Seattle indie rock band Pedro the Lion gained a cult following in their early days, making Christian-adjacent music that saw lead singer David Bazan’s reckoning with his faith and politics. After putting the project on hiatus for more than a decade, Bazan returned to the Pedro name in 2018 with the announcement that he’d be recording a five-album series with each record dedicated to a place he lived. Recently, Pedro the Lion put out the third record in the series, ' Santa Cruz .' Bazan talks wit...
Jul 16, 2024•41 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast Natasha El-Sergany of the Seattle band somesurprises talks about the cosmic, political. and social inspirations behind their new album, 'Perseids.' She also discusses her journey coming to the US with immigrant parents, her day job as an immigration lawyer, and how all of this fuels her music. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 09, 2024•20 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast Jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington has earned a reputation as one of the most exciting jazz artists of his generation. He's worked with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Flying Lotus. On his new album, Fearless Movement , he embraces fresh sounds and ideas while bringing in new collaborators, including his two-year-old daughter. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Washington to learn more about the album, how he's incorporated dance into his music, and finding inspiration in the cosmos. Support the show...
Jul 02, 2024•26 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast After playing in a rock band and embarking on a solo career that has spanned many genres, Lawrence Rothman has released a country album. The album is personal—it processes their battle with anorexia, and violence they experienced after a show. Lawrence says he writes music to help others. “I don't really step up to the mic and write a song or make a record for myself, unless there's something about it that can help someone else,” Rothman says. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See om...
Jun 24, 2024•28 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast Shabaka Hutchings is a celebrated saxophone player and a major figure in London’s contemporary jazz scene. He was the bandleader for Sons of Kemet and Shabaka and the Ancestors, and part of the electronic jazz group The Comet Is Coming. But on New Year's Day of 2023, he announced he'd be putting down the saxophone for good and focusing on a new instrument: the flute. Starting with the Japanese shakuhachi and expanding to a variety of traditional flutes, he's now out with his first full-length al...
Jun 18, 2024•30 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast Alice Randall was the first Black woman to co-write a number one country hit with her song “XXX’s and OOO’s,” sung by Trisha Yearwood in 1994. Now, 30 years later, Randall is out with a memoir and accompanying album both called ' My Black Country .' The album features Black women artists of today covering country songs Randall wrote – songs that were originally sung by white performers – including Adia Victoria, Valerie June, and Rhiannon Giddens of The Carolina Chocolate Drops. Randall talks wi...
Jun 11, 2024•48 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast Fabi Reyna is a Portland-based guitarist and songwriter and is also the founder of She Shreds Media, which is dedicated to empowering women and non-binary guitarists and bassists. Reyna is now out with a new album under her artist name, Reyna Tropical. The album is called 'Malegria.' KEXP’s Albina Cabrera caught up with Reyna to learn more about the inspiration behind the album, how it explores the Latinx diaspora and identity, and about Reyna’s musical partner, Nectali "Sumohair" Díaz, who pass...
Jun 04, 2024•23 min•Ep 11•Transcript available on Metacast Shana Cleveland of La Luz talks about her band’s new album, 'News of the Universe,' and how many of the songs reflect on the breast cancer diagnosis she got after weaning her then two-year-old son off breastfeeding in 2022. She has since received a good bill of health from her doctor. “I feel like I often think about cancer and pregnancy and birth in the same way. It was just something growing inside of me, something strange that I couldn’t control and then having it leave suddenly,” Cleveland s...
May 28, 2024•24 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast After a 12-year hiatus, the Olympia born-band Gossip is out with their 6th album, 'Real Power.' Beth Ditto of Gossip talks about growing up in Arkansas, moving to Olympia in 1999 after the rise of riot grrrl, and forming Gossip soon after arriving. She talks about those early days in Olympia, promoting body positivity, and being openly queer early on. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 23, 2024•24 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast Kathleen Hanna of the Olympia feminist punk riot grrrl band, Bikini Kill, talks with KEXP’s Martin Douglas about her career, activism and why she wanted to write her new memoir, “Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk.” Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
May 21, 2024•25 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Ibibio Sound Machine is an electronic group based in London. Singer Eno Williams sings in both her Nigerian family’s language of Ibibio as well as in English. The group’s music spreads messages of unity and bringing people together. That theme is present on their most recent album, Pull the Rope. Williams and Ibibio Sound Machine’s Max Grunhard talk about how their music unifies and Williams talks about her family's journey between Nigeria and London. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound...
May 16, 2024•16 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast The Oakland-based band Shannon and the Clams recently released their seventh album, ' The Moon Is In The Wrong Place .' The entire album touches on the loss of Shannon Shaw’s finance Joe Haener who died in a car accident in August of 2022, about two and a half months before their wedding. Shaw talks about Haener’s life, shares stories behind the tracks on the new record, and reflects on how she’s been processing her grief. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener...
May 14, 2024•28 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast St. Vincent is out with her 7th album, 'All Born Screaming.' In recent years, she has written a screenplay and starred in it, produced records for herself and others, and co-written hit songs like Taylor Swift’s "Cruel Summer" and Olivia Rodrigo’s "Obsessed." St. Vincent joins Emily Fox to discuss her production work, share stories behind the songs on the new album, and how she feels it's her best record yet and that she's "just getting started." Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See...
May 07, 2024•21 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast The four-time GRAMMY award winning artist Gary Clark Jr. is out with a new album, 'JPEG Raw.' Emily Fox talks with Clark about the songs on the album that address mental health, substance abuse, race, and reflections on the music industry. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Apr 30, 2024•18 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast Chad Ubovich fronts the band Meatbodies, which recently released their fourth album, 'Flora Ocean Tiger Bloom.' The album has been mostly finished for years but it took a medically induced coma to allow Ubovich to complete the record. Ubovich talks with KEXP’s Emily Fox about what led to the coma, the visions he saw while under the coma, and how he was able to complete the album after his health emergency. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy info...
Apr 23, 2024•25 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast Salt Cathedral is a New York via Bogota Colombia duo. Their song, "Terminal Woes," is the most played song on KEXP so far this year. “This song came from that upsetness of thinking, we’re not taking care of our planet. As a woman in my 30s, thinking should I have children? Should we bring more children into this world because it’s a difficult world and it’s warming up and there’s no climate justice,” says Salt Cathedral’s Juliana Ronderos. Ronderos, Salt Cathedral’s Nicolas Losada, and KEXP’s Em...
Apr 16, 2024•22 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast Alynda Segarra of Hurray for the Riff Raff talks about their new album, 'The Past Is Still Alive.' They share some of the stories that informed the album, like hitchhiking and train hopping around the country. They also talk about their experience helping those struggling with addiction, and how grief is an act of love. “A lot on this record is about how grief is not a punishment, it’s an act of love and it’s just another expression of love,” Segarra says. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/...
Apr 09, 2024•30 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast On April 9, we're launching a new podcast right here on this feed. A Deeper Listen will be KEXP's new destination for transformative conversations with artists – the ones you already know and love, and the ones you have yet to discover. We’ll hear from renowned and emerging talents of all musical styles about the stories behind their songs and the life experiences that are inextricable from their work. As we uncover the humanity behind the music, we’ll also gain the tools to listen more deeply. ...
Apr 05, 2024•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast KEXP’s Morgan Chosnyk talks us through this year’s Trans Musicales festival in France and shares five of her favorite live sessions KEXP captured while at the festival. Those sessions are now available on KEXP’s YouTube channel: Raül Refree Moja Chalk Flore Laurentienne Ana Lua Caiano Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Apr 04, 2024•19 min•Ep 472•Transcript available on Metacast The Eurosonic Festival features emerging artists from Europe. KEXP Drive Time DJ, Kevin Cole, attended the festival and saw about 50 of the roughly 280 performers there. In this episode, he talks about some of his favorite performances. Songs featured in this episode: "Sluntseto Trepti" by TRIGAIDA "Kota Bandung" by Nusantara Beat "Liberate" by Izzy And The Black Trees "Esto me pertenece" by Dame Area "Found Love" by freekind. "Tristesse" by Zaho de Sagazan Support the show: https://www.kexp.org...
Apr 02, 2024•14 min•Ep 471•Transcript available on Metacast News about artists battling with record labels to reclaim the master – or original – recordings of their songs has come to the forefront in recent years. But it’s not just big-name artists making those moves. KEXP’s Meerah Powell has the story on musicians from smaller record labels who are pushing to get back their masters. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 28, 2024•14 min•Ep 470•Transcript available on Metacast John Vanderslice has transformed from indie rock analog purist to electronic experimentalist during his more than 20-year music career. He spoke with Jasmine Albertson about the making of his 2000 debut album, 'Mass Suicide Occult Figurines,' as well as his most recent album, 'CRYSTALS 3.0.' They spoke last year about the jarring differences between the two records, as well as the massive changes in the music industry landscape since the turn of the millennium. Support the show: https://www.kexp...
Mar 26, 2024•13 min•Ep 469•Transcript available on Metacast Bam Bam was a Black woman-fronted grunge band in Seattle in the early '80s — before grunge was a defined genre. Larry Mizell Jr. tells the story of Bam Bam and the life of frontwoman Tina Bell. He also explores why we’ve never heard of this group before and why their story has been erased from Seattle music history. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Mar 21, 2024•26 min•Ep 468•Transcript available on Metacast For Women’s History Month, we are revisiting Sound & Vision's 2021 miniseries, Behind the Console, which highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field. In this episode we talk with two mastering engineers, who put the final touches on music before it’s released. It’s Seattle’s Rachel Field, who has worked with Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, and the Cairo-born, Brooklyn-based engineer Heba Kadry, who has worked with Bjö...
Mar 19, 2024•17 min•Ep 467•Transcript available on Metacast For Women’s History Month, we are revisiting Sound & Vision's 2021 miniseries, Behind the Console, which highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field. Today we meet Susan Rogers, who engineered for Prince for four years, working on albums like 'Purple Rain' and 'Sign o' the Times.' She also has credits with David Byrne, Tricky, and the Barenaked Ladies. She talks about what it was like keeping up with Prince's tire...
Mar 14, 2024•20 min•Ep 466•Transcript available on Metacast Totem Star is a recording studio for Seattle area youth ages 14 to 25. The organization recently moved to a new 2,000 square foot space on the second floor of Seattle’s King Street Station in Pioneer Square. That’s where Totem Star will live rent free for the next 60 years, thanks to a lease from the city. KEXP’s Emily Fox talks with Totem Star co-founder Daniel Pak about the impact of Totem star since it launched as a mobile recording studio that could fit in a suitcase 14 years ago. Pak shares...
Mar 12, 2024•11 min•Ep 465•Transcript available on Metacast Toussaint Morrison is a New Orleans-born, Minneapolis-raised artist. He released an album earlier this year called 'The Very Best of Ricky and Jane.' Ricky and Jane are his parents. Morrison talks with KEXP’s Emily Fox about the activism his parents were involved in and how decades later, he quit his job at a PBS station when he became involved in the protests following the killing of George Floyd. He also shares how the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the death of Daunte Wright in a no...
Mar 07, 2024•14 min•Ep 464•Transcript available on Metacast Seattle’s Brittany Davis has released her debut album, 'Image Issues,' which she calls an "audio movie." It’s a sonic journey that weaves in many musical genres and spoken word vignettes backed by soundscapes. Davis is blind and audio is a heightened sense for her. She also has synesthesia and hears music from smells. Davis talks with Emily Fox about raising her voice in the face of adversity in this album. “Being an overweight Black blind female from the wrong side of the tracks that has no phy...
Mar 05, 2024•27 min•Ep 463•Transcript available on Metacast Feb 29 is Music Heals: Mental Health at KEXP, where all day the station reads stories and plays listener requests of the songs that helped them through their mental health struggles. In honor of Music Heals: Mental Health, we revisit a conversation from 2021 that was originally part of the mini-series, Apparently, focusing on the intersections of parenting and art. On this episode, Ella Vos talks with Rachel Stevens about how getting pregnant inspired her to become a solo artist and how her popu...
Feb 29, 2024•15 min•Ep 462•Transcript available on Metacast Charley Pride was the first Black country music singer to sign to a major record label (RCA) back in 1965. He went on to have 30 number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country chart and sold more than 70 million records. Emily Fox talks with Nashville Historian David Ewing about Charley Pride. They discuss Charley Pride’s baseball career, how he landed a demo and record deal after giving up on baseball, his struggles with mental health and racism, and his legacy in country music. Support the show:...
Feb 27, 2024•26 min•Ep 461•Transcript available on Metacast 
