Quinton Brock - "There For You," a 2022 single on Shadow Panther. With an ambitious goal to “change rock music forever,” Quinton Brock is clearly not shy about his pursuits. The former singer of the bluesy surf rock duo The Get Money Squad has been slowly releasing singles under his government name over the past couple of years that prove he just might do it too. With a penchant for breezy R&B-tinged indie rock that’s typically played by artists of a paler complexion, Brock is on an ever-gro...
Apr 07, 2022•2 min•Ep. 4203
Magdalena Bay - "Secrets (Your Fire)" from the 2021 album Mercurial World on Luminelle Recordings. Electro-pop duo Magdalena Bay share their struggles with social media on today's Song of the Day. “‘Secrets’ is about interconnectivity, privacy, and digital anxiety,” band members Mica Tenenbaum and Matthew Lewin shared in a press release. “It’s also about a need to keep sharing, to keep giving up more and more of yourself to faceless strangers in the hopes of making friends or fans.” Read the ful...
Apr 06, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4202
Congotronics International - "Where's The One?," a 2022 single on Crammed Discs. Congotronics International is truly a global affair: this supergroup comprises members of Konono Nº1, Kasai Allstars, Deerhoof, Juana Molina, Wildbirds & Peacedrums, and Skeletons’ Matt Mehlan. Their forthcoming full-length, Where’s The One (due April 29th via Crammed Discs), was crafted over ten years, with files being emailed across four continents, sent from Kinshasa DRC, Buenos Aires, New Mexico, New York, S...
Apr 05, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4201
TV Girl x Jordana - "Jump the Turnstile" from the 2021 album Summer's Over on Summer's Over. Los Angeles-based group TV Girl have a long history with NYC artist Jordana . The pair have toured together, and a collaborative EP seemed like a natural next step. Titled Summer’s Over , the seven-song release combines Jordana's heavenly voice with the west coast trio's sample-heavy style. TV Girl set off for their first headlining European tour later this year , and Jordana releases her debut studio al...
Apr 04, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4200
ODESZA - "The Last Goodbye (feat. Bettye LaVette)," a 2022 single on Foreign Family Collective/Ninja Tune. In Early February, ODESZA returned from a four-year hiatus to drop the cinematic soulful single, “The Last Goodbye.” Featuring reworked vocals from Bettye LaVette’s 1965 soul/R&B track “Let Me Down Easy,” the track is a six-minute spine-tingling epic blending the Grammy-nominated duo’s electronic grooves with LaVette’s heartwrenching vocals to stirring effect. “This song was born out of...
Apr 01, 2022•6 min•Ep. 4199
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever - "The Way It Shatters" from the 2022 album Endless Rooms on Sub Pop. In early February, Australian rockers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever announced their third studio album, Endless Rooms , due out May 6 via Ivy League/Sub Pop. Following up 2020’s acclaimed Sideways to New Italy , the record is described by the band as “almost an anti-concept album,” with the title reflecting “our love of creating worlds in our songs. We treat each of them as a bare room to be b...
Mar 31, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4198
Body Type - "Buoyancy" from the 2022 album Everything is Dangerous But Nothing's Surprising on Poison City Records. You never know when creative inspiration will strike, and for Australian quartet Body Type , it was over text. “'Buoyancy' started as a playful text message exchange between Annabel and me," bassist/vocalist Georgia Wilkinson Derums said of her bandmate, guitarist/vocalist Annabel Blackman. "In many ways, the song is about grappling with internal inconsistencies and moral ambiguiti...
Mar 30, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4197
Mitski - "The Only Heartbreaker" from the 2022 album Laurel Hell on Dead Oceans. Mitski 's latest album, Laurel Hell , went through a few different phases during its creation. "This album has been a punk record at some point, and a country record," she told Rolling Stone . "Then, after a while, it was like, 'I need to dance.' Even though the lyrics might be depressing, I need something peppy to get me through this." Today's Song of the Day definitely fits the bill. "I needed that Breakfast Club ...
Mar 29, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4196
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 listen...
Mar 28, 2022•5 min
Sudan Archives - "Home Maker," a 2022 single on Stones Throw. Leave it to Sudan Archives to make domestic life sultry and seductive. After making the move from Cincinnati to her current home of Los Angeles, the acclaimed violinist/vocalist/producer (real name: Brittney Denise Parks) turned to home making to feel more grounded. Her first new single in three years reflects that. “It took nesting — building a home, investing in partners that were worth my investment — to shake my anxiety and depres...
Mar 28, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4195
Acid Tongue - "Take Me To Your Leader (feat. Death Valley Girls)" from the 2021 album Arboretum on Freakout Records. This past November, local chairmen of psych-rock Acid Tongue dropped their celebrated third record Arboretum . Their most fully-formed album to date, Arboretum is a joyful, intoxicating psychedelic glam rock opus that employs the many friendships Guy Keltner and Ian Cunningham have made in the music scene for a highly collaborative effort. Our Song of the Day, “Take Me to Your Lea...
Mar 25, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4194
King Hannah - "Big Big Baby" from the 2022 album I’m Not Sorry, I Was Just Being Me on City Slang. While the duo that make up King Hannah - Craig Whittle and Hannah Merrick - hail from Liverpool, the music they make feels more fitting for the deep American south. Taking inspiration from the dark, mystical elements of that region, the band makes smokey, heavy Americana with tinges of dusky, rambling post-rock. Our Song of the Day, “Big Big Baby,” epitomizes this, utilizing slow, ominous drums, fu...
Mar 24, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4193
The Lazy Eyes - "Fuzz Jam" from the 2022 self-released album SongBook. Australian psych band The Lazy Eyes chose a fitting title for today's Song of the Day: the song is, indeed, a fuzzy jam, making it a fitting introduction to their forthcoming debut full-length SongBook , to be released on April 22nd. In an interview with Happy Mag , vocalist/guitarist Harvey Geraghty remembers the genesis of the track. "I’ve got a pretty random story about how this song started. I was brushing my teeth at hom...
Mar 23, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4192
Death Valley Girls - "When I’m Free," a 2022 single on Suicide Squeeze. Earlier this year, Seattle's Suicide Squeeze Records released a split single featuring two bands off their roster: Death Valley Girls and Le Butcherettes. Side A features the Guadalajara-based Le Butcherettes covering an old DVG song titled "The Universe," and side B features a brand new track from Death Valley Girls, the psychedelic, introspective song "When I’m Free." In a press release, frontwoman Bonnie Bloomgarden share...
Mar 22, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4191
Bambara - "Birds" from the 2022 Love On My Mind EP on Wharf Cat. Brooklyn-based band Bambara — a trio of twins Reid and Blaze Bateh with their childhood friend William Brookshire on bass — have just released their six-song mini-album, Love Is On My Mind, in advance of their European tour with IDLES. On today's Song of the Day, Reid shares in a press release, “‘Birds’ compresses the events of many months into three and a half minutes, spanning time when the couple we follow throughout the record ...
Mar 21, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4190
King Khazm - "Gone Away From Here (feat. Abstract Rude, Moka Only & Myka 9)" from the 2022 album Return of a MAD on Fresh Chopped Beats / MADK Productions. For over 25 years, King Khazm has been using hip hop as a means to amplify not just his voice but the voices of many in the Seattle community. A multifaceted artist, community organizer, performer, and educator, Khazm first rose to prominence in 1995 when he founded MAD Krew, a hip hop crew that quickly evolved into an influential multime...
Mar 18, 2022•5 min•Ep. 4189
Billi Free & The Lasso - "Thrive, Despite" from the 2022 album Holy Body Roll on Mello Music Group. Holy Body Roll , released this March, is a collaborative record between New Mexico vocalist A. Billi Free and Michigan producer The Lasso that leans into the duo’s love for funk, pop, hip hop, and R&B for a record that’s free-flowing and boundaryless. Joined by The Lasso’s studio team made up of saxophonist The Saxsquatch, cellist Jordan Hamilton, and pianist Grayson Nye, Holy Body Roll is...
Mar 17, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4188
Samora Pinderhughes - "Masculinity (feat. Immanuel Wilkins)" from the 2022 album GRIEF on Stretch Music / Ropeadope. GRIEF is more than just an album — it's a third of "The Healing Project," a multimedia effort from composer/artist Samora Pinderhughes, which also includes a forthcoming digital archive and an exhibition, opening on March 24th at the Yerba Buena Center For The Arts in San Francisco. (Watch the accompanying film below, directed by filmmaker Christian Padron, and inspired by the bla...
Mar 16, 2022•6 min•Ep. 4187
K.ZIA - "JFMB" from the 2022 album Genesis on Groove Attack. Born in Berlin to a father from Martinique and a Belgo-Congolese mother (Marie Daulne, of the acclaimed Zap Mama), K.ZIA brings a worldliness to her debut full-length, Genesis . Not only does she adopt the alter ego of "Zia," a feistier version of her own self, but she sings for the first time in French, like on today's Song of the Day "JFMB" or "J’Fais Mes Bails." "So I’d translate J’fais mes bails into 'I do my thing,'" she told Esse...
Mar 15, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4186
Yugen Blakrok & Kanif The Jhatmaster - "Pedestal," a 2022 single on I.O.T. Records. Hailing from the Eastern Cape, rapper Yugen Blackrok shot to stardom with her 2013 debut album Return of the Astro-Goth, landing three nominations in the South African Hip-Hop Awards for Best Lyricist, Best Newcomer, and Best Female Artist. Here in the States, she was a stand-out on 2018's Black Panther: The Album , appearing on the track "Opps" alongside heavy-hitters Kendrick Lamar and Vince Staples. Earli...
Mar 14, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4185
Arlo Parks - "Softly," a 2022 single on Transgressive. This week's Song of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, in honor of I nternational Women's Month . Re-listen to our kick-off day of programming, and explore articles and live sessions from some of our favorite female artists here . Last year, Arlo Parks - the musical nom de plume of Anais Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho - released her highly anticipated debut record Collapsed in Sunbeams . The intimate, compassionate ...
Mar 11, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4184
50 Foot Wave - "Staring Into the Sun," a 2022 single on Fire Records. This week's Song of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, in honor of I nternational Women's Month . Re-listen to our kick-off day of programming, and explore articles and live sessions from some of our favorite female artists here . Two years after the long-awaited 10th studio album from Throwing Muses, frontwoman Kristin Hersh is back with a new record from her heavier side project 50 Foot Wave . T...
Mar 10, 2022•5 min•Ep. 4183
Adwaith - "ETO," a 2022 single on Libertino Records. This week's Song of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, in honor of I nternational Women's Month . Re-listen to our kick-off day of programming, and explore articles and live sessions from some of our favorite female artists here . Post-punk trio Adwaith have announced their sophomore full-length Bato Mato will be out July 1st via Libertino Records, their eagerly-awaited follow-up to their Welsh Music Prize-winning...
Mar 09, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4182
LOTTA - "Léonard" from the 2021 Seafarer EP on Deadred Records. This week's Song of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, in honor of I nternational Women's Month . Re-listen to our kick-off day of programming, and explore articles and live sessions from some of our favorite female artists here . On her debut EP, Seafarer, Slovakian singer/songwriter LOTTA (real name: Dagmar Mišíková) presents four songs inspired by the seasons, with today's Song of the Day capturing t...
Mar 08, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4181
Clarissa Connelly - "Holler" from the 2020 self-released album The Voyager. This week's Song of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, in honor of I nternational Women's Month . Re-listen to our kick-off day of programming, and explore articles and live sessions from some of our favorite female artists here . Combining the technology of her Korg M1 synthesizer with inspiration from ancient lands, Copenhagen-based artist Clarissa Connelly crafts beautiful baroque pop son...
Mar 07, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4180
BRoc - "Black Rainbow (feat. Porter Ray)," a 2022 self-released single. Brian Ovalles, AKA BRoc , is a Seattle-based producer and DJ who’s worked extensively with Central District Seattle MC Porter Ray . He is a part of the label/collective called Intratecque, family to the Black Constellation . Read the full post on KEXP.org Take a journey through the Black Constellation on KEXP's new podcast, Fresh off the Spaceship (coming March 18) Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio...
Mar 04, 2022•2 min•Ep. 4179
Sevdaliza - "High Alone," a 2022 single on Twisted Elegance. It's been two years since her stunning sophomore release Shabrang , but Dutch-Iranian artist Sevdaliza re-emerges on the new EP, Raving Dahlia . On today's Song of the Day, she continues to explore the gothic electronic sound of those earlier releases, adding cinematic elements like the spoken-word piece against an ethereal harp background. Read the full post on KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/...
Mar 03, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4178
Fly Anakin - "Ghost (feat. Nickelus F)" from the 2022 album Frank on Lex Records Ltd. Described by Madlib as "one of the illest MCs," anticipation has been high for the debut full-length from Richmond, VA-based rapper/producer Fly Anakin . On March 11th, that release will drop, titled Frank , via Lex Records. He notes the album draws inspiration from the "classic R&B and Soul" his dad played for him when he was a child. Today's Song of the Day features guest vocals from his "hero and mentor"...
Mar 02, 2022•3 min•Ep. 4177
High Pulp - "All Roads Lead to Los Angeles" from the 2022 album Pursuit of Ends on ANTI-. With today's Song of the Day, Seattle's experimental jazz septet High Pulp share a sneak preview of their forthcoming full-length Pursuit Of Ends , which will be released April 15th via ANTI- Records. The album draws inspiration from "bebop, punk rock, shoegaze, hip-hop, and electronic music," and came together in spite of the pandemic. “Having to start working remotely actually allowed us to try things tha...
Mar 01, 2022•5 min•Ep. 4176
Blue Lab Beats - "Motherland Journey (feat. Killbeatz & Fela Kuti)" from the 2022 album Motherland Journey on Blue Note / Blue Adventure. London-based duo Blue Lab Beats released their Blue Note Records debut last week with Motherland Journey , an album they described as "extremely special album to us." “This album took us two-and-a-half years to finish, our longest process to make an album, but it was so worth it," they explain in a press release. "On this album you’ll hear many fusions of ...
Feb 28, 2022•4 min•Ep. 4175
