In Our Headphones (KEXP)

Ratboys - Alien With a Sleep Mask On - from the 2020 album Printer's Devil on Topshelf Records.

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Glüme - "Do Me a Favor," a 2022 single on Italians Do It Better.

Describing Glüme could be easy - a wide-eyed chanteuse who channels equal parts Marilyn Monroe and Lana del Rey - but it would be reductive. Especially considering her status as one of the newest additions to the Italians Do It Better roster, who are known for their icey cool-as-hell synth-filled soundscapes. How does the pouty, Monroe-reincarnated pop princess fit in with the leather-clad cool kids?

The answer is something along the lines of: the girl’s got chops. On our Song of the Day, “Do Me a Favor,” the latest single from Glüme, is an upbeat ode to the insecurities that often plague one’s mind from being burned too many times. How can you recognize if something is real after so many heartbreaks? Sometimes the answer is sometimes just in the other person making the bold moves. “Do me a favor and take me,” she begs.

The single is off her forthcoming sophomore record Main Character, out on Valentine’s Day 2023 and follows 2021’s lauded The Internet. It comes with a gay western-themed video in which Glüme is dressed in a red leather dress and gets wooed by a cowgirl that leads them to an onslaught of debauchery in a tiny tumbleweed town. Watch the video, directed by George Baron, and read the full post at KEXP.org.

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Echo of the Low Light - "Afterlife," a 2021 single on Independent.

Echo of the Low Light is more than just a band; it's a collective of Pacific Northwest artists taking an experimental approach to song construction.

At its core is guitarist/vocalist Kerri Holland and bassist Pam Drago. After years in bands, they wanted to push the boundaries. They explain on their Instagram, "We began to explore more digital elements and effects, blending them with the traditional guitar/bass/drums we’d been used to. This opened things up sonically in ways we couldn’t imagine. Then we thought, ‘what would it be like to create with artists we’ve never worked with before?’ This is when the floodgates flew wide open."

Every song features a different line-up of collaborators. On today's Song of the Day, they welcomed guest artists Joy Dunay (The Dirty Slippers, The Way We Were in 1989), Brandon Krebs (All Known Aliases), and John Gibson (Danielli). 

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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, and was named one of Seattle’s Most Influential People by Seattle Magazine in 2018.

"I’m very comfortable with who I am and so I’m not trying to perpetuate a false image," Davis told the South Seattle Emerald. "When you front, you’ve got to keep it up and I’m not prepared to keep up a façade. I’d rather keep up who I really am. No matter how popular my music gets, I’ve got to remember that it’s really not about me. Honestly, I use music as art, but I really see music as a tool toward revolution – a way to change the material conditions of our people."

Watch Rell Be Free perform today's Song of the Day from an event held by Decriminalize Seattle. 

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Mogwai - "Ritchie Sacramento" from the 2021 album As the Love Continues on Temporary Residence Ltd.

Today's Song of the Day gets its title from someone's mispronunciation of the name Ryuchi Sakamoto, famed Japanese composer. Scottish post-rock band Mogwai transformed the flub into a tribute for David Berman, the musician behind the Silver Jews who passed away in 2019. 

“I was inspired by a story that Bob Nastanovich put online on the anniversary of the death of Dave Berman from Silver Jews,” frontman Stuart Braithwaite told NME. “When they were students, Dave threw a shovel at a sports car. That’s the first line of the song: ‘Rise crystal spear’. Obviously Dave was an amazing poet, songwriter and musician. I took the lead from there. I wouldn’t pretend to be able to write songs as good as him, but he’s definitely a huge inspiration.”

Braithwaite continued: “It’s been a hard few years. There are a lot of people that we played with and were friends with that just aren’t around now. This songs is about those people, imagined conversations… and Dave Berman throwing a shovel at a sports car!”

Mogwai’s tenth album, As the Love Continues, will be out February 19th via Temporary Residence Ltd./Rock Action. 

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Jason McCue - Even Though - from the 2019 album Wasteland on Fluff and Gravy Records.

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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 sound. 

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Hiperson - "Crashing Into Daylight" from the 2020 album Bildungsroman on Maybe Mars Records.

Hiperson formed in 2015 when its members were students at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music in Chengdu, China. Since then, the post-punk quintet have graduated to their most sophisticated release yet, their third album Bildungsroman, which was released last year. 

Their latest is a concept album about a woman recovering from the end of a relationship. Lead vocalist Chen Sijiang told online magazine Kiwese, “When we decided to record, we started to see the songs as having something coherent. We had a lot of discussion about the character moving from one emotional state to another, experiencing the details of her life as she changed to a new one — even now we are still trying to picture the shape.”

Guitarist Ji Yinan agrees, adding, "The ideas in these songs are not static."

Chen concludes, "“We see ourselves as story starters. We want to start the story, and let people write the rest themselves.”

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Deeper - "Tele," from the 2023 album Careful! on Sub Pop Records

On today's Song of the Day, Chicago-based quartet Deeper gets vulnerable. The track can be found on their latest album, Careful!, their third full-length overall and first for Sub Pop Records.

“’Tele’ is a song without its shield,” the band said in a press release. “In past Deeper compositions, we would hide behind jerky guitars and abstract vocals telling a story only we could decipher. With ‘Tele’ we wanted to explore the vulnerability behind our music and give focus to the melody and mood of the song. Replacing guitars with synthesizers and drums with samplers we stumbled upon a new way to approach a Deeper song.”

“We wanted to make a darker track that people could dance to,” they continued. “Since the foundation is built on a sampler beat, it’s the kind of song we could’ve only created with the limitations of the pandemic. The electronic components left more space for the rhythm, so our engineer Dave started playing with a busier bass line for the verses and laid down the hook on the first pass. At the end we wanted the synth parts to constantly overtake one another and hopefully make the listener feel like they’re being swallowed into the song.”

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Dengue Fever - "Touch Me Not," from the 2023 album Ting Mong on Tuk Tuk Records.

Los Angeles-based Cambodian psych band Dengue Fever return with their sixth studio album Ting Mong, to be released September 15th via their own Tuk Tuk Records. The band explain a "ting mong" is "a decoy or mannequin, similar to a scarecrow, used to fight away evil spirits and plagues." Following the pandemic, couldn't we all use a ting mong to protect us?

Today's Song of the Day originated from a melody vocalist Chhom Nimol came up with one day. Her band members built the hypnotic groove around her voice. “We gave ourselves parameters recording Ting Mong, but we smashed the rules we created for ourselves on past albums,” bassist Senon Williams told Flood Magazine. “The songs’ sole purpose was to let Chhom’s voice soar. It was our mood or perhaps the mood of the world that gave us focus on the sublime and the melancholy."

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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 house party album, brimming with positive vibes and endless grooves. “Moqueca” features Zuzuka Poderosa and Raphael Futura for an infectious track that sounds primed for a rooftop party and endless refreshments. Throw this one in your home and you’ll feel instantly transported to the soiree of your dreams. – Dusty Henry

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Kero Kero Bonito - When the Fires Come - from the 2019 album Civilisation I on Polyvinyl.

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Spiritualized - "The Mainline Song" from the 2022 album Everything Was Beautiful on Fat Possum.

Long-running space rock pioneers Spiritualized return with their ninth studio album, the appropriately titled Everything Was Beautiful. Founding and sole constant member Jason Pierce (aka J. Spaceman) plays 16 different instruments on the recording, which was done at 11 different studios (not including his home), and employing 30 different collaborators. 

“There was so much information on it that the slightest move would unbalance it," he admits in a press release, "but going around in circles is important to me. Not like you’re spiraling out of control but you’re going around and around and on each revolution you hold onto the good each time. Sure, you get mistakes as well, but you hold on to some of those too and that’s how you kind of... achieve. Well, you get there.” 

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Graham Coxon - She Knows - from the 2019 self-released album The End of The F***ing World 2 (Original Songs and Score).

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Caleb Kunle - All In Your Head a 2022 single on Pony Recordings.

While Caleb Kunle may only have a handful of EPs and singles under his belt, the soul-pop artist has been making a splash in the UK since the release of his debut EP Eden in 2017 which landed him the prize of Emerging Artist of the Year 2017 from Thatchers Haze x NME. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Kunle immigrated to the Irish countryside of Laios at eight years old where his love of music was fostered through church choir and playing guitar.

Inspired by Nina Simone and Sam Cooke, Kunle’s music has a sound that’s simultaneously retro and refreshingly modern. Our Song of the Day, “All In Your Head,” opens with stirring strings before Kunle bursts in with an impassioned “Oh!” From there, a bellowing horn section, jazzy piano, and uptempo drums accompany Kunle’s croons to pop perfection.

Kunle had this to say about the song:

“All in your head is an anthem about us facing and rising to our inner challenges. Referenced in the middle 8 lyric ‘It’s in your head now, you’re on the frontline’ this highlights how we collectively have our internal battles and that we can overcome them!”

“All In Your Head” is accompanied by a joyful and appropriately retro video directed by Andy Banjanin. Watch it and read the full post at KEXP.org.

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Ana Lua Caiano - "Mão na Mão" from the 2023 self-released album Se Dançar É Só Depois

Portuguese multi-disciplinary artist Ana Lua Caiano studied classical music for eight years, and then studied jazz for four years at the prestigious Escola De Jazz Luiz Villas-Boas, the oldest jazz club in Europe. In 2017, she joined the acoustic ensemble Os Vertigem, but when the pandemic hit and she couldn't play music with others anymore, she decided to embark on a solo endeavor. 

Caiano combines traditional Portuguese music with modern electronic sounds, using a synthesizer and a loop station in her live performances. Her second EP, Se Dan​ç​ar É Só Depois, was released earlier this year. 

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Poliça - Sea Without Blue - from the 2020 album When We Stay Alive on Memphis Industries.

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Today, we bring you an episode of KEXP's Live on KEXP podcast featuring an exclusive session with Arlo Parks.

With two EPs and a seemingly endless number of accolades from nearly every tastemaker in the music industry under her belt, it’s an understatement to say that Arlo Parks’ debut album was highly anticipated. Released in January, ‘Collapsed in Sunbeams’ lives up to the hype and reflects the artist born Anais Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho’s compassionate, friendly, and poetic spirit.

For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson traces Marinho’s journey from recording songs in her bedroom to sharing stages with heavyweights like Paramore before Marinho plays a mellow, vibey set of songs.

Songs performed:

1. Cola
2. Green Eyes
3. Eugene
4. Black Dog
5. Caroline
6. Hurt

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

For a new KEXP session delivered to your feed every week, including recent favorites like José González, Japanese Breakfast, Yu Su, and Little Simz, subscribe to Live on KEXP wherever you listen to podcasts.

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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 my friends who were artists, or in punk bands, or were poets, it just felt like I was part of a community that was speaking out at that moment."

With the title track of the album, Donnelly sums it up, telling DIY Magazine: 

This song is about the historic and continuing racism that flows through the Australian media and government. As a white Australian I am extremely privileged to have the platform that I do and whilst I occupy this space that in my opinion is far too often occupied by white people, I am going to use it to speak up.

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Black Country, New Road - Sunglasses - a 2019 single on Blank Editions.

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Sløtface - New Year, new me - from the 2020 album Sorry for the Late Reply on Propeller Recordings/Nettwerk Music Group.

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During KEXP’s fall fund drive, discover the variety of music podcasts we produce at KEXP and hear some of our favorite clips from each one. We’re thankful to the thousands of amplifiers who already donate to KEXP, building the foundation for our community of storytelling, and we want you to join them with a one-time donation or a recurring gift!

50 Years of Hip-Hop: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/50-years-of-hip-hop/

El Sonido: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/el-sonido/

Fresh off the Spaceship: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/fresh-off-the-spaceship/

Live on KEXP: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/live-on-kexp/

Sound and Vision: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/

Song of the Day: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/song-of-the-day/

KEXP Podcasts on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kexppodcasts

Donate today: kexp.org/donate

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Bahram - “گوشت (Goosht)," a 2019 single on Peeleh Records

The Huffington Post declared him one of the "50 people shaping the culture of the Middle East." Bahram Nouraei — who records simply as Bahram — uses hip-hop to call out the current political climate of Iran. His breakout single was titled "Nameyee Be Rayees Jomhour" (translating to "A Letter to the President"), which openly criticized the sixth president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Bahram has since relocated to Stockholm, Sweden. Earlier this year, he launched today's featured track, titled “گوشت (Goosht),” produced by Peymandegar and featuring album artwork by Setareh Malekzadeh. On March 20th, he released a new EP titled Gozaar (Transition), out now via Peeleh.

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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 Loma going. The trio holed up in Duszynski’s Texas home studio to record their sophomore effort, ‘Don’t Shy Away,’ which was recently released on Sub Pop.

“Don’t Shy Away” vindicates the bands decision to keep moving forward. The brooding, slow dirge finds the band at their best. Cross’ voice wields a stark intensity, looming over the restrained but tense instrumentation. It’s a marvel of studio wizardry, with static and eerie distortion and synth drones crashing over the steady pulse of drums and bass. It’s Loma at their best, pushing each other into bold, luminous new sonic territories.

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TORRES - "Don't Go Puttin Wishes in My Head" from the 2021 album Thirstier on Merge Records.

On her forthcoming full-length, Thirstier, TORRES (real name: Mackenzie Scott) exudes a newfound happiness. “I’ve been conjuring this deep, deep joy that I honestly didn’t feel for most of my life,” she shares in a press release. “I feel like a rock within myself. And I’ve started to feel that I have what it takes to help other people conjure their joy, too.” She adds, “I wanted to channel my intensity into something that felt positive and constructive, as opposed to being intense in a destructive or eviscerating way. I love the idea that intensity can actually be something life-saving or something joyous.”

On today's Song of the Day, Scott goes for what she calls her "relentless arena country star moment — my shameless Tim McGraw cheeseball hit.” The heartland-inspired track is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes look at Scott's personal life with girlfriend Jenna Gribbon, the artist behind Thirstier's album cover. 

Thirstier will be released July 30th via Merge. TORRES is scheduled for a September 27th show at the Tractor Tavern. 

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PVA - "Untethered" from the 2022 album BLUSH on Ninja Tune.

South London trio PVA have gained a reputation for their live sets, with their dark, industrial-tinged dance music and frontwoman Ella Harris' deadpan vocals. (Early in their career, the band came up with the term “country-friend techno” to describe their sound.)

With their debut LP BLUSH, the group channels the raw energy of their shows, while displaying an increased confidence in the studio. “We wanted to surprise people and do something more than just get across how we sound at a gig,” percussionist Louis Satchell conveyed in a press release. “It’s quite an anxious record sometimes that is relating to mental health issues but also an everyday anxiety of making the album. It’s been a rocky ride but we always pick ourselves up.” 

Harris says today's Song of the Day is about "being in a straight relationship that is restrictive and closed off. It’s basically an expression of this really frustrated anger at masculinity and a resentment at being unable to free yourself from that heteronormative situation and explore the world.” The group elaborates, "'Untethered' is a song about release. It’s our current set opener and an introduction to our industrial arm. We wrote it in one session in a burst of chaotic catharsis. The lyrics follow a character being freed from imaginary tethers and experiencing the earth under their feet again."

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Kennebec - Tall Tales (feat. Hemlock Ernst and Sudan Archives) from the 2022 album Without Star or Compass on Night Time Stories.

While Eric Phillips has only been releasing cinematic instrumental soundscapes under the name Kennebec since 2020, his enchanting works have garnered attention and led to a number of incredible collaborations. Our Song of the Day, “Tall Tales,” sees the Portland-based artist team up with Samuel T. Herring of Future Islands under his rap moniker Hemlock Ernst and Brittany Denise Parks, better known as the LA-based musician Sudan Archives.

The early single off his sophomore record Without Star or Compass is one of three tracks on the album that Herring contributes to but the only one under his rap alias. Over a guitar-strummed hook, Herring and Parks swap stream-of-consciousness verses and come together for heavenly harmonies on the chorus. While the lyrics are esoteric, ripe with references to nature, the seeming meaning revolves around our inability to fully know what another is thinking or feeling.

Phillips had this to say about working with Herring:

“I think our styles just resonated well with one another, and we clicked naturally. We sent some ideas back and forth remotely and then he flew out to Portland and we recorded all the vocals in three days together. It was so fun and inspiring – and really deepened my appreciation for his craft. He’s such a nice guy and a total genius. Sam’s lyrics really hit a beautiful balance between that sense of magic and folklore in the natural world that I’m after, while really bringing his own sense of narrative. He’s really amazing at constructing lyrical concepts in a way that I think compliments my own strengths (and weaknesses).”

Watch Future Islands’ Live on KEXP at Home performance from 2020 and read the full post at KEXP.org.

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Lionmilk - "Pastel Memories" from the 2021 album I Hope You Are Well on Leaving Records.

As we say at KEXP, "music heals," and with his latest album I Hope You Are Well, Los Angeles-based musician Moki Kawaguchi — who records as Lionmilk — sought to send comfort to his family and friends during the stressful early stage of the pandemic with his home-dubbed cassettes filled with soothing, ambient electronic music. As COVID-19 continued to loom over 2020, he teamed up with Leaving Records to release these meditative tracks to all. 

As he told KEXP's Dusty Henry, "Whenever I would feel anxious or depressed – and that was a lot throughout the past few years of my life – I was expressing that through music. It always helped me feel better. That's the power of music, in a way. It helps you get through a lot of the tough times in your life. During those moments, I couldn't express it in making a beat or making all "hype music." I would feel more connected to like my improvisational side. So I guess that's how I represented those emotions by playing solo piano music or making loops and such."

Today's Song of the Day was chosen by Isabel Khalili, Podcast Producer & Licensing Administrator, who says, "I love the backstory of this Lionmilk record, and how he used music to soothe his community through trying times. This (aptly named) song transports me to a big green field surrounded by rolling hills and a pastel sky. I hope it takes you somewhere nice too."

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Snotty Nose Rez Kids - "Change (feat. ebonEmpress & Jenny Lea)" from the 2021 album Life After on Distorted Muse.

Vancouver-based duo Snotty Nose Rez Kids live up to their name. The duo of Darren “Young D” Metz and Quinton “Yung Trybez” Nyce formed the group in 2016 after seeing a show headlined by fellow-Indigenous artists, the hip-hop collective First Ladies Crew. As members of the Haisla nation, the pair knew they could use music to both celebrate and elevate their heritage.

“As Indigenous people who have been shit on year after year after year by the government, from the people, from our own people, the media, the police… I feel like Indigenous people have developed our own sense of humour that only we get,” Nyce told Range. “For us, the way we grew up listening to rap and hip-hop, it was so dark and heavy and it just weighed on you. You couldn’t listen to it more than once unless you were in the right mindset. So for us, coming up, our message, our music, we wanted to talk about the heavy stuff but with a positive spin. And making sure that at the end of the day you left smiling — on a high note. We never want people to feel down on themselves. We want to lift our people up, not bring them down.” Metz adds: “It’s just like our name also, Snotty Nose Rez Kids; it explains who we are without having to explain who we are. You gotta have a sense of humour when you come through trauma.”

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Earl Sweatshirt - "Tabula Rasa (feat. Armand Hammer)" from the 2022 album Sick on Tan Cressida, inc/Warner.

Former Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt is gearing up to release his latest album, Sick, this month and the anticipation couldn’t be higher. His first release since 2019’s introspective Feet of Clay, Sick is still mostly a mystery other than the two singles released ahead of its arrival, “2010” and “Tabula Rasa.”

The latter track is our Song of the Day and for good reason. Featuring the duo that made one of the biggest marks on hip hop in 2021, Armand Hammer, the song is a woozy spectacle of talent. An unchanging repeating piano line and fractured sample make a perfect bed for Earl, Elucid, and billy woods to lay their lyrics on. Each politely taking his own turn, they lethargically spit their individual truths for a poetic manifesto.

“Sick is my humble offering of 10 songs recorded in the wake of the worldwide coronavirus pandemic and its subsequent lockdowns,” Earl Sweatshirt said in a statement. “Before the virus, I had been working on an album I named after a book I used to read with my mother (The People Could Fly). Once the lockdowns hit, people couldn’t fly anymore. A wise man said art imitates life. People were sick. The People were angry and isolated and restless. I leaned into the chaos cause it was apparent that it wasn’t going anywhere. These songs are what happened when I would come up for air.”

Sick is out January 14 via Tan Cressida/Warner Records. “Tabula Rasa” was released alongside a lo-fi video of the rappers in the studio, making magic happen (or, in the case of billy woods, grilling ribs). Watch it at the link below.

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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, fuzzy guitars, and Merrick’s sultry vocals for an ominous effect. But these tones belie the song’s darkly humorous lyrics. Lines like “I heard you got a lady pregnant, well I can only wish her well /‘Cause soon you’ll have a bigger baby, in the family than yourself” and “I hope you choke on a dumpling, at least that would be mildly fun” read as the punchlines of some harsh burns.

The video for the song leans into the elements of the songs sound rather than lyrics, with Merrick slow dancing in a dark, slighted distorted room. The clip was directed by Whittle, proving the duo are a creative force to be reckoned with. Watch it at the link below.

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Thrillhouse - "Fatal Flaw," a 2022 self-released single.

Brighton duo Thrillhouse channel the '80s (Echo & the Bunnymen, in particular) on their latest single, "Fatal Flaw." ("Hopefully it’s not toooo similar. Eek," they joked to Analogue Trash.)

"We’ve never really settled on a sound," they continued. "Will probably be the cause of our eventual demise down the road. But it’s nice to write different types of songs otherwise the whole thing gets a bit stale, I think."

With today's Song of the Day, Thrillhouse pens an ode to supportive friends. "It’s kinda like a love letter to people that stick by you when you’re having a crap time. So, more of a thanks to the people in my life that have been nice, rather than a particular moment."

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Tycho - "Time to Run" a 2023 single on Mom + Pop Records

It should come as no surprise that our host of The Runcast should choose the track "Time To Run" for today's Song of the Day. Like KEXP DJ John Richards, Scott Hansen — the producer behind long-running electronic project Tycho — is a runner. As he explains in a press statement:

“Music has always served as a kind of meditation for me, long before I started creating it. As a competitive runner throughout my early life, I would play back loops of songs in my head to cope with the stress of races, focusing on rhythmic elements to help pace myself and stay calm. There is a unique form of clarity that I have found through the meditative practice of running, it is a fundamentally human experience and when I feel the deepest connection between the mind, body and nature. ‘Time To Run’ is my attempt to translate these ideas into music. My goal was to approach the composition from a new angle and let the rhythmic elements take the lead. I cast the melodic elements that have come to define the Tycho sound in a new light by juxtaposing them against a new foundation that takes cues from funk music.”

The track gives a tease at Tycho's forthcoming 2024 full-length. Details are scarce, but MusicTech reports that Grizzly Bear’s Christopher Taylor will be on board as mix engineer. 

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Bayonne - "Right Thing" from the 2023 album Temporary Time on Nettwerk

Today's Song of the Day from Bayonne (a solo project from Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Roger Sellers) is extra potent, not just for being a total new wave nostalgic groove, but because it was the last song Roger was able to play for his father before he passed away from cancer. 

“Approaching my mid 30s, I was having a lot of anxiety about life, music and the future – contemplating where I wanted to go creatively, which among other things, caused me to fall into a state of depression. It’s a deeply meaningful song to me, conveying feelings of stagnancy and self-doubt while maintaining a poppy format,” he says in a press statement. “One of the reasons it’s so meaningful to me is because it was the last song I remember showing my Dad before he passed. In the middle percussive section, I added samples from old home VHS tapes, wherein you can faintly hear him and other family members chattering lightly in the background. I’ll never forget showing him how I implemented these old recordings into the song. He was highly amused by this.”

The track appears on Bayonne's third full-length Temporary Time. He adds, "To me the overall narrative of Temporary Time is the events following my Dad’s cancer diagnosis in early 2019. The record explores the emotional journey we went through as a family coming to terms with his declining health. Not every song covers this, but that presentiment is lingering in the back of my mind through it all.”

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Wolf Parade - Against the Day - from the 2020 album Thin Mind on Sub Pop.

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House of Feelings - Convo (feat. Dave Harrington) - a 2019 single on House of Feelings Records.

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Wye Oak - Fear of Heights - a 2020 single on Merge Records.

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Boy Harsher - "Give Me a Reason" from the 2022 album The Runner on NUDE CLUB.

The Northampton, MA-via-Savannah, GA duo Boy Harsher recently added filmmaker to their resume with the release of their debut feature film The Runner. Obviously, any arthouse horror film wouldn’t be complete without a killer soundtrack and vocalist/lyricist Jae Matthews and producer Augustus Muller have been readying themselves since 2013 by making cold darkwave that makes for a perfect backdrop to horrifying tension.

Our Song of the Day, “Give Me a Reason,” is the second track on the original soundtrack for the film and strikes a perfect balance of spooky and sensual with its throbbing, droney ambiance. “Did you mean to touch me that way?” asks Matthews with a gruff. “Come and tell me /I'm the only one /Speak of the devil /And she will appear.”

“With ‘Give Me a Reason,’ we wanted to write something that encapsulates that feeling of yearning — the way we feel when we catch eyes from across the room,” said Matthews in a statement. “Our music can be flirty and crushable, and it’s fun to play with that.”

Boy Harsher is taking The Runner on tour this spring, with a date in Seattle on April 15th at the Crocodile. Watch the trailer for The Runner at the link below.

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Cherry Ferrari - Call Me Up a 2023 self-released single.

Cherry Ferrari is the project of teenagers Emma Wang and Oliver Crosby. While they’ve been in existence for roughly a year and currently have just two singles in their discography, those pair of songs are exciting enough to warrant paying attention to the young Seattle band. And people certainly have, if their slots on beloved local stages like the Crocodile and Barboza are any proof.

Our Song of the Day, “Call Me Up,” is a slinky funk track with an infectious hook that’s impossible to not sway your hips to. Taking inspiration from disco funk greats and modern pop, Cherry Ferrari have a retro-futuristic sound that’s fresh, fun, and groovy.

Cherry Ferrari will be competing in this year’s 2nd annual 21-and-under Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) music showcase, Sound Off! They’ll be performing on Saturday, March 11th alongside other up-and-coming local artists Stargazy Pie, Fight Milk, and Sadie Hale. Watch a snippet of a self-made video for “Call Me Up” and read the full post at KEXP.org.

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The Head and the Heart - "Virginia (Wind in the Night)" from the 2022 album Every Shade of Blue on Warner.

Beloved local band The Head and the Heart return this spring with their fifth full-length, Every Shade of Blue, recorded at Studio Litho here in Seattle, where they made their first two albums back in 2011 and 2013. “It was almost like coming back home,” guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Russell told Consequence of Sound. “We used the same engineer, Shawn Simmons. There was this balance of old and new, being familiar with the studio but bringing somebody much newer in his relationship with us.”

On today's Song of the Day, Russell pays tribute to his home state. "Being from Virginia, for me this song represents a long and winding relationship to place – a place that is grounding. I’m often drawing on my life through symbolism as a way into someone else’s psyche,” he said via a press statement. “It’s part of my search for a deeper connection without having to compare our experiences directly. There is a reason this song has two titles. One is literal and one is symbolic. Not everyone is from Virginia, I know that. But I bet you have walked home and heard the wind in the night.”

The Head and the Heart perform two nights – August 12th and 13th – at Marymoor Park.

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Alabaster DePlume - I'm Good at Not Crying - from the 2022 album GOLD on International Anthem.

Quirkiness is in the cards with a nom de plume like Alabaster DePlume. The London-based poet/songwriter (real name: Gus Fairbairn) has just released his cheekily-titled sophomore album, Gold, a 2xLP collection, captured chaotically. During the 2020 recording sessions, DePlume invited a different set of musicians each day to record the same songs at the same speed. Two rules were in place: one, that musicians wouldn’t be given enough time to rehearse, and two, that they wouldn’t listen back to the music they recorded. “They didn’t have enough preparation to be able to hide behind this piece of material or skill,” he said via his Bandcamp. “They had to look up and respond to each other, and that’s what we've recorded.”

DePlume then took the recordings, slicing them together seamlessly. “The method is part of the mission. It wasn’t like school. We had mayhem. We were having fun. That’s the story and the process – and I want to live that way,” he adds.

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Feeble Little Horse - Tin Man from the 2023 album Girl with Fish on Saddle Creek.

Pittsburgh quartet Feeble Little Horse formed three years ago during the pandemic lull but have exploded since dropping their 2021 debut full-length Hayday. They’re on the verge of releasing its follow-up, Girl With Fish, via Saddle Creek, a perfect home for their slowcore brand of noise pop. Out June 9th, we’ve so far gotten three tastes of Girl With Fish, “Steamroller,” “Pocket,” and our Song of the Day “Tin Man.”

Starting with a mathy guitar line directly inspired by Slint’s incredible “Breadcrumb Trail,” a rush of feedback roars in as frontwoman Lydia Slocum delivers her trademark deadpan vocals about a vapid, emotionless manipulator. “Took him apart and I found nobody/But when I dent you, I end up bruised.”

“The song is about people who use sadness to control your actions because they know you will sympathize,” Slocum says of the song. “Oftentimes when these people are investigated there really is not much inside them, they just use emotions to get what they want out of other people. I have my qualms with this sort of person.”

“‘Tin Man’ is one of the songs that represents a new style of writing for us as a group,” explains guitarist/co-songwriter Ryan Walchoski. “This song went back and forth through Google Drive links, trying to come up with the best iteration of the song that we were all happy with; vocals recorded, scrapped and re-recorded, drums scrapped and re-recorded, the chorus at one point was completely different.”

Feeble Little Horse will be touring the US starting in June, with a date in Seattle on Wednesday, July 5th at Barboza. Watch the video for “Tin Man" and read the full post at KEXP.org.

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Grynch Paper Route (feat. Sir Mix‐A‐Lot) from the 2022 self-released album Born in '86.

Nearly fifteen years after dropping his debut full-length, My Second Wind, Grynch is back with his first solo record since 2014 titled Born in ‘86. While it may be a solo record, that doesn’t mean the Seattle-born-and-bred rapper isn’t still open to sharing the mic. The deeply collaborative artist invited artists like Boom Bap Project, Blake Lewis, Prometheus Brown, and Daz Dillinger to help add color to the nostalgia-hued record.

But there’s no collaboration more deeply Seattle than our Song of the Day. “Paper Route” sees none other than the big-booty-loving Sir Mix a Lot join Grynch for a song that recognizes the resilience it takes to continue on the winding and fickle journey of being a longstanding musician. “I could never do a thing that I aint about,” Grynch spits on the chorus, “Suckers out here running miles /Chasing clout /But when it’s all said and done and they faded out /I’m gonna still be getting mine on my paper route.”

Watch Grynch's KEXP in-studio performance of fan-favorite “My Volvo” from all the way back in 2010 and read the full post at KEXP.org.

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On April 15, a new music discovery podcast is coming to this feed.

Until then, we're counting down ten of the most downloaded songs from each of the last ten years. Today, Isabel Khalili brings us back to 2021 with Bizarrap, Duki & Nicki Nicole's "YaMeFui" chosen by Albina Cabrera and DJ Chilly. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.

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Wax Tailor - "Just a Candle (feat. Mark Lanegan)" from the 2021 album The Shadow of Their Suns on Lab'Oratoire.

French producer Wax Tailor returned this year with his first new album in five years, The Shadow Of Their Suns, a star-studded affair featuring special guests like Del the Funky Homosapien, D Smoke, Gil Scott-Heron, Adeline, and, on today's Song of the Day, Mark Lanegan of The Screaming Trees. In a statement to Under the Radar, Tailor explains: 

“I started working on the demo, early 2019 & immediately called it ‘Candle.’ I had this vision of a candle as an allegory of life. The candle that illuminates us, burns out, and one day turns off. I had scenes in mind and I wanted to play on the contrast between a dry and dark rhythm and incandescent arrangements to illustrate this path of life. I added the gimmick of the blown candle that illustrates the unknown. I then invited Mark who injected his print to the song.”

“The first time I heard Mark Lanegan I was still in high school, and his friend Kurt Cobain was still alive. 30 years later, it’s hard to get into an exhaustive list of his discography, between the Screaming Trees, his solo albums, his albums with Isobel Campbell, Queen Of The Stone Age, and many others. I’ve been hoping for a long time that one day I’d have a title for him. When I started the demo, I immediately thought it was the right one. I contacted him in the spring of 2019 to propose it and he answered me in the simplest way possible. We met during his last tour in France and we continued to work remotely. I am very proud of this title, this meeting, and what Mark brings to it. In a music industry where bending your back is often a conditioned reflex, Mark is a great humble man who goes through the decades without artifice, with talent and righteousness.”

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SAULT - "Money" from the 2022 album Today & Tomorrow on Forever Living Originals.

Ever-mysterious and always reliably great, SAULT capped off 2022 by dropping five albums simultaneously on Nov. 11. “Money” is a raucous standout from one of those album, Today & Tomorrow. While the whole album digs into the grittier side of the anonymous collective’s work, “Money” is the band at their most distorted and tenacious. It’s a punk rock squall to getting your due – mainly cold hard cash. 

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GHLOW - "Not Fit For This" from the 2021 album Slash and Burn on PNKSLM.

KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate to our Spring Drive today!

When electro-punk project GHLOW named their debut album Slash and Burn, they meant it. The Russian-Swedish duo sought to capture the intensity of their live performances on the new LP. “After the [first] EP, we realised we wanted the album to be harder,” vocalist and bassist Emille de Blanche stated in a press release. “When we play live, it’s a physical experience — in the early days, we blew a lot of sound systems because the loudness was so important to us. There’s an intensity to that — a feeling of just wanting to be this vehicle speeding at 110 kil-ometres per hour — and we think we’ve captured it.”

“There’s a rawness and a violence to Slash and Burn, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” adds her partner, multi-instrumentalist Nikolay Evdokimov. “It’s about starting again. You might be chopping things down, or setting fire to something, but that’s a reset — something positive comes out of the flames.” 

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Ana Tijoux - "Pa Que" from the 2020 single Antifa on Victoria Producciones Spa.

The phrase "Pa Qué?" roughly translates into "So why?", and it's a question French-Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux has been asking herself since the pandemic has begun. On her forthcoming full-length, titled Antifa Dance, Tijoux vents her frustration with the current political climate during such a difficult time. Today's featured track even borrows a quote from former Chilean Health Minister Jaime Mañalich, who resigned in June after criticism of the way he handled the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting it could mutate into a "better person." 

“This song is a reminder to everyone that we are still attentive, inside and outside, to those above us,” Tijoux said in a press statement. “While we are at home, we are not not asleep. To those below us, we continue to weave the nets, holding ourselves up with open hearts. From the confinement, the deficiencies have become evident. There are thousands of us and solidarity makes us one.”

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Cuffed Up - "10 for 10," a 2022 single on Corduroy Recordings.

Los Angeles-based trio Cuffed Up return with a punk-pop pep-rally anthem for anyone struggling with imposter syndrome.

"It's deeply rooted in confidence," vocalist and guitarist Ralph Torrefranca told Atwood Magazine. "The dialogue in the song follows a creative, trying to understand the negative thoughts that plagues their mind every time they feel the imposter syndrome. The chorus is the heavy-handed conclusion that they arrive to every time but the bridge is the 'big aha! moment' where the character finally realizes that they are amazing at what they do and are in fact, 10/10."

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Nubya Garcia - "The Message Continues" from the 2020 album SOURCE on Concord.

British jazz wunderkind Nubya Garcia made an awe-inspiring debut this year with her LP, ‘SOURCE.’ Her jazz bona fides and prowess are in full view with “The Message Continues,” a stirring instrumental that sees Garcia’s saxophone taking center stage amongst a wondrous fray of sensational drumming and hypnotic keys and bass lines.

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Sleigh Bells - "Locust Laced," a 2021 single on Mom + Pop.

Brooklyn noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells return with their sixth full-length this fall, Texis, out September 10th via Mom+Pop Music. If today's Song of the Day is any indication, it finds the pair returning to the highly-propulsive, anthemic sound of their 2010 debut Treats. “We stopped worrying about whether or not we’re in or out of our comfort zone, or if we were being repetitive or formulaic,” co-founder and guitarist Derek Miller said in a press release. 

He adds that he hopes the new LP brings joy to listeners. “The thing I’m most attracted to is the juxtaposition of happy and sad, melancholy and hope,” he continues. “A lot of this is about trying to hold on to a shred of optimism through sheer force of will, and I hope this music can give people some joyful energy and confidence.” 

Sleigh Bells will play The Showbox in Seattle on Thursday, October 28th.

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Empress Of - "Dance For You" from the 2022 Save Me EP on Major Arcana

Brooklyn-based artist Empress Of (the electro-pop recording project of Lorely Rodriguez) released her five-song EP Save Me over the summer, which features the stand-out (and suitably-titled) track "Dance For You."

“I love the lyrics on this song,” Rodriguez said in a press statement. “I made this in Minneapolis with BJ Burton. It was freezing outside. I was in a cave-like studio in the snow literally dancing as I wrote this. ‘Surrender to me like this’ is a touching lyric for me because I’m not hurt over this person anymore. I’ve come out the other side.”

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The Shivas - Gloria - from the 2019 album Dark Thoughts on Tender Loving Empire.

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Svavar Knútur - Janúar - a 2019 single on Dimma Records.

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Midwife - Anyone Can Play Guitar - from the 2020 album Forever on The Flenser.

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Jarina de Marco - "Boca Chica" from the 2023 album Caribbean All-Inclusive Luxury on 3rd Culture Kid.

This week’s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico.

Dominican-Brazilian pop artist Jarina de Marco makes deliriously infectious music. Beneath the shine and gloss of her immaculately crafted music is a poignant message. This has been true going back to songs like 2016’s “Release the Hounds” which sounds like stomp-clap club anthem but on a deeper level was drawing On her latest album, Caribbean All-Inclusive Luxury, she coopts the capitalist sheen of a “dream vacation” as a biting protest satire. “Boca Chica” opens the album sounding like an advertisement that draws many tourists to places like the Dominican Republic. Not just that but it feels luxurious with her pristine vocals and lively production. But a deeper listen reveals de Marco is singing from the perspective of locals, exasperated by the spectacle of it all. That the song can exist as both a poignant commentary and a dance floor anthem is a testament to de Marco’s incredible songwriting prowess. - Dusty Henry

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Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations - "Blood Ah Go Run (feat. Wesley Joseph & ESKA)" from the 2023 album I Came From Love on Transgressive.

Mercury Prize-nominated artist Dave Okumu returns with his new project, Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations, a name he says honors "my actual ancestors, the ancestors of others, my musical ancestors, and my descendants." Their debut album, I Came From Love, will be released April 14th via Transgressive Records.

In a press statement, the UK-based guitarist/producer explains, "the narrative of this record emerged in tandem with the origin of its musical journey, through a rumination on survival, ancestry and heritage. The account of the young west African girl who was transported to South Carolina in 1756 and sold to the slave owner Elias Ball and the subsequent unearthing and presentation of her story to her descendants became an emblematic framework for these songs, opening doors to many aspects of the diasporic experience. The music stands in loving defiance of any forces that would seek to disconnect us from our collective history. As I consciously stand before my ancestors through the medium of this sound world, I proclaim that ‘You survived so I might live.’”

On today's Song of the Day, in particular, he reflects on the New Cross house fire in 1981 that killed 13 Black teenagers in South London.

“Living in an area as culturally rich and diverse as southeast London, I feel touched by an atmosphere of transcendence forged through a particular type of adversity. When you walk the streets and so many cultures are represented within a community, it’s difficult not to ask the questions ‘how did these people get here and what have their ancestors passed through so that I can have the life I am experiencing now?’ The story of the New Cross Fire and the subsequent response from different factions of society is one such trial, embodying a process which came to shape a significant element of the discourse around race relations in this country. Living in this part of London, I want to remember and honor those who lost their lives in that fire as their sacrifice, along with many others, feeds directly into my experience of this world.”

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Khingz (Over The World) x Ujjy - "Rainy Morning," a 2021 self-released single.

Seattle hip-hop veteran Khingz teams up with Canadian artist Ujjy on this touching track, written during a dark time. Khingz states on his Bandcamp, he "wrote this when I did not know when I would see my son again and the world was heavy on my shoulders." 

Khingz broke out as a battle emcee in the early 2000s, named "Best MC Of The Year" in 2009 by the Seattle Weekly readers poll. In 2001, he formed Abyssinian Creole with EARLY host Gabriel Teodros!

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Lucius - "Next To Normal" from the 2022 album Second Nature on Mom + Pop Records.

After spending the past few years lending their voices to their friends’ records such as The War on Drugs’ I Don’t Live Here Anymore and Brandi Carlile’s In These Silent Days, Holly Laessig and Jess Wolfe are finally unveiling their latest album as Lucius.

Titled Second Nature, the record is due out April 8th and features contributions from Drew Erickson, Rob Moose, and Gabriel Cabezas, plus backing vocals from Carlile and Sheryl Crow. Our Song of the Day is the album's lead single “Next to Normal.” An absolute banger of a track, the song is a groovy disco earworm that sees the duo channel the Bee Gees to great effect. If this is what the whole album sounds like then there’s no way it doesn’t end up on all the year-end lists!

“It is a record that begs you not to sit in the difficult moments, but to dance through them,” Wolfe said of Second Nature in a statement. “It touches upon all these stages of grief—and some of that is breakthrough, by the way. Being able to have the full spectrum of the experience that we have had, or that I’ve had in my divorce, or that we had in lockdown, having our careers come to a halt, so to speak. I think you can really hear and feel the spectrum of emotion and hopefully find the joy in the darkness. It does exist. That’s why we made Second Nature and why we wanted it to sound the way it did: our focus was on dancing our way through the darkness.”

Watch the appropriately kaleidoscopic video for “Next to Normal” at the link below and check out Lucius’ upcoming tour dates here (unfortunately, there doesn’t appear to be a Seattle show).

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Ollella - "Head in the Clouds" from the 2023 self-released album Back Back Back

Seattle musician Ellie Barber has trained as a classical cellist since the age of nine. She integrates these studies into her project Ollella (pronounced oh-lel-uh), crafting a jazzy, folktronica style that calls to mind Beth Orton. 

“As someone who grew up playing classical cello but listening to indie music, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what direction I want to take my music as a new solo artist," she tells Glide Magazine. "I wrote 'Head in the Clouds' during a particularly exploratory period, playing with different effects on my loop pedal and not attaching judgment to what came out. The bones of this song immediately felt so genuine to the type of sound that I was seeking – so much so that I left it untouched for six months because I was afraid I would ruin it.” 

“The verses speak to my own pivot towards music: how I kept feeling unsettled where I was in life because I wasn’t following the little voice in my gut to pursue full-time artistry,” she continues in a press release.

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Riz Rollins, also known as DJ Riz, recently celebrated 35 years at KEXP. He hosts Drive Time every Monday from 4-7pm Pacific Time and is one of the rotating hosts on Expansions, the Sunday night mix show originally inspired by trip-hop and acid jazz. His sets incorporate jazz, rock, hip-hop, funk, and everything in between, always with soul.

To celebrate Riz's 35-year milestone, we get two extra song recommendations in this episode! Isabel joins Riz at his house to discuss 4 new songs and 2 old favorites (remixed, because Riz loves a good remix). They also talk about his origins and inspirations as a DJ, imposter syndrome, and the influence faith and gospel have had on his life and trajectory. As expected, Riz shares much wisdom along the way. (Note: the first song recommendation starts around 10:23).

To finish the episode, Associate Music Director (and fellow Expansions DJ) Alex Ruder shares a song that's perfect for a chill out room or after party, and also serves as a nod to his mentor Riz.

1. Samora Pinderhughes - “Better”  
2. Meshell Ndegeocello - “Trouble”
3. The Folk Implosion - “Moonlit Kind”
4. Tristan de Liège - “New Symmetry (feat. Bryony Jarman-Pinto)"
5. Erykah Badu - “Soldier (Supa Ape Remix)”
6. Pharoah Sanders - “You Got To Have Freedom (Opolopo Tweak)”
7. HNNY - “I Let Go”

Listen to the full songs on KEXP's "In Our Headphones 2024" playlist on Spotify or the “What's In Our Headphones” playlist on YouTube.

Listen to DJ Riz on Drive Time every Monday from 4-7pm PT, monthly on Expansions, or anytime on the 2-week archive, at KEXP.org or the KEXP App.

Hosted and produced by: Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili
Mixed by: Emily Fox
Mastered by: William Myers
Editorial Director: Larry Mizell Jr.

Our theme music is “好吗 (Hao Ma)” by Chinese American Bear

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Contact us at headphones@kexp.org.

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Σtella - "Another Nation"from the 2022 album Up and Away on Sub Pop.

Greek artist Stella Chronopoulou (who records as Σtella, with a sigma) makes her Sub Pop Records debut with a collection of dreamy electro-pop influenced by her family's music collection of Greek folk-pop from the ‘60s and ‘70s.

“Growing up I loved playing ‘Sousourada’ by Nikos Gounaris on my grandfather’s old gramophone. I was thrilled by Greek folk-pop artists like Grigoris Bithikotsis and the great Tzeni Vanou, as well as international artists like Tony Motolla and Julio Inglesias,” she says in a press statement; “Living in a close-knit community by the mountains and sea, I vaguely recall being woken by neighbouring shepherds’ sheep bells… everything back then was so pure and innocent!”

For her first LP, she teamed up with fellow Greek artist and producer Tom Calvert (aka Redinho). "Tom had a similar desire of creating a vintage sound," she continues. "Instantly stars aligned; I was time-traveling, singing songs as The Chiffons or The Crystals would.”

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Alvvays - "Pharmacist" from the 2022 album Blue Rev on Polyvinyl.

Canadian indie-pop quintet Alvvays return this fall with Blue Rev, despite numerous misfortunes that came before it. A thief stole a recorder full of demos from frontwoman Molly Rankin's apartment. The very next day, a basement flood nearly ruined all the band’s gear. On the plus side, they recruited two new band members — drummer Sheridan Riley and bassist Abbey Blackwell  — but, on the bummer side, COVID-related border closures prevented band rehearsals. 

But the band persevered to craft their most mature (and longest!) LP yet. Keyboardist Kerri MacLellan and guitarist Alec O’Hanley contributed more to the songwriting process this time, adding fresh perspectives to their melodic sound. 

Blue Rev is named for a "sugary alcoholic beverage Rankin and MacLellan used to drink as teens on rural Cape Breton," and the songs within express that sweet, dizzy, exuberant feeling. 

Blue Rev will be released October 7th via Polyvinyl, with an October 22nd date at The Moore Theatre in Seattle. 

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Squid - Match Bet - from the 2019 album Town Centre on Speedy Wunderground.

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This week’s Song of the Day picks, as chosen by DJ Miss Ashley, coincide with Indigenous Peoples’ Day. While Indigenous Peoples’ Day is recognized on October 9, KEXP will be paying tribute to Indigenous artists throughout the whole week here and throughout the rest of our podcasts and programming. Learn more about our Indigenous Peoples’ Day coverage. 

Warning: This write-up touches on topics of suicide. 

In 2019, Statistics Canada delivered an alarming report about the Indigenous suicide rate crisis – finding that Indigenous people in Canada are three times more likely to die by suicide than non-Indigenous Canadians. This troubling data reflects the harrowing experience and conditions not just in Canada, but for Indigenous people across the globe. 

Jeremy Dutcher commemorates this experience in his heart-wrenching song “Ancestors Too Young.” The enigmatic songwriter is known for their dazzling blend of their classical training and pop songwriting. Dutcher, who is from the Tobique First Nation, will often sing in Wolastoqey. But on this song, Dutcher sings in English. Against a beautiful backdrop of piano, organ, strings, and smattering drums, Dutcher’s voice pleads and aches. Less of a sentimental song and more of a dire asking – why? Why does this have to be this way? On the chorus Dutcher soars with the refrain “Ancestors too young, where do they go?” 

Dutcher’s powerful plea is a needed revelation for the masses. As he says in the song, this epidemic is not something that should be ignored until more pass away. There is urgency in Dutcher’s voice, just as their should be urgency in all of us to wake up and make change and reconcile the perpetuated conditions that have led to this tragic moment in history. - Dusty Henry

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Pure Akan - "Yete Apor (feat. Efya)" a 2023 single on A-Level Music.

Ghanaian highlife/hip-hop artist Pure Akan stays true to his roots by rapping in Twi, a dialect of the Akan language. "It created a connection between me and my people, the Akan people and also our culture," he told Pan African Music. "My fans relate better. They understand me now."

His new single sees him pairing up with another Ghana-based songwriter, neo-soul artist Efya, whose voice elevates the beauty of today's Song of the Day. 

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Angel Olsen - All Mirrors - from the 2019 album All Mirrors on Jagjaguwar.

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somesurprises - High Rise - from the 2019 album somesurprises on Drawing Room Records.

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Lydmor - "Nevada" from the 2021 album Capacity on hfn music.

This week's Songs of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, spotlighting artists playing the SPOT Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, May 6-7th. 

Danish artist Lydmor [real name: Jenny Rossander] examines the space she's in on her fourth album Capacity, a Björk-inspired expression of futuristic electro-pop. On today's Song of the Day, she's joined by Faroese singer Eivør on guest vocals.

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Greg Cypher & Def Dee - "Right On (feat. 10isee Williams)" from the 2021 album Third Stone on Nine Six Intl.

For over a decade Greg Cypher climbed the ranks of Seattle hip hop as one-half of Kung Foo Grip alongside fellow rapper Eff Is H. Never disappointing with their live show, the duo concocted a hip hop, trap rap, and punk cocktail that saw them looking beyond a single genre for influences. Everyone from Pink Floyd to Nirvana had a hand in shaping their sound.

Since releasing their celebrated 2018 record 2KFG, it’s been quiet on the KFG front. Cypher, on the other hand, has been busy releasing his debut solo material. In 2020, he dropped the vibey EP Homebass featuring contributions from Aaron King, Dex Amora, Rick Rude, and even Mr. Hentvii aka Eff is H himself. A year later, his debut album Third Stone was unveiled.

A collaboration with producer Def Dee, the record once again sees a number of names hop on the mic over its seven tracks. Our Song of the Day, “Right On,” features the very clever yet possibly not yet recognizable name 10isee Williams. The Seattle-based artist joins Cypher on the loungey track for effortless flows about ignoring what others say and focusing on elevating yourself.

On February 25th Cypher is throwing a cassette release/birthday show at Vermillion featuring performances by AJ Suede, Blake Anthony, Edibles, and Mile. Watch Kung Foo Grip’s KEXP in-studio performance from 2018 at the link below.

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Amelie Siba - "hold on to me" from the 2021 self-released EP when is our time.

Prague-based singer-songwriter Amelie Siba makes quiet, intimate songs that are simple in instrumentation so as to focus on Siba’s childlike falsetto which belies the maturity of her songwriting. Following 2019’s introductory EP titled It Was Nice to Meet You, Siba’s 2020 debut full-length Dye My Hair arrived when the musician was just 17 years old and went on to earn her the critics’ choice Apollo award for the Czech album of the year.

2021 saw Siba release both the EP when is our time and the full-length Love Cowboys. Our Song of the Day, “hold on to me,” comes from the latter release. While the EP continues Siba’s penchant for gentle melodies and airy vocals, she sets aside the guitar to incorporate electronic beats for just the smallest hint of danceability over the EP’s four songs. “hold on to me” closes out the EP with spacious, layered vocals with the wistful sentiment of yearning to be loved and held.

Amelie Siba played the Netherlands-based non-profit showcase for European artists Eurosonic Noorderslag (ESNS) this past weekend. At the link below, watch Siba’s video for “New Normal,” a song off the Czech film of the same name from the Laterna for Camera series.

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Hollis - "Heavy Hands" from the 2020 half-life EP on Hollis.

Throughout the month of May, KEXP has been celebrating Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. We’re putting an extra spotlight this week on API artists with this week’s Song of the Day picks, capping off with Hollis’ “Heavy Hands.”

The Seattle local, whom you might recognize from her other project The Flavr Blue, is at her most soulful on the track. Waxing poetic on her inner struggles, Hollis finds self-realization that she can no longer wait for existential answers and finding power in the fact that there’s “no escaping myself.” Though it may read as a ballad, there’s empowerment to be found in Hollis’ words and her smooth, emotional vocal performance. — Dusty Henry

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Alina Pash - "Bosorkanya" from the 2019 album PINTEA:GORY on Bitanga LLC.

Alina Pash will be performing at this year's virtual Eurosonic (ESNS) Music Festival and Conference January 19-22.

Known for a great number of things in her home country of Ukraine, Alina Pash is a former X-Factor semi-finalist, style icon, and an innovative musician breaking boundaries with her bold use of Carpathian traditional sounds with electronic, hip-hop, and pop. Cited as “100% Bitanga” which translates from the Ruthenian dialect to “Hooligan,” Pash uses her distinctly unique creative vision to carve her path.

Born in Transcarpathia (which doesn’t sound like a real place to me - like Genovia - but I assure you, it’s a very real geographical region in Western Ukraine with a fascinating history), Pash was inspired by the Transcarpathian legend Pintea the Great for her 2019 record PINTEA: GORY. A real life Robin Hood, the 17th century rebel is an ancestor of Pash’s and famous for his brave and merciful heart. Our Song of the Day “Bosorkanya,” which translates to “The Sorceress,” was an early single off the record and an excellent example of Pash’s use of mysterious folk legends within the framework of of a fun dance pop track.

The song is coupled with a high-production video of dance choreographed witches and demons casting spells and squaring off against religious leaders. Watch the video ahead of her virtual performance for Eurosonic Music Festival and Conference on January 19-22 at the link below.

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Lisa Prank - IUD - from the 2019 album Perfect Love Song on Father/Daughter Records.

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Jenn Champion - Turn Up the Radio feat. Victor Le Masne - from the 2019 album Turn Up The Radio on Hardly Art.

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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 what might have made it all worth it,” Morimoto says of today's Song of the Day. “I want the sound of my music to reflect that same urgency – instruments warbling and splattered over the beat, melodies tangled and contradicting. I wrote this song about the enduring power of love and the struggle to hang onto that feeling when in crisis.”

The song's video was directed by Chicago film production duo New Trash. Morimoto continues, "Up until my first tour in Japan, I washed dishes for a living. I would daydream all day at work about being a full time musician. My fantasies were sweet and naive, mostly just pop culture references glued together, stuff I’d seen in movies and music videos. It wasn’t until I started touring full time that I realized how long the road is from being a working musician to building a life in music that is actually sustainable, which has become even harder as touring proves itself to be a gamble with bad odds, even for more established acts. I wrote this video concept as a kind of tongue-in-cheek visualization of those mid-shift daydreams. I’m dreaming of this big guitar solo in the sky, but even my fantasy is insecure, balancing on a rusted beam with no support."

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Dame Area - "Esto me pertenece" from the 2022 album Esto me pertenece on Humo Internacional & BFE Records.

Barcelona-based duo Dame Area deliver their most dance-oriented release to date with Esto me pertenece. The post-industrial twosome of Silvia Konstance Costan and Victor Hurtado met in 2014 via Màgia Roja, a cultural center and record label. Combining their loves of krautrock, industrial, and black metal, they released their first single by the end of 2015. On today's Song of the Day, they bring these influences to the floor, punctuated by Silvia's vocalizations and a relentless rhythm. 

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Gabriel Garzón-Montano - "Agüita (Remix) (feat. Sampa The Great & Amber Mark)" from the 2021 Agüita EP: I on Jagjaguwar/Stones Throw.

Last year, New York-based artist Gabriel Garzón-Montano released his sophomore full-length, Agüita, an ambitious "anti-genre" album with everything from reggae to post-punk to funk to folk. This year, he's begun releasing the Agüita EP series, featuring re-workings of songs from that album.

Today's Song of the Day is a remix of the title track, featuring new verses from special guests Sampa The Great and Amber Mark. “This 'Agüita' remix is special. Sampa and Amber came with their magic in usual form,” Garzon-Montano said in a press release. “Estoy muy agradecido a estas reinas por este remix. Un aguacero.” (I am very grateful to these queens for this remix. A downpour.) 

Amber Mark added: “I was speechless in absolute amazement when GGM played me the ‘Agüita’ demo years ago. He literally can tap into any sound he’s feeling and make it sound amazing. ‘Agüita’ is my motivational anthem; I’m so honored and excited that I get to be a part of this one.” Sampa The Great declared: "It’s always amazing to be able to connect across cultures and languages with music! 'Agüita' is one of those dope songs that does that and it was amazing being part of this remix.”

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Jupiter & Okwess - "Na Kozonga," a 2020 single on Everloving Records.

The phrase "Na Kozonga" translates to "the return" in the Congolese language of Lingala, and that's what Jupiter & Okwess was looking forward to after the 180-date worldwide tour promoting their 2017 album Kin Sonic: returning home. The song is dedicated to bandleader Jupiter Bokondji's father, who passed away recently, and the accompanying music video, filmed in his hometown of Kinshasa, shows the musician boarding a plane to return to his family in Africa, with a "metaphysical" detour. Afropop.org reports the song is about “a mystical universe strewn with spirits and African allegorical incarnations, from Mami Wata (Mummy water) to Aniotas.”

The song is a cover of "Gotta Go Home," a 1979 single by German disco-funk group Boney M, which was a re-written take on the 1973 track "Hallo Bimmelbahn" by brothers Heinz and Jürgen Huth. "Na Kozonga" is the title track from Jupiter & Okwess' forthcoming full-length, which is scheduled for release in 2021.

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Sean Beaver - "TECH-YES" from the 2020 self-released album Electric Turtle Dreams

Sean Beaver is an indigenous Canadian electronic artist who is based in Calgary, Alberta. Originally from the Driftpile First Nation in northern Alberta and of Cree descent, Beaver is award-winning in the indigenous communities, with nominations for Best Instrumental Album at the Indigenous Music Awards in 2015 and 2017, Best Instrumental CD at the Aboriginal People’s Choice Awards in 2013, and Rap-Hip Hop-Electronica Album Of The Year at the 2021 Summer Solstice Indigenous Music Awards.

In between producing his electronic work, Beaver was a key member of the distinguished Indigenous hip hop group REDDNATION, performing as DJ Hooligan and serving as tour manager / sound technician from 2002 until the group retired in October 2013. The group was influential in spreading music and inspiring Indigenous youth.

Beaver’s Album of the Year nomination went to his fourth and most recent full-length, Electric Turtle Dreams. Today’s Song of the Day, “TECH-YES” is the second of fourteen throbbing, dancefloor-ready electronic tracks comprising the record. Moody and propulsive, the instrumental song glimmers whether there’s an actual disco ball radiating off it or not. Turn the lights down and the music up for a club experience wherever you are.

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GDRN - "Vorið" from the 2020 album GDRN on Les Freres Stefson.

When GDRN (real name: Guðrún Ýr Eyfjörð Jóhannesdóttir) played KEXP Iceland Airwaves broadcast last year, she had just swept the Iceland Music Awards with her debut Hvað Ef, scoring best female artist, best pop song, best pop album, and music video of the year. With her follow-up full-length, released earlier this year, Jóhannesdóttir experiments with a new approach. As she told KEXP's Dusty Henry last year:

The next album is a bit more... It has more live instruments in it and more of me singing with more power. Just the lyrical ideas – they're all in Icelandic, I'm sorry for your English speaking listeners – but they are just fully formed ideas, I would say. They have this uptempo feel and a little bit more jazz, live instruments and everything.

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Seattle shoegaze band Shine combines the talents of band members from Regional Justice Center and Seattle’s New Gods. This new project, they say, "channels the noise and driving aggression of these bands, but through a more playful, Britpop-tinged lens." 

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Bobby Sanchez - "the premonition (lethalneedle)" from the 2023 album Melancholy Tgirl on Harawiq Records

"Indigenous people is who I pray for / The past can be painful so we face forward"

A veteran Song of the Day featured artist, American-Peruvian Indigenous songwriter Bobby Sanchez kicked off 2023 with their sixth EP, titled Melancholy Tgirl. The three-song release continues Sanchez's mission of using art to speak out for Indigenous rights, as well as for LGBTQ+ rights, environmental preservation, immigration, and more. 

Sanchez's Indigenous blood originates from Ayacucho, Peru; she was born and raised on Lenape and Siwanoy land. Sanchez found her voice through poetry at seven; by age 15, she was attending poetry slams and open mics, which soon evolved into hip-hop compositions. Today's Song of the Day features fierce verses against a delicate looped piano piece, resulting in an empowering, thoughtful groove. 

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Mike Farris - "Havana Santa," a 2021 single on Compass Records.

This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. Brian has been doing a punk rock Christmas special every year since 2004 and has been a Christmas Day on-air DJ since 2012. He will be hosting his non-traditional Christmas broadcast from noon to 6pm on Saturday, December 25th and then will be back on air later that night for Punk Rock Xmess 2021 at 9pm. No standards are played, only original X-Mess songs, most with a humorous bent.

Let’s be honest, there’s not a whole lot that’s sexy about Santa Claus. But have you met his brother? Ow ow! Grammy Award winning gospel, blues, and roots artist Mike Farris introduces a new character to the holidays with “Havana Santa.” The heated Latin track swaps the snow for the sea, where we meet the rum-drinking, mambo-dancing, red Camino-driving brother of St. Nick that’s living a very sultry life south of the border.

Apparently, the inspiration to make a Latin-style Christmas song came after Farris and his 13-piece holiday band covered a Marc Anthony song during their annual “Soul of Christmas” show in Nashville one year and it was an absolute crowd-pleaser. Farris had this to say about the song:

“The whole approach to writing “Havana Santa” was the same approach to the Soul of Christmas shows, and that is to bring maximum amounts of fun to the holiday season and to just fill the season with great memories and cheek numbing joy!”

The track features a long list of long-time collaborators and includes six Grammy award winners among them: Derrek Phillips (drums), Dave Roe (bass), Kenny Greenberg (guitars), Kevin Mckendree (piano/hammond organ), Giovanni Rodriguez (percussion), Jim Hoke (tenor and baritone sax/accordion), Steve Hermann (trumpet), Yates Mckendree (bass), Saunya Clayborn (singer), Samson White (singer), additional singers are Dave Roe, Giovanni Rodriguez, Jamie-Sue Seal, Cassidy Zuver, Derrek Phillips and Kenny Greenberg.

Get a taste of the fun that Farris and his collaborators bring to their Soul of Christmas events by watching a snippet of their performance of “Havana Santa” at this year’s show at the link below.

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Salome MC - “Odium” from the 2017 self-released album Excerpts from Unhappy Consciousness

Salome MC is Iran's first female rapper, and her LP Excerpts from Unhappy Consciousness is the first full-length Persian hip-hop album produced by a woman. This is all the more impressive when you learn that in 2007, the Iranian government denounced rap, with the Ministry of Culture shutting down recording studios where these albums are made, raiding record stores where this music might be sold, blocking websites, and even arresting the artists themselves.

Released in 2017, Excerpts from Unhappy Consciousness is the culmination of two years work, said to be an "autobiographical concept album that explores a woman's journey in the light of Hegel's Unhappy Consciousness, with each track correlating to a stage of dialectical life of spirit."

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DAM - "Hada Yid’ie Sitna" from the 2019 album Ben Haana Wa Maana on Cooking Vinyl.

Formed in the late '90s, DAM have been called "the first Palestinian hip hop crew and among the first to rap in Arabic." Since the very beginning, the group have used their lyrics to speak out about the trials of being Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. On their third and most recent release, Ben Haana Wa Maana (which translates to "Between Both Worlds"), DAM explore the subject of self-love. 

“We know that we had hit hard times. We always talked about the darkness we live in,” founding member Tamer Nafar said in a press release. “But this time we changed our attitude. As we say in one of our songs 'Hada Yidi’e Sitna'; This is not a darkness of a tomb, we are in a darkness of a womb.”

In an interview with The National, they explain that today's Song of the Day is "the story of kids fighting on the streets before somebody calls their mothers." Songwriter and rapper Maysa Daw (who joined the collective in 2012) explains, "In that song, we’re calling for women to take the leadership and guide us in a better way."

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Cuban vocalist, flautist, and percussionist Yaité Ramos Rodriguez pays tribute to a folkloric legend with her musical moniker La Dame Blanche, or "the white lady" in French. "She doesn’t have a very good reputation but I wanted to pay tribute to her," she explained to French news and current affairs public radio station RFI. "I represent her as black, a mother, with a daily routine just like many other women in the world. People smile when I say I’m the white lady. It’s quite ironic."

The daughter of Jesús 'Aguaje' Ramos, trombonist and bandleader of the Buena Vista Social Club orchestra, La Dame Blanche grew up around music, establishing herself as a classically-trained flautist. With her own music, she combines hip hop, cumbia, reggae, and more to her mastery of the flute. 

Today's Song of the Day was inspired by lockdown. She writes on her Bandcamp page, "'Veneno' is one of the many songs I wrote during the pandemic, declaring my despair and the value of a caress, a kiss, a friend." – Janice Headley

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Samory I - "Outside (feat. Lila Iké)" from the 2023 album Strength on Overstand Entertainment / Easy Star Records

Kingston, Jamaica-based artist Samory-Tour Frazer — who records as Samory I — celebrates his progeny on his debut solo album, Strength. 

"It represents the struggles I’ve overcome, both mentally and physically," the roots reggae vocalist says in a press release, "and is also a representation of my son, who is my driving force behind this album." (His baby boy is featured with his proud papa on the cover art of the new album.)

Today's Song of the Day features guest vocals from fellow Jamaican artist Lila Iké, who adds, “I have been waiting for this collaboration since 2016 when I moved to Kingston and my next-door neighbor was blasting unreleased songs from Samory I. The reverence in his voice captured me immediately, and I’ve been a fan since. I can’t wait for people to hear and feel the power in his sound. His new album will be a classic.” 

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Nick Hakim - "QADIR" from the 2020 album WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD on ATO Records.

On today's KEXP Song of the Day, New York-based artist Nick Hakim shares a deeply personal tribute to his childhood friend Qadir Imhotep West, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 25. (That's a photo of West that adorns the cover of Hakim's latest album, WILL THIS MAKE ME GOOD.) 

“He was a little younger than me, but we had a similar path,” Hakim says in a press release. “We both had trouble in school and switched schools a lot. He was the youngest in his family and his older sisters asked me to watch out for him. The song is my ode to him. It’s my attempt to relate to how he must have been feeling.”

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Sibille Attar - “Hurt Me,” a 2020 single on PNKSLM Recordings.

Swedish singer/songwriter Sibille Attar shares a first listen of her forthcoming full-length out this fall via PNKSLM Recordings, a follow-up to her 2013 debut album Sleepyhead. Formerly a member of bands like The Tourettes and Speedmarket Avenue, Sleepyhead was the Scandinavian songstress's first solo effort, and her first on a major label. 

“Sleepyhead was my first attempt [at going solo] and I got signed to a big label and it was kind of overwhelming,” she told BTR Today. “Being told what to do was not my favorite thing, which meant it was a lot of unnecessary struggles, and I realized I should be independent… So I had to recollect myself — I was questioning my entire motive of doing music at all because I thought the industry was so shitty. I kind of lost my confidence. When everyone starts having opinions on what you do… I started questioning myself.”

Since signing with beloved indie label PNK SLM (hear our spotlight on KEXP's Weekly Mix podcast here), her confidence has returned, as evident on today's featured track. Listen below.

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Orquestra Pacifico Tropical - Flor de Oro - from the self-released 2018 album El Tren.

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rum.gold - "Water My Heart (feat. Mereba)" from the 2023 album U Street Anthology on Leola LLC.

Brooklyn-based artist rum.gold has been on a creative run since his 2018 debut EP yaRN. He followed with 2019's EP aiMless and the 2021 LP Thicker Than Water, a soulful, confessional full-length that was an introspective examination of upbringing, experience, and identity. 

His sophomore full-length, U Street Anthology, is right around the corner, but in the meantime, he's shared the slow-groove "Water My Heart." The track teams him up with Los Angeles-based artist Mereba for a delicate, romantic duet. Hear him turn the tides on today's Song of the Day, and catch him on May 4th at Madame Lou's with Seattle's own dsrt flwr opening.

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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 Robinson. The poem reads ‘this is for the women who drink too much whisky, stay up too late and have sex like they mean it — it really spoke to me. I tried to capture the strength of the poem, with a nod to Janne and then elaborate with my own take on completely owning your own womanhood. Within writing the first few lines, I entitled the piece 'Queeen Dem.' Queeen gets 3 E’s to accentuate the fact you are a queen.

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Sheer Mag - "All Lined Up," a 2023 single on Third Man Records

Philadelphia-based punks Sheer Mag have been signed to Third Man Records, who will not only be reissuing their older albums, but their forthcoming full-length as well (no hard details yet, but stay tuned for a release date). 

“Having been aware of Sheer Mag since their earliest 7-inch singles and keeping up with their self-released, independent, DIY take-no-prisoners ethos, I never envisioned a world where they would ever sign to a record label,” said Third Man’s Ben Blackwell in a press statement. “So imagine how ecstatic we were at Third Man when the band reached out to us directly and asked if we’d be interested in partnering with them. Still doesn’t seem real. We are beyond honored, humbled really, to receive their handshake and their trust. This is gonna be fun as shit.”

Today's Song of the Day is a tease at what's to come. The band explain the track was inspired by "late nights at the bar playing pool. Last call has long come and gone, the gate is down, the ashtrays are out and your friend behind the bar is giving it all away. Despite the revelry, there’s a looming sense of dread — a fear that no matter how far ahead you get, all it takes is one bad shot to lose the game.”

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Peter Matthew Bauer - "Skulls" from the 2022 album Flowers on Fortune Tellers.

With The Walkmen still on hiatus, multi-instrumentalist Peter Matthew Bauer continues their anthemic style of indie rock on his latest solo LP, Flowers. On today's Song of the Day, he displays the ways he's developed musically since the band took a break.

"'Skulls' was inspired by a new style of guitar playing that I stumbled on," he told Under the Radar. "In all the years I’d made music, I’d never figured out a way to take a guitar solo before. I started using a distortion pedal and a space echo, playing these kind of waterfalling guitar riffs over some farfisa chords. It felt really loose and brought me a lot of joy. From there, I tried to write a very joyous melody to match it. There’s a record by Peter One and Jess Sah Bi, it’s a kind of 1980s country rock record from the Cote d’Ivoire. I feel like their style of melodies really inspired me throughout this album. Just the rhythm and the way they’re both laid back but really letting go."

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Beach Bunny - “Entropy” from the 2022 album Emotional Creature on Mom + Pop.

From TikTok buzzband to their sophomore album Emotional Creature, Chicago-based band Beach Bunny have earned a devoted following, including producer Butch Vig and actor Bob Odenkirk, who even appears in one of their music videos. 

A huge part of their appeal is the confessional and, ultimately, relatable lyrics from frontwoman Lili Trifilio. On today's Song of the Day, she tells Stereogum, she took inspiration from the Jonas Brothers for this infectious, polished pop song. Reflecting on her journey as a musician, she continues, "As a young kid I was watching Hannah Montana thinking that was the most unrealistic expectation of all time. But now here I am and all of it happened organically; it just goes very slowly over many, many years. If you want to do something in a creative field, make it a passion project and try it for a few years. You’ll learn what you want to do, or you’ll get to go on a journey. Embark on your journeys! Don’t settle! I mean it! Oh, and don’t date toxic boys. Or I guess, if you do, at least you’ll have songs to write about them."

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Baronhawk Poitier - "Temperado Tornado" from the 2020 Temperado Tornado EP on Honey Soundsystem.

Baronhawk Poitier is a busy man: not only is he a long-running DJ/producer, but he's also a professional dancer and co-founder of the NeedlExchange crew and club night in his hometown of Washington, D.C.

When Honey Soundsystem Records asked Baronhawk Poitier to make them an EP "he would want to dance to", he replied, "Oh Honey, I have never made any that I didn’t." Check out the title track from his latest dancefloor soundtrack. 

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Claud - "Soft Spot" from the 2021 album Super Monster on Saddest Factory.

This Friday, February 12th, singer/songwriter Claud Mintz (who records as Claud) will release their debut album Super Monster via Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records, and what could be a better endorsement than being the first album released by Bridgers’ new imprint for Dead Oceans? 

Today's Song of the Day is a dreamy rumination on a relationship gone. Claud confirms in a press release, stating “‘… Sigh. I have a soft spot for lots of people, places, and things. This song is about knowing I can’t be with this one specific person, but my feelings won’t go away… I still hope I run into them, or they randomly text me about something. It’s just me romanticizing what I can’t have and being like ‘but what if…’” 

The accompanying video, directed by Brad Bischoff, captures that wistfulness. "Something I’ve come to realize in the last couple years is that moving away is VERY different than moving on (seems obvious but is really not … ). This video is about the stuff that you can’t seem to leave behind and that comes with you wherever you go, whether they’re good things or not so good things."

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Ooh La La - "Life's Too Fast To Feel" a 2023 self-released single.

There's not a lot of information out there yet about brand-new Los Angeles-based duo Ooh La La, but sharp-eyed KEXP listeners might recognize the name Kii Arens from the liner notes of past Live at KEXP compilation albums! The long-time artist/director/graphic designer has previously created album covers for us. Now, relocated from his hometown of Minneapolis to Los Angeles, he and partner Jessy Greene (who has played violin for P!nk, Foo Fighters, and others) have launched this new musical project. The band reports on Facebook that today's Song of the Day will be released this summer as a double single via Killer Kern Records.

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The Midnight Hour - "Jazz Is Dead (Georgia Anne Muldrow Geemix)" from the 2021 album Remixes JID010 on Jazz Is Dead.

As The Midnight Hour, Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge collaborate with a long list of incredible musicians to make a fusion of soul, jazz, and hip hop that’s inspired by the sophisticated sounds of yesteryears. Their acclaimed 2018 self-titled debut was star-studded featuring the likes of features from CeeLo Green, Raphael Saadiq, Marsha Ambrosius, Bilal, Eryn Allen Kane, Karolina, and more.

In 2020, the duo expanded their reach by creating the imprint Jazz Is Dead, where “younger artists are elaborating upon conversations started decades ago; jazz icons are utilizing vintage equipment to create new masters with Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad; the same equipment that recorded their coveted catalogs.” In the past two years, they’ve released 10 albums of recordings that take on the scores of composers past to bring into the present.

As the final chapter in the initial run of Jazz Is Dead releases, Remixes JID010 continues the creative catharsis of an exhilarating new chapter in jazz music. Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad tapped nine iconic creators to reimagine their personal favorites from Jazz Is Dead’s catalogue to-date, who created striking new versions of songs by Marcos Valle, Roy Ayers, Gary Bartz, Azymuth, João Donato, Doug Carn, Brian Jackson and The Midnight Hour. Holding the line taut like a bass string, Younge & Muhammad only invited those special musical alchemists who have previously participated in Jazz Is Dead happenings, or those who are slated to share that stage soon.

Our Song of the Day sees the prolific songwriter, rapper, musician, singer, and producer Georgia Anne Muldrow take on the title track of the series and label, “Jazz Is Dead.” Muldrow’s version completely reinvents the jazzy and percussion-heavy original into a slinky trip-hop track with the lyrics stretched out and lingered on in serpentine fashion. Sparkling electronic glitches and synth keys replace the brass, drums, and piano of the original, for a smooth, contemporary imagining of the song.

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