February 13 marks the 25th anniversary of the Fugees’ seminal album, 'The Score.' Fugees, short for refugees, was formed in New Jersey in the 90s and included Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Pras Michel. They were known for original hits like “Ready or Not" and covers such as “Killing Me Softly With His Song.” KEXP will be celebrating the album's anniversary all day on Friday, February 12 by playing album cuts, remixes, inspirations, and more. KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. ...
Feb 11, 2021•27 min•Ep 138•Transcript available on Metacast Russian feminist protest band, activist and performance art group Pussy Riot has a new song out called "RAGE" that calls for the release of Russian political prisoners. Two of Pussy Riot’s members now face jail time after being involved in recent protests in Russia. The protests were in response to the recent arrest and jailing of Russian activist and opposition leader, Alexi Navalny. Pussy Riot founder Nadya Tolokonnikova talks about the new song, the political situation in Russia, her tw...
Feb 09, 2021•16 min•Ep 137•Transcript available on Metacast Music has become an investment opportunity. Last month, we heard the news that Bob Dylan sold his songwriting catalog to Universal for more than $300 million. Since then, artists such as Neil Young and Shakira have sold the rights to their songs to an investment company called Hipgnosis. To understand what this all might mean for the music industry is Marc Hogan. He’s a senior staff writer for Pitchfork who wrote an article titled “What To Know About Music’s Copyright Gol...
Feb 04, 2021•13 min•Ep 136•Transcript available on Metacast After years of negotiations following the 2016 referendum for the UK to leave the EU, a deal over Brexit was finally hammered out just before the new year. We’re now one month into that deal and many questions remain. Isaac Kaplan-Woolner reports that with new borders, visas, work permits, and taxes, it looks like it will likely mean a lot of complications for UK bands trying to tour Europe. We also chat with the London-based band, Goat Girl, about the themes of climate change,...
Feb 02, 2021•22 min•Ep 135•Transcript available on Metacast Australian group The Avalanches released their third album, 'We Will Always Love You,' at the end of 2020, twenty years after their debut. The record takes listeners on a cosmic journey inspired by the Golden Voyager Record, a compilation of sounds, music and greetings from around our world that was sent into space in the late 70s. The album also features guest appearances from MGMT, Blood Orange, Leon Bridges, Tricky, and Sampa The Great. Robbie Chater and Tony DiBlasi of The Avalanches d...
Jan 28, 2021•16 min•Ep 134•Transcript available on Metacast Matt and Rachel Wilson are ranchers and musicians by trade who live in the tiny town of Silver Lake in the high desert of rural Oregon. On a normal year, half of their income comes from performing live as a musical duo called Wampus Cat. Once COVID-19 hit, that income disappeared and their cupboards went dry. The Wilsons had to sell some horses to get by and work two hours from their home to make ends meet. The Wilsons discuss their journey, hopes, and the silver linings of the pandemic. S...
Jan 26, 2021•11 min•Ep 133•Transcript available on Metacast Entertainment attorney Dina LaPolt talks about her recent opinion piece in Variety titled, “Rap Lyrics Now Admissible in Court Evidence: A Dangerous Precedent.” LaPolt says, “If all of a sudden every Black artist is afraid that everything that they rap about can be used against them if they were ever charged with a crime is very scary.” She adds that it’s been studied that when research participants were presented identical lyrics from different musical genres...
Jan 21, 2021•9 min•Ep 132•Transcript available on Metacast Karli Ingersoll, co-owner of Spokane's Lucky You Lounge, and Cedric Walker, musician and board member of Keep Music Live, discuss the recent passage of the Save Our Stages Act and what it will mean for venues. At the center of their conversation is equity, and how the music community in Washington state plans to build the live music scene back better. Joe Seamons of Black & Tan Hall talks about the future of their newly purchased space in the south Seattle neighborhood of Hillman City....
Jan 19, 2021•29 min•Ep 131•Transcript available on Metacast Derrick “Vitamin D” Brown is a bonafide Seattle Legend: an MC, DJ, producer and engineer whose work has helped define the aesthetics and sensibilities of Seattle hip hop for over two decades. KEXP's Larry Mizell Jr. profiles Vitamin D’s story, how he bridged Seattle's funk and soul era with the beginnings of its rap scene , and eventually created the unmatched sound that persists today. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy ...
Jan 14, 2021•13 min•Ep 130•Transcript available on Metacast In part two of our series on Seattle hip hop, Larry Mizell, Jr. interviews Dr. Daudi Abe about his new book, ‘Emerald Street: A History of Hip Hop In Seattle.’ Abe talks about how Seattle’s geographic isolation allowed hip hop artists to break the mold in their lyrical content, sound and more. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 12, 2021•15 min•Ep 129•Transcript available on Metacast Seattle’s first rap group formed 40 years ago. They called themselves the Emerald Street Boys. As part of Sound & Vision’s mini-series on the history of hip hop in Seattle, we look back at the Emerald Street Boys' beginnings, their distinctive performance style, their lasting impact on hip hop, and where they are now. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jan 07, 2021•9 min•Ep 128•Transcript available on Metacast DJ and professor Davey D along with KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros discuss how consolidation and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 drove out small, independent and Black-owned radio stations. The resulting centralized playlists hid more independent and socially conscious hip hop artists from the mainstream eye. “It’s the same five artists over and over again. What do they talk about? They talk about money, sex and things that are dehumanizing. What does that mean when white America is...
Jan 05, 2021•25 min•Ep 127•Transcript available on Metacast As 2020 lurches towards a close, KEXP has been looking back at, and honoring, many of the music figures we lost in the last year. On Thursday, December 17th, KEXP DJs paid tribute all day long on the "People Who Died" show. But inevitably, there are more people to remember than there are hours in the day. Sound & Vision’s Isaac Kaplan-Woolner brings a segment exploring some of the lesser known musicians, songwriters, and producers who passed away in 2020. Support the show: ...
Dec 31, 2020•17 min•Ep 126•Transcript available on Metacast Emily Fox and Larry Mizell, Jr. discuss KEXP's top played album and top played songs from 2020. Plus, KEXP DJs talk about their personal favorite tracks of the year. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dec 29, 2020•31 min•Ep 125•Transcript available on Metacast 2020 brought a national conversation around race in America. It’s a subject musician and KEXP Audioasis host Eva Walker has been talking about with her friend and fellow musician Rani Weatherby of the band Champagne Honeybee. Weatherby was adopted as a child from India by a white single mother who lived in the largely white Seattle suburb of Snohomish. Walker says this year’s conversation around race has been largely black and white, justifiably so, but she wanted to hear the pe...
Dec 24, 2020•19 min•Ep 124•Transcript available on Metacast Calexico released a Christmas album for 2020 called 'Seasonal Shift.' But rather than the typical holiday songs about good tidings and cheer, Calexico paints a more realistic picture of dysfunctional families, crying over a drink of Mezcal, and holiday meals ruined. Vocalist and guitarist Joey Burns talks about the record and how it came together through collaborations with musicians from around the world. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listene...
Dec 22, 2020•13 min•Ep 123•Transcript available on Metacast Bartees Cox Jr., AKA Bartees Strange, released his debut album this year, entitled 'Live Forever.' His sound traverses art-rock, emo, folk, R&B and even trap rap. Though many are surprised by the effortlessness with which Bartees Strange synthesizes these genres, to him it’s all at its root Black music, and as such, he wants more kids of color to see themselves on that same stage. “I want to reclaim that space,” Strange says. “That's kind of what the recor...
Dec 17, 2020•11 min•Ep 122•Transcript available on Metacast Iceland’s Sigur Rós recently released their first album in seven years, titled 'Odin’s Raven Magic.' It’s an orchestral album featuring a Paris-based orchestra and an Icelandic chamber choir. While you can hear glimmers of Sigur Rós’ signature ambient rock style and distinct vocals, much of this project sounds like something out of Medieval times. “It sounds completely different from anything that we have done, [or] anything we will ever do...
Dec 15, 2020•16 min•Ep 121•Transcript available on Metacast Seattle independent artist Mark Diamond was surprised when he was able to pay his rent through song streams on Spotify. By persistence in reaching out to individual playlisters on the platform, he eventually gained a million streams per month. He later got picked up by a subsidiary label of Universal Music, only to realize he was making less money with the support of a label. He tells this story in his latest (independently released) single, “The Ride.” Diamond...
Dec 10, 2020•10 min•Ep 120•Transcript available on Metacast Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard talks about his new side project, Painted Shield, with singer/songwriter Mason Jennings. Gossard elaborates on the fruitful collaboration and dives into the background of some songs from their eponymous debut. He also discusses how the relaunch of his label, Loosegroove Records, happened in part in response to the death of former band member, Shawn Smith. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Dec 08, 2020•20 min•Ep 119•Transcript available on Metacast Nearly two years ago, Toronto’s Royal Mountain Records became what might be the first label to offer a mental health fund for its artists. It pledged that any artist on the label could anonymously access $1,500 in funds to go towards mental health services. Label founder Menno Versteeg discusses why musicians may be more likely to struggle with mental health, why the industry should support them, and ultimately why he stands by the fund despite it digging into the label’s bottom line...
Dec 03, 2020•22 min•Ep 118•Transcript available on Metacast Harpist and composer Nailah Hunter released her debut EP, ‘Spells,' in May of this year. Hunter says she sees composition as an act of magical healing and, as the title suggests, each song is like a spell. Her mystical approach to music-making has the power to transport listeners, while also allowing Hunter to deepen her connection with her Haitian roots. In this interview with KEXP’s Dusty Henry, Hunter also explores mythology, the importance of rest, and her choice to remain soft a...
Dec 01, 2020•9 min•Ep 117•Transcript available on Metacast Dirty Projectors released five markedly different EPs in 2020, jumping between sonic realms of folk, classical, avant garde, bossa nova, and soulful pop. The first four EPs in the series feature a different vocalist from the band singing lead on each. As frontman Dave Longstreth explains, “a goal was to present a kind of mosaic ideal of this band. One in which everyone takes turn singing lead.” Longstreth joins Sound & Vision to share the band's collaborative process ...
Nov 26, 2020•16 min•Ep 116•Transcript available on Metacast This year marks the 30th anniversary of Alice in Chains' debut album, 'Facelift.' On December 1st, the band will be presented Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture’s Founders Award. To talk about the band’s legacy are founding members Sean Kinney (drummer) and Jerry Cantrell (vocals and guitar) as well as William DuVall (lead vocalist) who joined the band in 2006, four years after the death of frontman Layne Staley. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/lis...
Nov 24, 2020•24 min•Ep 115•Transcript available on Metacast Marie Davidson’s popular 2018 song, “Work It,” was a club hit, but also pointed to workaholism, in both her own life and society at large. Her latest album, 'Renegade Breakdown,' is a conscious departure from the club sound. It explores her process of detachment from commercial ideals and “industry in general." In this episode, Davidson discusses working through her various addictions that were fueled by the pressures of capitalism, her connection to the life and mus...
Nov 19, 2020•19 min•Ep 114•Transcript available on Metacast On November 1st, Germany announced that they would be in partial lockdown for the month of November. That meant bars, clubs and cinemas could not host any guests. This came one day after a study was published that found that if indoor music and sporting venues followed good ventilation and social distancing measures, chances of virus transmission would be low. Dr. Michael Gekle is part of the team at Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg who conducted the study. He discusses the findings of ...
Nov 17, 2020•14 min•Ep 113•Transcript available on Metacast SassyBlack is an independent musician and educator, and a staple in the Seattle arts scene. After signing to Sub Pop at age 23 with her former duo THEESatisfation, she continues to evolve as a solo artist and this year was featured on Michelle Obama’s official Spotify playlist. She’s out with a new EP, ’STUCK,’ which addresses mental health, working for free in the music industry, and the “Karen”s of the world. Further reading: SassyBlack on Mental Health and ...
Nov 12, 2020•19 min•Ep 112•Transcript available on Metacast Marshall Law Band has been the de-facto house band for the ongoing Seattle protests that began following the death of George Floyd. The band is out with a new album, '12th and Pine,' representing their experience at the heart of the protests and the resounding messages they carry. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with frontman Marshall Hugh about the role of music in protest, the events and activists they highlighted in the new record, and how we all must sustain the movement through dedicate...
Nov 10, 2020•21 min•Ep 111•Transcript available on Metacast Sa-Roc’s latest release, ‘The Sharecropper’s Daughter,’ is KEXP DJ Gabriel Teodros’ favorite hip-hop album of 2020. Teodros spoke with Sa-Roc about her song, “Forever." She says her goal for the song was to champion “the individual, particularly individuals that didn’t see themselves reflected within media imagery, or if they saw themselves reflected, it was in a negative light.” “Forever" is a song about self-love, but it also ex...
Nov 05, 2020•12 min•Ep 110•Transcript available on Metacast The new album by the feminist hardcore punk band, War on Women takes on issues of race, gender and politics. It’s called 'Wonderful Hell.' The theme of the record is encapsulated in the title track with the lyrics, “There’s got to be a better way than giving up and wallowing. Let’s raise some wonderful beautiful hell and make this world worth living in.” As frontwoman, Shawna Potter explains, “You’ll find that theme through the record. Stuff sucks but le...
Nov 03, 2020•20 min•Ep 109•Transcript available on Metacast 
