High Pulp - "Unified Dakotas (feat. Jeff Parker)" from the 2023 album Days In The Desert on ANTI-. Los Angeles-based jazz collective High Pulp team up with Jeff Parker of Tortoise on today's Song of the Day. The track can be found on the band's adventurous new LP Days In The Desert , out now via Anti- Records. “We have been fans of Jeff Parker (both solo and his work with Tortoise) for years, and when thinking about who the right person may be to collaborate with on this song it became abundantl...
Aug 25, 2023•5 min•Ep 4564•Transcript available on Metacast Sweeping Promises - "You Shatter" from the 2023 album Good Living Is Coming For You on Feel It Records. Sweeping Promises weren't kidding when they titled their second LP Good Living Is Coming for You . The duo of Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug used the advance they received from Sub Pop Records to purchase a home in Lawrence, Kansas. In an interview with Pitchfork , they explain how they used the back of the house to build a recording studio where they crafted their latest album. (They've also...
Aug 24, 2023•3 min•Ep 4563•Transcript available on Metacast Killer Mike - "SCIENTISTS & ENGINEERS (feat. André 3000, Future, Eryn Allen Kane)" from the 2023 album MICHAEL on Loma Vista Recordings / Concord It's been 11 years since the last solo album from Killer Mike , and his latest LP, titled Michael , is his most personal yet. Songs reflect on his childhood growing up in Atlanta, and, as he told Zane Lowe in an interview , he was also inspired by "the civil rights movement, the abolitionist movement, which gave us some of the most beautiful music ...
Aug 23, 2023•4 min•Ep 4562•Transcript available on Metacast Pozi - "Slightly Shaking Cells" from the 2023 album Smiling Pools on PRAH Recordings On their sophomore full-length Smiling Pools , London-tro Pozi break away from the post-punk sound they demonstrated on their debut LP, PZ1 . “It’s not our goal to totally embrace and restrict ourselves within a genre,” says bassist Tom Jones. “I feel that the tracks on Smiling Pools demonstrate that we’re taking our music to a different place and we want to bring the listener along on that journey.” Today's Son...
Aug 22, 2023•3 min•Ep 4561•Transcript available on Metacast Sen Morimoto - "If The Answer Isn't Love" from the 2023 album Diagnosis on City Slang Records. Chicago-based artist Sen Morimoto has signed with City Slang Records, accompanying the announcement with the new single "If The Answer Isn’t Love." The track will appear on his third album, Diagnosis , out November 3rd via City Slang in partnership with his own Sooper Records. “In the face of imminent climate disaster, war and unending sickness it’s natural to start considering what will remain and wha...
Aug 21, 2023•3 min•Ep 4560•Transcript available on Metacast RUB - "Contentment," a 2023 single on RUB Sounds. Today's Song of the Day is the debut single from Rub , a Seattle supergroup featuring members of Trick Candles, Salt Lick, Acid Tongue, Killer Workout, Cute Lepers, Panama Gold, and NighTraiN. The group are currently recording their debut full-length. On today's featured track, the band write: "This song is about Contentment. When will it happen, and what to do when you finally get it? It's about remembering that you are in control of your happin...
Aug 18, 2023•4 min•Ep 4559•Transcript available on Metacast The Veldt - "The Everlasting Gobstopper," a 2023 single on 5BC Records. Flashback to 1989. North Carolina-based identical twins Daniel and Danny Chavis had formed The Veldt just a few years before, inspired by soul, Sun Ra, and shoegaze. They began recording the LP The Everlasting Gobstopper with Cocteau Twins guitarist Robin Guthrie on production, but despite this dream pairing, their label, Capitol Records, shelved the project. Jump back to 2023, and the album will finally see the light of day...
Aug 17, 2023•5 min•Ep 4558•Transcript available on Metacast Obongjayar - "Just Cool," a 2023 single on September Recordings London-based Nigerian artist Obongjayar shares his first new single in a year, declaring, "Everyone is on edge! How could we not be?” He continues, "Where’s our united humanity? Where is our united love for our brothers and sisters and children looking for safety and opportunity? Where is the love for our planet? We’re constantly being lied to, used and squeezed of whatever energy is left in us. We’re in a pit fighting amongst ourse...
Aug 16, 2023•4 min•Ep 4557•Transcript available on Metacast Beverly Glenn-Copeland - "Africa Calling" from the 2023 album The Ones Ahead on Transgressive Records Late last month, celebrated vocalist/composer Beverly Glenn-Copeland returned with his first new album in 20 years, titled The Ones Ahead . “As the old world crumbles, a new world is waiting to be born," he shared in a press release. "All of our various strengths are needed. The generations of those yet to come are calling us forward.” Today's Song of the Day finds Glenn-Copeland exploring his h...
Aug 15, 2023•6 min•Ep 4556•Transcript available on Metacast MJ Lenderman - "Rudolph," a 2023 single on ANTI- When not playing guitar in the band Wednesday , Asheville, North Carolina-based singer/songwriter MJ Lenderman has a solo project on the side. Last year, ANTI- Records released his solo LP, Boat Songs . Today's Song of the Day is the first track he's shared since the release of that album. "I had been sitting on the guitar part for a long time and slowly worked out the song whenever I could in between tours in 2022," the busy musician explained in...
Aug 14, 2023•4 min•Ep 4555•Transcript available on Metacast Tomo Nakayama - "Contigo," a 2023 single on Ricebelly Music Long-running Seattle singer/songwriter Tomo Nakayama continues to capture the hearts of his listeners, this time with the swoon-worthy single "Contigo." As he sings in Spanish, "Quiero estar contigo," which translates to "I want to be with you." As Nakayama shares in a Spotify playlist, the song draws inspiration from The Cure to PM Dawn to Caetano Veloso and more. Read the full story at KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/d...
Aug 11, 2023•4 min•Ep 4554•Transcript available on Metacast Ghost of Vroom - "Still Getting It Done" from the 2023 album Ghost of Vroom 3 on Mod y Vi Ghost of Vroom — a project of former Soul Coughing-frontman Mike Doughty and his longtime collaborator Andrew “Scrap” Livingston — return with Ghost of Vroom 3 , out September 1st via Mod y Vi Records. The LP was produced and mixed by Beastie Boys collaborator Mario Caldado, Jr., who worked with the duo on previous releases. “It’s a dream, and a groove, and its language is an object,” writes author Rick Moo...
Aug 10, 2023•2 min•Ep 4553•Transcript available on Metacast Upper Wilds - "Short Centuries" from the 2023 album Jupiter on Thrill Jockey Brooklyn trio Upper Wilds continue their exploration of their solar system, following up 2018's Mars and 2020's Venus with their latest LP, Jupiter . Fronted by Dan Friel (formerly of Parts & Labor), the band celebrates the largest planet with a sound just as mighty. Today's Song of the Day brings us back to Earth with a tribute to Ecuadorian couple Julio Mora and Waldramina Quinteros, declared the world's oldest ma...
Aug 09, 2023•4 min•Ep 4552•Transcript available on Metacast Film School - "Tape Rewind" from the 2023 album Field on felte Long-running west coast shoegazers Film School share a sneak peek at their forthcoming full-length, Field , out August 25th via felte Records. Against their signature sonic waves of guitar, frontman Greg Bertens reflects on regret and internal struggles. The new LP takes its title from the Rumi poem, "A Great Wagon," which states: "Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field / I’ll meet you there." Bertens tells u...
Aug 08, 2023•4 min•Ep 4551•Transcript available on Metacast Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Aug 07, 2023•4 min•Ep 4550•Transcript available on Metacast The newest jam from the Vancouver-based multihyphenate comes with a light touch. Its slowly mutating beat starts with the melancholy peace of its ukelele lick and ends up floating through space carried by the vibrating low end of bass. Kimmortal's gently rapped lyrics about the wall between them and a person they love renders the sadness almost dreamlike on "Get Better," marking a new depth of vulnerability for the often-satirical artist, first explored on their single "K I'M MORTAL." - Martin D...
Aug 04, 2023•2 min•Ep 4549•Transcript available on Metacast By your powers combined, Captain Planet has ignited crowds across the world. The ever-world-traveling DJ has picked up steam touring constantly since shows opened up again in the wake of the pandemic. But Captain Planet never slows down. Right after finishing his 2022 tour, he jumped back into the studio to create his latest record Sounds Like Home . For Captain Planet, the goal was to make a record like the ones he reaches for while relaxing or entertaining at home. What results is the perfect ...
Aug 03, 2023•4 min•Ep 4548•Transcript available on Metacast After spending the last four years finding new approaches to recording, NAVVI's first new music in four years displays the Seattle duo functioning in a new gear. The sleek aesthetic is still there, vocalist Kristin Henry still sounds like she's singing from a different spiritual realm. But the 2023 issue of NAVVI is even more atmospheric than they were when we last heard them. Henry and producer Brad Boettger give "Clemency" more room to breathe. "I wanted to lean into tenderness,” Henry recentl...
Aug 02, 2023•5 min•Ep 4547•Transcript available on Metacast Jamaican singer Jah9 has built a remarkable career bridging dub music with jazz vocals. Taking inspiration from Nina Simone and Billie Holiday with the dancehall aesthetics of her native Kingston, Jah9 creates a sonic palette uniquely her own. “Open Heart” is a feel-good anthem, or rather an anthem in the pursuit of feeling good. Crossing over with her other career as a yoga teacher, she preaches mindfulness ideas of focusing your mind, embracing the beauty around you, and finding the moments of...
Aug 01, 2023•4 min•Ep 4546•Transcript available on Metacast South London’s Yussef Dayes has made a name for himself as one of the most exciting jazz drummers and composers to emerge in recent years. Anticipation has been mounting for a full-length album from Dayes and we’ll finally see it come to fruition with his debut solo album, Black Classical Music , out Sept. 8. Alongside the album’s announcement, Dayes shared this statement: “What is jazz? Where did the word derive from? Birthed in New Orleans, born in the belly of the Mississippi River, rooted in...
Jul 31, 2023•4 min•Ep 4545•Transcript available on Metacast Love & Pain - “Deep Space (Soft Faith remix),” a 2023 self-released single. Seattle duo Love & Pain — Natalia Czajkiewicz and Brad Clifford — team up with New York City synth-pop duo Soft Faith for today's Song of the Day. The track commemorates the one year anniversary of the release of It Comes In Waves, their second full-length. As they write on Instagram , "Maybe it will make you dance or cry or do both at the same time." Read the full story at KEXP.org Support the show: https://www....
Jul 28, 2023•3 min•Ep 4544•Transcript available on Metacast Code Industry - “Crimes Against The People” from the 2023 self-released album Structure . Formed in 1989 after changing their name from Code Assault, Code Industry were among the few Black artists in the EBM genre during that era. On Juneteenth 2023, they resissued their 1991 EP Structure with lyrics and liner notes by band member Pen Jackson aka E.N. Sevy. Their lyrics calling out racism and hypocrisy still ring true today. On today's Song of the Day, they deliver seething lyrics against an int...
Jul 27, 2023•5 min•Ep 4543•Transcript available on Metacast Neu-Romancer - “Superposition” from the 2023 EP Neue Romantika on Fleisch. Neu-Romancer is the solo venture of Australian musician Laura Bailey, currently residing in Berlin, Germany. (She's also the bassist for VV & the Void, Ciern, and in the live line-up for Zanias.) Her debut EP Neue Romantika features four tracks of Italo-disco-infused coldwave. "Neue Romantika" translates to "New Romantics" in German, a nod to the '70s/'80s music genre that included bands like Orchestral Manoeuvres in ...
Jul 26, 2023•7 min•Ep 4542•Transcript available on Metacast Carlo Onda - “Kette (feat. Blanche Biau)” from the 2023 self-released album EURO89 . Swiss darkwave artist Carlo Rainolter composes music as both Carlo Onda and Karl Kave. Both are synth-based, '80s-inspired projects influenced by post-punk and minimal wave. His latest album, Euro89 , is described as both "digital and organic," with today's Song of the Day featuring guest vocals and lyrics from Zurich-based artist Blanche Biau . Read the full story at KEXP.org Support the show: https://www.kexp....
Jul 25, 2023•4 min•Ep 4541•Transcript available on Metacast Escuela de Aviación- “Escalera infinita” from the 2023 album Fabrica de uniformes on Flexidiscos Escuela de Aviación (translated to English: "Aviation School") is the solo project of Jerónimo Martín, formerly the drummer of the krautrock-inspired band Sei Still which relocated from Mexico City to Berlin, Germany. Still embracing the minimal synth sound of his previous band, Escuela de Aviación's latest LP, Fabrica de uniformes , is an introspective meditation on the world, set to an icy darkwave...
Jul 24, 2023•4 min•Ep 4540•Transcript available on Metacast Roosevelt - "Luna," a 2023 single from Counter Records. Marius Lauber — the German-based producer who records as Roosevelt — shares a funky summertime groove for today's Song of the Day. The track definitely nods to his recent collaborations with artists like Nile Rodgers and Classixx. “'Luna' started as a jam with a bass line two years ago — it was laying on my hard drive already when doing my last album Polydans and it never really developed into a song," he explains in a press statement. "I’v...
Jul 20, 2023•4 min•Ep 4538•Transcript available on Metacast Nina Kohout - "Little Butterfly," a 2023 single on Deadred Records. Slovakian artist Nina Kohout lands her second KEXP Song of the Day pick with this powerful synth-pop single. Having now graduated from the BRIT School in London, she has been playing live around Europe, with more dates planned for the Fall. "'Little Butterfly' is a song about those who do not understand what ‘no’ means, automatically mistaking it for the words of consent," she writes on her Bandcamp page, adding "'Little Butterf...
Jul 18, 2023•4 min•Ep 4536•Transcript available on Metacast Pahua - "Porque Yo (feat. Eva de Marce)," a 2023 single from Nacional Records. As half of the duo Sotomayor, Mexico-based artist Pahua has a rich discography fusing Latin rhythms with electronic music. With her debut solo album, Habita , she spotlights collaborators from across Latin America, like Paz Court, La Perla, and on today's Song of the Day, Eva De Marce . "Well, one of my first interests with this album was to talk about the errancy, about the roots that are connecting us with the Latin...
Jul 17, 2023•3 min•Ep 4535•Transcript available on Metacast Who Is She? - “Thursday,” a 2023 single from Father/Daughter Records Seattle supergroup Who Is She? — Robin Edwards (aka Lisa Prank ), Bree Mckenna ( Tacocat ), and Julia Shapiro ( Chastity Belt ) — have become even more super with the addition of Tacocat’s Emily Nokes. Their sophomore full-length, Goddess Energy , will be out August 25th via Father/Daughter Records, and was produced by Jenn Champion. With today's Song of the Day, the quartet add themselves to the list of bands who've written so...
Jul 14, 2023•3 min•Ep 4534•Transcript available on Metacast The Southern University Jazz Ensemble - “Clean Air” from the 1973 album Goes To Africa With Love from Now-Again Records What was once an incredibly rare record is now re-issued, thanks to Eothen “Egon” Alapatt’s Now-Again Records label. Recorded in 1971, the student-performed album, The Southern University Jazz Ensemble 's Goes to Africa With Love, was originally given away as souvenirs at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. This reissue marks the first time it has been made available commer...
Jul 13, 2023•5 min•Ep 4533•Transcript available on Metacast 
