the poetry of Janne Robinson. Harleighblu told Highsnobiety in an email: I wrote the track Queeen Dem (pronounced like ManDem), after being inspired by a poem called 'This is for the women that don’t give a fuck' by Janne Robinso...
Oct 29, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3833
Fugazi - "Burning Too" from the 1989 album 13 Songs on Dischord Records. We have a responsibility / To use our abilities to keep this place alive / Right here right now / Do it. Now. Do it. Since forming in 1986, DC punk band Fugazi have become synonymous with DIY ethics and progressive political perspectives. “I was born in 1962 and I was here in Washington right through the civil rights stuff, the anti-war stuff, gay rights," frontman Ian MacKaye said in a rare interview with Loud & Quiet ...
Oct 28, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3832
Stella Donnelly - "Beware of the Dogs" from the 2019 album Beware of the Dogs on Secretly Canadian. Following the breakout success of her debut EP Thrush Metal , Australian artist Stella Donnelly knew she wanted to use her first full-length, Beware of the Dogs , to address larger issues in the world. "My generation had this 'enough is enough' kind of feeling and a lot of the women I was working with were finding their ways of expressing that," she told Under the Radar last year. "Whether it was ...
Oct 27, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3831
Noname - "Song 33," a 2020 self-released single. With her first single of 2020, Chicago artist Noname works with producer Madlib to craft a track referencing the murder of George Floyd, Black Lives Matter activist Oluwatoyin Salau, and to, well, call out fellow rapper J. Cole, whose own single “Snow on Tha Bluff” seemed to criticize her social media presence. "i've been thinking a lot about it and i am not proud of myself for responding with song 33," she tweeted. "i tried to use it as a moment ...
Oct 26, 2020•1 min•Ep. 3830
Sango - "Eu Vou Passando (feat. Jé Santiago)" from the 2020 album Da Rocinha 4 on Soulection Records. Former Seattleite, current Michigander, Kai " Sango " Wright continues his Da Rocinha series, described as his "love letter to Rio De Janeiro Funk Carioca.” “I’ve always been a person of culture through connecting dots and bridging gaps,” Sango says via a press release. “With the Da Rocinha series, it is about highlighting the history of Funk Carioca and paying homage to the creation of the funk...
Oct 23, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3829
Working Men's Club - A.A.A.A. from the 2020 album Working Men's Club on Heavenly Recordings. Yorkshire band Working Mens Club was formed by a bunch of Working Teens last year. Eighteen-year-old frontman Sydney Minsky-Sargeant explains in a press release, "We grew up in northern towns trying to get in to pubs in social clubs because that's all we had. The name is an ode to that. Our surroundings and their differences has influenced us a lot on these tracks." Their self-titled debut album was prod...
Oct 22, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3828
Jessica Winter - "Sad Music" from the 2020 Sad Music EP on Roya Records. Brixton-based artist Jessica Winter stuns with her debut EP Sad Music , a perfect blend of introspective lyrics and infectious synth beats. “Music helps me realise that you are not alone that every one of us is capable of the best and worst feelings and actions in this world," Winter said via a press release. "This song was born out of a particularly bad day and how music was a saviour at that time.” Winter captures that fe...
Oct 21, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3827
Dark Tropics - "Moroccan Sun," a 2020 single on Quiet Arch. Self-described "pop-noir" duo Dark Tropics return with their second single "Moroccan Sun," just in time to stretch out summer just a little bit longer. While the musicians, Rio and Gerard, reside in Belfast, Ireland, they first met in Morocco, and bring a sultry, sunny Mediterranean feel to today's featured track. In a press release, Rio shares: “’Moroccan Sun’ was written somewhat as a narrative for my first travelling experience fully...
Oct 20, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3826
Adia Victoria - "South Gotta Change," a 2020 single on Atlantic Records. 'Cause I love you, I won't leave you Won't let you slip away Come what may We're gonna find a way Nashville-based artist Adia Victoria takes an introspective look at her city on her latest single, "South Gotta Change." The song, executive produced by the legendary T Bone Burnett, is not only a love letter to her town, but a plea for change. On Twitter , she declared, "this isn’t a song about hope, this is a howl for change....
Oct 19, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3825
Of Mexican Descent - "All Turn Native" from the 2006 self-released album Exitos Y Mas Exitos (Edicion De Lujo). Of Mexican Descent is a collaboration between Los Angeles-based artists, rapper 2Mex (real name: Alejandro Ocana) and Xololanxinxo (real name: Daniel Rodriguez). They began the project in 1991, and quickly became an elemental part of the rising Los Angeles underground hip hop movement. Their debut EP Exitos y Mas Exitos was originally released in 1998, and was recently re-released digi...
Oct 16, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3824
Dioganhdih - "Native New Yorker," a 2019 self-released single. A self-described "queer, non-binary, indigenous rapper, activist, and diversity consultant", Dioganhdih uses their music to celebrate the Haudenosaunee culture. On their latest single, they explain, "this single release details the life of a water protector living in a constant state of emergency and being propelled into action while living in occupation at Oceti Sakowin, Standing Rock in 2016." The track was recorded in Los Angeles ...
Oct 15, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3823
Ill-ēsha - "Como la Chicha (feat. Fabian Arias & Dakota Camacho)" from the 2020 self-released album Songs from the Sweat Shed. Last year, veteran DJ/producer Ill-ēsha helped create the Tribal Gathering Festival Recording Studio in the middle of the jungle in Panama, using the new space to record indigenous tribes and artists from all over the world. On her new double EP, Songs from the Sweat Shed , she incorporates samples from these sessions into her infectious electronic beats, with 100% o...
Oct 14, 2020•4 min•Ep. 3822
DJ Shub - "The Social (feat. pHoenix Pagliacci)," a 2020 single on Shub Music. Award-winning producer DJ Shub has teamed up with Toronto-based artist Phoenix for a powerful new track, with proceeds going to organizations benefiting Black Lives Matter and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women. In an interview with Billboard , DJ Shub (who is a Mohawk from Six Nations of the Grand River, Canada's largest First Nations reserve) explained: "Indigenous people in Canada are like the Black Lives Matter...
Oct 13, 2020•6 min•Ep. 3821
A Tribe Called Red - "Land Back (feat. Boogey the Beat & Northern Voice)," a 2020 self-released single. Canadian DJ duo A Tribe Called Red have a long history of using their public platform to amplify the indigenous community, and with today's Song of the Day, they're showing their support for the Wet’suwet’en people, whose sovereign lands are being invaded by the RCMP and the Coastal GasLink pipeline. They're offering this song for free on their Soundcloud page and are encouraging listeners...
Oct 12, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3820
Warren Dunes - "Fishbowl," a 2020 self-released single. 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! Seattle surf-pop trio Warren Dunes are currently working on their debut full-length, but in the meantime, they've shared the stand-alone single “Fishbowl,” a song frontwoman and local-music-veteran Julia Massey tells American Songwriter , “It’s about admitting your weaknesses and asking for help. It’...
Oct 09, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3819
Slow Pulp - "Falling Apart" from the 2020 album Moveys on Winspear. 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! Slow Pulp frontwoman Emily Massey's life was truly falling apart. The band had written an album's worth of songs while on tour with Alex G last year, but then Massey was diagnosed with Lyme disease and chronic mono. They scrapped the first batch and began to undertake more songwriting, be...
Oct 08, 2020•3 min•Ep. 3818
