A Deeper Listen (KEXP)

Music has become an investment opportunity. Last month, we heard the news that Bob Dylan sold his songwriting catalog to Universal for more than $300 million. Since then, artists such as Neil Young and Shakira have sold the rights to their songs to an investment company called Hipgnosis. To understand what this all might mean for the music industry is Marc Hogan. He’s a senior staff writer for Pitchfork who wrote an article titled “What To Know About Music’s Copyright Gold Rush.”

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Band of Horses is out with their first new album in six years. While it's called ‘Things Are Great,' the lyrics paint a different picture. Frontman Ben Bridwell talks about how the record was inspired by heartache and breakups. He also discusses his experience arriving in Seattle homeless years ago before starting the band. Finally, he shares his thoughts on the music industry and how he spent between $350k-$500k on this album in hopes the band's record label and sales would pay out. 

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As we wrap up Women's History Month, Emily Fox and KEXP DJs Morgan Chosnyk and Eva Walker break down the stories and songs behind the top three most played women artists on KEXP during March: Arlo Parks, Japanese Breakfast and Noname. 

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Hammock releases their twelfth album on January 27, 2023. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour speaks with Marc Byrd and Andrew Thompson about their latest (and loudest) record, 'Love in the Void,' and also about managing a band that doesn’t rely on live shows to make ends meet. 

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Nate Sloan (Vox Media's Switched On Pop) discusses how streaming has impacted song length and formats, Chris Molanphy (Hit Parade Podcast, Slate) talks about how musicians are gaming the billboard charts in the streaming era through "bundling." We explore the differences between Seattle and LA’s music scene by chatting with a musician who moved from LA to Seattle (Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver) and talk with another who left Seattle for LA (Jenn Champion).

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Ambar Lucid talks about how a trip on magic mushrooms inspired the title track of her new EP, 'Get Lost in the Music.' She also talks about a documentary about being reunited with her dad years after he was deported to Mexico, and how she hopes to heal her own and others' generational trauma through her music.

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The book, “Got to Be Something Here: The Rise of the Minneapolis Sound” by Andrea Swensson explores Minneapolis’ segregated music scenes and the systemic racism historically at play in the city. 

Swensson speaks with KEXP DJ Kevin Cole about the overlooked bands and artists who shaped the city’s sound, the Highway Act that split largely-Black neighborhoods in Minneapolis and how Black artists, bands and venues were scrutinized by police and the local music industry. Swensson says Black artists told her they had to form racially integrated bands with white musicians as a form of survival.

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Sound & Vision is launching a new mini-series called Apparently where two new mothers, KEXP DJ Evie Stokes and KEXP Drive Time Producer Rachel Stevens introduce us to folks who are juggling being musicians and parents.

Today we hear from Grace Love about her journey of becoming a solo artist and a single mother at the same time. 

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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. This time, Afternoon Show Intern Syd Gladu joins Sound & Vision producer Roddy Nikpour, offering three songs that deal with emotion in very different ways.

Songs featured in this episode:

• “Mercury” by Steve Lacy
• “Sardines” by Audrey Nuna and Deb Never
• “Problem With It” by Plains

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Our occasional series Day Job highlights musicians who work a day job to be able to pursue their passion of music. This episode took Rachel Stevens to Pike Place Fish Market to talk with shipping manager Hillary Branyik, who is also a singer-songwriter under the name Branik. 

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Larry Mizell, Jr. talks with writer Donald Morrison about his investigation into the unsolved murder of rapper Mac Dre.

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Indoor theaters and music venues opened back up in England on August 15th with social distance rules in place. Founder of Music Venues Trust, Mark Davyd, talks about what these reopenings will look like. 

“Venues are operating at roughly 30% capacity. Everybody has to be seated. Drinks are only brought to the table. There are massive additional costs in meeting the health and safety demands of managing the virus. And frankly the kind of music you can program is also very limited. We’re not going to see any hardcore punk gigs. It’s going to be a lot of folk and jazz and singer/songwriters with acoustic guitars,” Davyd says.  

Davyd adds that operating at 30% capacity will not be a financial benefit to music venues. He estimates that 93% of England’s music venues are still under threat of permanent closure because of COVID-19.  

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Atlanta rapper, actor and activist Killer Mike released a new solo single called “Run” this week. It’s Killer Mike’s first solo release in a decade and his first music not produced by El-P, his partner in Run the Jewels, since 2011. The new song features Young Thug and an intro by Dave Chappelle. It’s also no coincidence that he released the song on the Fourth of July.

KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. speaks with Killer Mike about the continued struggle of being Black in America, and how it inspired his track “Run.”

Killer Mike says of the song, "it's relit a fire in me to make more records reflective of what I feel like is the Black experience in this country and beyond.”

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On this special Father’s Day episode of Apparently—Our series about music and parenthood. On this episode, rapper billy woods talks about fatherhood and his new chidren’s book with M. Musgrove – A Is For Anarchist. Dusty Henry chats with the prolific rapper about the lessons he learned from his academic and revolutionary parents, parenting while touring, and his latest album, ‘Maps,’ with Kenny Segal.  

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Seattle’s Prom Queen is releasing a Britney Spears covers EP on July 30th that will benefit the National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse. Emily Fox caught up with Prom Queen’s Leeni Ramadan to talk about the EP and the latest on Britney Spears’ 13-year conservatorship controlled by her father– whom she’s trying to remove from the post. 

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Karla Chubb of the Irish garage-punk band SPRINTS talks with Emily Fox about the band's debut album, 'Letter To Self.' They discuss the inspiration behind some of the songs, including campaigning to end the abortion ban in Ireland, Catholic guilt and being queer, and the unfair standards women are held to in music. Karla also talks about her recent ADHD diagnosis and why girls and women are under-diagnosed.

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Artificial Intelligence is making its way into the music industry — not just through production tools, but also on streaming platforms like Spotify. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour tells us the story of a former Seattle band that was listed as a collaborator on an album they didn’t write. They claim it was A.I.-generated.

Read the story here: https://www.kexp.org/read/2024/11/27/ai-generated-music-is-siphoning-streams-from-artists-in-seattle-and-beyond/

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Emmy the Great talks about splitting her childhood between China and the UK and how she felt conflicted with her biracial identity. She was seen as white when living in China and "threw away" her Cantonese language when she was living in England.  

“I just sort of grew up code switching, as a natural way of being,” She says. “And as I get older I don’t want to always compartmentalize everything.” 

Celine Teo-Blockey reports on how music and motherhood is helping Emmy The Great embrace both sides of her heritage.

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Aoife O’Donovan of the bluegrass bands Crooked Still and I’m With Her released a solo album this year about the suffrage movement. To honor the 104th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the U.S., Emily Fox caught up with O’Donovan to get a history lesson on the movement and discuss where we’ve come and the work that still needs to be done.

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Laura Veirs calls her latest album, 'My Echo,' her “my songs knew I was getting divorced before I did" album. Her now ex-husband, Tucker Martine, was her producer of 20 years and produced the record.

Veirs talks about how artist couples handle parenting, going through a divorce, her renewed sense of self and juggling music and motherhood during a pandemic.

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Femi and Made Kuti are the descendants of Fela Kuti—the pioneer of Afrobeat. They are carrying on the family tradition and have put out a double album together as father and son. They talk about their work, their family's music legacy and the issues of corruption and historical impacts of colonialism still felt in their home of Nigeria today. 

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Nissim Black (formerly D. Black) talks about growing up in Seattle amidst crime and drugs. He describes how his music and his life have changed since converting to Judaism and moving to Jerusalem. This week’s edition of "Northwest Classics" profiles the debut album of Tacoma-based band, The Sonics. Music writer Charles R. Cross explains how the band influenced the sound of punk and grunge decades before the genres had names.

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Description: Emily Fox and KEXP DJ Troy Nelson break down KEXP’s top played songs of the summer. They are:  

• “The Narcissist” by Blur 
• “I’ve Been In Love” by Jungle 
• “Crescent Blade” by Budos Band 
• “Tiny Garden” by Jamila Woods 
• “Odyssey” by Beck & Phoenix  

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Vancouver, B.C.-based band Destroyer released their 13th album, “Labyrinthitis,” on March 25. Since their first album nearly 30 years ago, the band’s sound has evolved from experimental folk to pulsing disco. Sound & Vision’s assistant producer Roddy Nikpour spoke with frontman Dan Bejar about Destroyer’s new album, their upcoming tour, and what keeps him inspired. 

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Since iconic rap duo Outkast went on hiatus in 2006, fans have been clamoring for a solo album from Andre 3000. Now, 17 years later, he’s finally delivered with a new record called New Blue Sun… only, instead of rapping he’s playing the flute.

KEXP’s Dusty Henry shares his reflections on why the album is one of his favorites of 2023 and how Andre 3000’s direction into ambient/New Age music might be the calming salve we need for our current times.

What’s your favorite album of the year? KEXP is asking listeners to vote for their favorite records in our Best of 2023 countdown. Vote now at KEXP.org and tune in December 15th to hear what albums made the list.

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After being part of the bands Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn is out with a new solo record called 'The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows.' Damon Albarn talks about how the project was originally intended as an orchestral piece inspired by the landscapes of Iceland. 

“I’ve been staring out of my window at this amazing landscape for years and years and years in Iceland and [thought] it would be amazing if I could get like-minded orchestral musicians to sit there with me and play the landscape. Play the movement of the clouds and the transference of rain into snow and the birds and the sea and the ravens flying outside,” Albarn says.

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The Melbourne-based band Hiatus Kaiyote have found a passionate global following for their sound, a futurist vision of proggy fusion jazz-funk. Their latest album, 'Mood Valiant,’ was released this summer and includes contributions from the legendary Brazilian artist Arthur Verocai. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with the band's bassist Paul Bender about pushing their creative boundaries and refusing to compromise their vision for commercial appeal.

“I don't think there's ever going to be a moment that Hiatus truly breaks out into the true mainstream because we just pretty much always throw in something that's going to make that not happen musically,” Bender says. He describes the band’s sound as “between being kind of catchy and likable and a bit obscure.”

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London-based TV Priest recently released their debut record, 'Uppers,' through Sub Pop. Vocalist Charlie Drinkwater discusses the album's reflections on social media, misinformation, pandemics, gentrification and fatherhood.

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The instrumental group Explosions in the Sky released their eighth studio album, titled 'End,' on September 15th. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour speaks with drummer Chris Hrasky about how this isn’t in fact “the end” for the band. They also discuss inspiration behind the new album and how four friends with fairly average lives strive to create music that hits you right in the gut.

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Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon talks about how rediscovering home videos inspired his latest album, Rarely Do I Dream. He also discusses songwriting, meditation, and about a health crisis that gave him new life.

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Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard talks about his new side project, Painted Shield, with singer/songwriter Mason Jennings. Gossard elaborates on the fruitful collaboration and dives into the background of some songs from their eponymous debut. He also discusses how the relaunch of his label, Loosegroove Records, happened in part in response to the death of former band member, Shawn Smith.

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During the pandemic, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, along with drummer Tom Skinner of Sons of Kemet, formed The Smile. The group recently stopped by the KEXP studios for a live performance that can be viewed in full on KEXP's YouTube channel.

On this episode, KEXP DJ Morgan Chosnyk and KEXP’s Video Manager Jim Beckmann take us behind the scenes of the session and discuss The Smile's debut album. Then, the Seattle-based New York Times Bestselling writer, Ijeoma Oluo, shares a personal essay reflecting on the idea of change, inspired by attending The Smile's KEXP performance.

Watch the full session with The Smile here.

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Thundercat’s latest album, 'It Is What It Is,' touches on the loss of rapper and producer Mac Miller who died from a drug overdose in 2018. The album also showcases Thundercat’s profound sense of humor, an underrated feature throughout much of his music. Thundercat discusses the new record and how music and humor can be healing in times of adversity.

Read the full interview on KEXP.org

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Malina Moye is one of Fender's first Black left-handed, upside-down guitar playing female endorsees. Her album, 'Bad As I Want to Be,' was number one for two weeks straight on the Billboard Blues Chart in 2018.

KEXP DJ and musician Eva Walker speaks with Moye about her rise to success and her inspiration along the way. 

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Shawna Potter is the singer of a hardcore, feminist punk band called War on Women. Last year she released a book called Making Spaces Safer: A Guide to Giving Harassment the Boot Wherever You Work, Play, and Gather. She discusses what a safe music venue should look like, how staff should be trained, and how patrons can respond to harassment.  

We also hear from Sadie Dupuis of the bands Speedy Ortiz and Sad13 about putting Potter’s book into practice while on tour. She also talks about her hotline she created for fans to use if they are feeling unsafe at a show.  

“We set up a phone number you could text if you were experiencing harassment at a show and it would forward to every member of our touring party and the hope is we could get someone to safety,” Dupuis says.  

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Rufus Wainwright was scheduled to release a new album on April 24th, but because of COVID-19, that album release has been moved to July. Part of the reason for the delay is that physical copies of the album couldn’t be pushed out in time. “All the hard copies, the vinyl and the CDs are all locked up in a warehouse,” Wainwright says. He also talks about his recent “Robe Recitals,” or “Quarantunes," where he performs songs from his repertoire for fans online daily, and how he fuses pop, classical, opera and musical theater into his music.

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Hatchie talks about the themes of shame and self-acceptance on her latest record, 'Giving The World Away,' and how she worked a day job during COVID to save up to tour so she could pay her band and crew.

“I really wanted this record to be as big as possible on tour so I wanted to add extra members to the lineup and I wanted to have our own soundperson and have a lighting show so that meant that I had to make some personal sacrifices and had to go back to work part-time so I could balance that and budget for it so that I can save up and not have to pay myself on tour, whereas I have to pay a band,” Hatchie says.

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A legal battle over the name "Lady A" has brought up questions around white privilege and racism in the music industry. Amid global protests against police brutality and systemic racism, the country group Lady Antebellum said they would change their name to Lady A. That’s because the word Antebellum, which in Latin translates to “before the war,’ is associated with the US Civil War and the Confederacy. However, there’s already a Lady A. She’s a Black blues singer based in Seattle who’s gone by the name Lady A for more than 20 years. Lady Antebellum, an all-white band is now suing Seattle’s Lady A for the trademark over the name.

Seattle’s Lady A says that since the rebranding of Lady Antebellum to Lady A, her music has become buried on social media and music streaming sites. But she says her fight over her stage name isn’t just about music, it’s about the significance of a name from a historical perspective. She says white people have been taking from Black and Indigenous people for centuries, including their names. “When we came to this country, they [white people] took our names from us and gave us their names,” Lady A says. “This is about every Black, Indigenous person of this land and person of color who has had something taken from them– their land, their artistry, their culture, their language and their name.”

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Mike Hadreas of Perfume Genius talks with Emily Fox about how his inner fears, struggles with mental health, paranoid fantasies and reflections on gay lust and love show up on his latest album, Glory.

“I think I was just really afraid and I felt really tender and mortal and the world felt really fragile and scary and I couldn't figure out how to move through it very well,” Hadreas says speaking writing through depression. "And I didn't really know how to hold all of these things that I was feeling and move towards getting out of my head. I was just kind of stuck.”

Photo by Cody Critcheloe

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Josiah Johnson released his first solo album on September 4th. This comes five years after he was kicked out of Head and the Heart for his struggles with addiction. They were in the middle of recording 'Signs of Light' and Johnson wasn’t showing up to the studio or answering his phone. 

“They were like, we love you. Go figure your stuff out. We need to focus. We can’t worry whether or not you are alive,” Johnson explains.

After some soul searching, Johnson has found healing in music. He discusses his journey through recovery in his latest album, 'Every Feeling On A Loop.'

Parts of this interview originally aired on the February 4th episode of the Sound & Vision podcast.

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The south has played a big part in the music of South Carolina-raised, Adia Victoria. The south is very present in her latest album, 'A Southern Gothic.' Adia Victoria talks about the record and how it reimagines the south’s whitewashed history. 

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It has been 25 years since the one-hit wonder White Town released the album that contained the hit, "Your Woman." The man behind White Town, Jyoti Mishra, breaks down how the song came together and why he wrote a song from a woman’s perspective. He discusses the bullying and racism he faced growing up in “white towns” in the UK after his family moved from India, his struggles with mental health, and the power of music in his life. He also explains how he pulled his single in the US when it was climbing the charts because he was not ready for the fame.

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We explore the stories of three musicians who work day jobs to supplement their work as artists. First is Lesli Wood, who fronts the band Skates! As a lawyer by day, she used to have to hide her tattoos and neon hair in court in order to be taken seriously. Then, we meet Mark Arm of the iconic Seattle grunge band, Mudhoney. His day job is stuffing records and managing the warehouse for the record label his band is on, Sub Pop. Lastly, we talk to Geo. He’s best known for his Seattle hip-hop group, Blue Scholars, but his main job now is running two acclaimed café/bars in Seattle called “Hood Famous."

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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art. 

On this episode, Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave discusses her new book, ‘Seeing Sideways: A Memoir of Music and Motherhood.' She talks with KEXP's Rachel Stevens about touring with four boys and navigating an industry she hates in order to do what she loves. 

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BEYONCÉ. That’s the description. Rachel Stevens talks about the buzz behind the new Beyoncé album 'Renaissance' with fellow fans from the BeyHive: KEXP Afternoon Show Host Larry Mizell Jr., Stas Thee Boss, and KUOW Arts and Culture Reporter Mike Davis. 

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Phil Elverum (Mount Eerie, the Microphones) wrote two albums following the death of his wife, Geneviève Castrée. Castrée was a musician, illustrator and cartoonist who was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer four months after giving birth to her first child. She passed away the following year. This week, Elverum discusses the odd enhanced recognition he got from his albums that were written about death. KEXP DJ Kevin Cole talks with an old friend, former radio station program director and musician Jay Mathews about how he used music to cope with his terminal cancer diagnosis. KEXP DJ Cheryl Waters talks about her ongoing recovery from tongue cancer. Listeners share their personal stories of music and cancer.

Read the full interview with Phil Elverum

Read KEXP's piece about the life and works of Geneviève Castrée

Read Kevin Cole's interview with Jay Mathews

Thoughts on what you love about this podcast, or how it could be better? We’d love to hear from you! Submit your feedback to soundandvision@kexp.org.

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This month marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Joy Division frontman, Ian Curtis. In just two years, Joy Division recorded three albums worth of material and performed 120 shows. Curtis tragically died by suicide at the age of 23, the night before Joy Division's U.S. tour, leaving behind a wife and a child. Curtis had struggled with epilepsy and depression. KEXP DJ Kevin Cole says Joy Division pioneered the post punk genre. In today’s episode, he discusses Joy Division’s legacy with Jon Savage, author of “This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else: Joy Division: The Oral History.”

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Living Singles is the series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. This episode features, KEXP’s Digital Content Manager. He admits to usually covering “super serious” music for KEXP, but he chose one song for Living Singles that’s playful and fun.

Songs featured in this episode: 

• “Thousand Knives” by Thundercat (Ryuichi Sakamoto cover)
• “Stop Worry!” by MIKE ft. Sister Nancy 
• “Pop Star” by Coco & Clair Clair

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Total F*cking Godhead: The Biography of Chris Cornell is out today. Author Corbin Reiff discusses the stories behind the music of the vocalist of Soundgarden, Audioslave, and Temple of the Dog.  

“Jeff Ament [of Pearl Jam] has once said that [Chris Cornell] is the best songwriter to come out of Seattle since Jimi Hendrix and that’s probably what I would go with his legacy as,” Reiff says. “He was just an immense talent. He had a lot of god given ability with his voice but he also had a lot of determination to become a great songwriter and he really pushed himself to do that, whatever it took to learn new skills, new tunings, new recording techniques. He was endlessly curious about that sort of thing. He might have been born with a lot of gifts but he really maximized them to the greatest ability.” 

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Allen Stone is a soul singer and an actual son of a preacher. He started his music career in Seattle, but now with a wife and child in tow, he’s re-located to eastern Washington. His latest record, 'Building Balance,' was written in his family cabin in his tiny, one-stoplight hometown of Chewelah. KEXP caught up with Stone to talk about his karaoke music tour, having to cancel his album tour on his birthday due to COVID-19, how some of his songs have new meaning while under social isolation, and how he was, indeed, able to find balance through making his latest record.  

“This whole record, Building Balance is really my journey towards center,” Stone says. “I went through several years of my life, growing up in the church and my ideology and world view had been kind of formed through that scope, and then I completely rebelled against that and left the church and was dancing with the devil for many years. Through the process of this record and the evolution of becoming a father and a husband and really an adult, I’ve managed to cultivate my own garden and find my own recipe to that life salad.”

Watch Allen Stone perform Live on KEXP

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The indie-pop trio MUNA talks about being an openly queer band since they started in 2014, and why they believe the conversation should go beyond “Representation.” They also discuss the transition from a major record label, RCA, to Phoebe Bridgers’ indie label, Saddest Factory Records. 

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Maren Morris talks about themes of motherhood and the death of her longtime friend and producer, Michael Busbee on her new record, 'Humble Quest.' She also discusses her crossover sound and the need for more diversity in country music.

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Nat Puff, known by the stage name Left At London has released her first full length album. This comes three years after her self-titled EP and the Transgender Street Legend Volume 1 and Volume 2 EPs. This new full-length album is an exploration of Left at London’s mental health. The music weaves between acoustic indie folk to pop, punk, rock, hip hop and electronica, sometimes all within one song—the switches seem to indicate different moods or mental states.

“There are some days when you are angry in a way that you can’t describe and there are some days when you’re absolutely defeated in a way you can’t describe. Then there’s manic episodes, there’s dissociative episodes, all these sorts of things I feel are unintentionally represented in the genre switches,” Puff says. “Each track represents a different part of my mental state—from suicidal ideations, to hope and healing."

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For more than a month, Iran has been experiencing another revolution of sorts. The death of a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa "Jina" Amini has sparked mass protests and one song has become a rallying cry across the world. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour talks about what “Baraye” by Shervin Hajipour means to him, his family, and a country.

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The Seattle area’s Vashon Island is home to a surprising number of creatives, including a few famous musicians, like Zola Jesus and Chris Ballew of The Presidents of The United States of America. Drew Pine reports on what it is about the island that attracts the creative type.

Read the story here.

(This story originally aired as part of the December 10, 2019 episode)

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The Gits were an early 90s Seattle band. Seattle’s Sub Pop records has recently launched a campaign to rerelease remastered versions of The Gits’ catalogue. So much of the band’s story has been wrapped around the 1993 rape and murder of The Gits frontwoman Mia Zapata. In a conversation at KEXP’s Gathering Space, Emily Fox speaks with The Gits guitarist Andy Kessler and bassist Matt Dresdner about the band’s story, legacy and the life of Mia.

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Charley Pride was the first Black country music singer to sign to a major record label (RCA) back in 1965. He went on to have 30 number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country chart and sold more than 70 million records.

Emily Fox talks with Nashville Historian David Ewing about Charley Pride. They discuss Charley Pride’s baseball career, how he landed a demo and record deal after giving up on baseball, his struggles with mental health and racism, and his legacy in country music.

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Mix & Match is a mini series where we meet up with an artist and try to “mix” an adult beverage and “match” it with an artist. Today, KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson catches up with Deep Sea Diver’s Jessica Dobson over a drink. They talk about music and Jessica’s journey of meeting her birth parents.  

Deep Ahumada Recipe 

In a stirring vessel combine: 

- 2oz mezcal 

- .5 spiced simple 

- 3 dashes aztec chocolate bitters 

- Add ice, stir, and strain into a bucket with fresh ice 

- Garnish with orange peel and cinnamon stick 

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I Self Devine is a musician and community organizer from Minneapolis. In 2018 he released a collaborative album called 'Dismembered & Unarmed,’ meant to accompany the book, ‘My Grandmother’s Hands,’ by therapist and trauma specialist Resmaa Menakem. The book and music explore how white supremacy and racism affect Black bodies.

“He would tell me things like race very rarely stays in the body. And I just couldn't grasp that concept,” I Self Devine says of Menakem. “He's like, a lot of times we talk about race just from a historical or from a policy place, but not how it lives in the body.”

I Self Devine discusses 'Dismembered & Unarmed' as well as his philosophies around community organizing, learning and building off past movements, and doing the internal work.

“When it's time for me to transition into the spirit world, I want to be very light, meaning that I've handled all of my issues and I've done my work. What do they say? ‘What happened to you wasn’t your fault, but how you handle it is.’ I have a responsibility to ensure that as an organizer, I'm not a caricature of myself or of what it is that we're doing. I’m grounded in my teachings.”

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Everything But The Girl is known for their hit “Missing” from the 90s (“like the deserts miss the rain. . . ”) The duo made up of Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt is back with their first album in 24 years. They talk about making choices that were best for them instead of chasing fame or money, including taking a long hiatus shortly after turning down a stadium tour with U2 in the 90s. 

“We had a feeling that our status as a band got about as big as we were comfortable with it being. Even our own gigs had got bigger. And in some respects, we felt something was lost as well as gained,” Tracey Thorn explains.  

During Everything But The Girl’s long hiatus, Thorn and Watt got married, Thorn spent years being a stay at home Mom, she’s written multiple autobiographical books, published columns and put out some solo records. Watt has worked as a DJ, producer, club owner and runs his own record label. 

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The War On Drugs released a new album at the end of October, titled 'I Don't Live Here Anymore.' KEXP’s Janice Headley spoke with the band’s frontman, Adam Granduciel, about the record's optimism despite being mostly written during a pandemic. They also discuss how his creativity has been influenced by being a new dad.

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Feb 29 is Music Heals: Mental Health at KEXP, where all day the station reads stories and plays listener requests of the songs that helped them through their mental health struggles. In honor of Music Heals: Mental Health, we revisit a conversation from 2021 that was originally part of the mini-series, Apparently, focusing on the intersections of parenting and art.

On this episode, Ella Vos talks with Rachel Stevens about how getting pregnant inspired her to become a solo artist and how her popular song, "White Noise," was about her struggles with postpartum depression and the loneliness of being a new mom.

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OMBIIGIZI is a collaboration between Daniel Monkman (of the band Zoon) and Adam Sturgeon (of the band Status/Non-Status). They are Anishinaabe artists who explore their cultural histories through sound.

Kevin Sur, co-host of KEXP's Sounds of Survivance, talks with OMBIIGIZI about their new album, 'SHAME,' which explores Indigenous shame and healing, and how they tap into ancestral traditions through music. We also get a history lesson on how Native American musicians helped form the genre of rock.

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The Union of Musicians and Allied Workers has published an open letter calling for higher pay for artists performing at SXSW. The letter says that over the past 10 years, showcasing artists have been paid either $250 dollars for a band, $100 dollars for solo artists, or get a free wristband for the festival. Letter organizer René Kladzyk (artist name: Ziemba) talks about the list of demands. Alaia D’Alessandro of the Seattle band Tres Leches talks about the prevalence of getting paid $250 at festivals, so much so, her band wrote a song about it called, “Two-Fifty.”  

Meanwhile, two types of Visas that international artists use to perform in the US could cost around 250% more under a proposal from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Rosalyn Dennett, Executive Director of Folk Music Ontario, and Liana White, Executive Director of the Canadian Federation of Musicians talk about how these proposed changes could impact foreign musicians and U.S.-based venues.  

A link for public comment: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/04/2022-27066/us-citizenship-and-immigration-services-fee-schedule-and-changes-to-certain-other-immigration#open-comment 

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It’s now been seven months since music venues have been able to hold shows. Steven Severin of the Seattle venue, Neumos, talks about the efforts to rally for federal and state aid as well as the recent #KeepMusicLiveWA fundraising campaign to save independent music venues.

“If we don't get some type of funding, and soon, the venues are going to go away and they're not coming back,” Severin says.

Sound & Vision also hears from folks who worked in live music before the pandemic hit and have had to find jobs in different industries altogether—from wine to welding. For some, the switch is for good.

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James Bookert used to tour with a well-known bluegrass punk band, Whiskey Shivers (they even made an appearance in the movie Pitch Perfect 3.) After burnout and a battle with seizures, Bookert is making new music and community at his day job at a local liquor store.

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We share stories of loss and how music can help us heal and process our grief. We’ll hear stories from listeners, musicians and John and Amy Richards.

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Reports of violence against Asian Americans have increased dramatically since the start of the pandemic, by nearly 150 percent in 2020 compared to the year before. Then 2021 saw a mass shooting in Atlanta that killed eight people, including six Asian Americans. The rise in media coverage about racism towards Asian American communities has ignited a conversation about how we, as a country, view Asian Americans.

Grace Madigan reports on how Asian American musicians have been impacted and responded through their music.

Resources:

• https://www.advancingjustice-aajc.org/
• https://18millionrising.org/
• https://stopaapihate.org/

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Sylvan Esso’s fourth studio album, 'No Rules Sandy,' is out now. Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn talk to Rachel Stevens about how marriage is trash for women, Richard Swift is good for the heart, and trusting the process can result in some of your favorite art.

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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. On this episode, Digital Content Producer Janice Headley gets deep with some amazing, some emotional, and some amazingly emotional music with host Rachel Stevens.

Songs featured in this episode:

• “Uncertainty and the Unknown” by Briana Marela
• “Don’t Lie” by Ty Segall (covering The Mantles)
• “Broke Down” by Sleepyhead

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Sound & Vision's mini-series, Behind the Console, highlights the stories of women and nonbinary audio engineers who are navigating what is still a very male-dominated field. 

Today we meet Susan Rogers, who engineered for Prince for four years, working on albums like Purple Rain and Sign o' the Times. She also has credits with David Byrne, Tricky, and the Barenaked Ladies. She talks about what it was like keeping up with Prince's tireless creativity, and how it could be both exhausting and exhilarating. She also discusses eventually leaving engineering in her 40s to get her PhD in Music Cognition and Psychoacoustics, and how that has influenced her work in unexpected ways.

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One month ago, a large amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port of Beirut exploded, causing at least 181 deaths and leaving an estimated 300,000 people homeless. Among those whose homes were destroyed were all members of the band Postcards. One band member was also injured from the impact of the explosion.

KEXP's Owen Murphy catches up with Postcard's lead singer and co-songwriter Julia Sabra to discuss what happened that day. She also shares her perspective on the ongoing civil protests in Lebanon, why it's important not to normalize tragedy, and how the band is taking action to support local musicians.

Where to donate:

• Beirut Musicians' Fund
• Impact Lebanon Relief
• Lebanese Red Cross
• Lebanese Food Bank
• Domestic Workers Fund

Learn more about Postcards' "Fossilized" in KEXP's Song of the Day feature

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On November 1st, Germany announced that they would be in partial lockdown for the month of November. That meant bars, clubs and cinemas could not host any guests. This came one day after a study was published that found that if indoor music and sporting venues followed good ventilation and social distancing measures, chances of virus transmission would be low.

Dr. Michael Gekle is part of the team at Martin Luther University Halle Wittenberg who conducted the study. He discusses the findings of the research and what venues will have to keep in mind in the future to prevent the spread of the virus.

Further reading:

• Study: "The Risk of Indoor Sports and Culture Events for the Transmission of COVID-19" 
• "Music Venues Reopen in England" from Sound & Vision

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Minnesota’s Tall Paul recently released an album that chronicles the story of the Native American athlete, Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was an Olympic gold medalist in track & field, a pro football and college football hall of famer, a professional baseball player, and so much more.

Tall Paul talks with Emily Fox about his album, 'The Story of Jim Thorpe.' He also shares his views on the importance of role models, current challenges to tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and how foster care can be like modern day boarding school.

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The Grammy Awards, as well as Republic Records, have announced they will no longer use the term “urban” in their award categories and music departments. Writer Jeremy Helligar discusses this welcome shift in language as a first step. He wrote a column in Variety titled, Down with Urban: It’s Time to Stop Categorizing Music by Race.

“How does ‘urban' equal Black?” Helligar says. “I think [the word] has been most harmful because it’s really corporate segregation. It’s putting Blacks in one box and Whites in another.”

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KEXP staff share their favorite music of 2021.

Dig deeper with these personal essays from KEXP staff.

Check out this collection of KEXP DJs' top ten lists.

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The coauthor of Bloomberg’s story, “K-Pop’s Dark Side: Assault, Prostitution, Suicide and Spycams” talks about how the K-Pop music industry functions and how it’s been riddled with controversies this year. We learn how a suburban dad became an indie pop star overnight under the name SYML, and what that name means to him. Madame Gandhi talks about misogyny in pop culture and why it’s important to value feminine energy in leadership. We explore why Vashon Island off the coast of Seattle is home to so many big name musicians.

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Seattle's Duff McKagan is best known for being the bassist of Guns N' Roses. He’s now out with his third solo album, 'Lighthouse.'

Emily Fox speaks with McKagan about the new record and how his sensei and martial arts practice inspired one of his new songs. He also shares his story of addiction, recovery, and his struggles with panic attacks.

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Fabi Reyna is a Portland-based guitarist and songwriter and is also the founder of She Shreds Media, which is dedicated to empowering women and non-binary guitarists and bassists. Reyna is now out with a new album under her artist name, Reyna Tropical. The album is called 'Malegria.'

KEXP’s Albina Cabrera caught up with Reyna to learn more about the inspiration behind the album, how it explores the Latinx diaspora and identity, and about Reyna’s musical partner, Nectali "Sumohair" Díaz, who passed away during the making of the album.

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Overnight Afrobeats DJ Lace Cadence talks to Rachel Stevens about discovering his African roots later in life and why Burna Boy’s latest album is his best work yet.

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Mix & Match is our miniseries where KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson combines her reporting skills with her bartending skills to craft a cocktail for an artist based on their sound and their story. This week she makes a drink for local band, Racoma. They released their sophomore record, 'Good a Place As Any,' last October. 

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Vagabon released her third album, 'Sorry I Haven’t Called,' on September 15th. It’s her most upbeat, produced, and poppy album to date. It was written following the passing of Vagabon’s dear friend and collaborator, Eric Littmann. Vagabon talks with Emily Fox about Eric Littman’s impact on her, making upbeat music through grief, and retreating to Germany for a mental reset while she made this album. 

“I felt tremendous guilt about the music that was coming out of me in this time. I fully thought I would make a somber record. I had all these things that I wanted to say but it turned out I didn’t want to say those things on songs. I was having those conversations in my life . . . and so the music I was making ended up being kind of opposite from the grief I was living in. It really was a form of escapism for me and an honor to Eric’s life because he lived so vibrantly,” Vagabon says.  

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It’s Living Singles! Where a KEXP staff member shares three of their favorite songs right now. In this special Aquí y Ahora edition, we get a sneak peek of what it’s like to be on the KEXP video team and watch live music so up close and personal. Mere hours before KEXP’s video producer Alaia D’Alessandro got on a plane, she sat down with Rachel Stevens to talk about which artists she was most excited to film at KEXP Live from Argentina.

Songs featured in this episode:

• “Almacén de Datos” by Sara Hebe
• “Esther” by Blanco Teta
• “Cara de Mapa” by Atrás Hay Truenos

Look out for videos from all the Live from Argentina sessions on KEXP’s YouTube channel

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Palestine Amplified is a four-part series exploring the Palestinian struggle through music. In this episode, we share some of the ways music is used as a tool of liberation, whether as code to pass messages, in documenting people's stories, or as a vessel for collective memory and healing.

Voices featured in this episode:

• Selma Al-Aswad
• Tory J
• Kevin Sur
• Sabrene Odeh
• Huda Asfour
• Gabriel Teodros
• Wendy Elisheva Somerson

Explore music from the episode on KEXP's Spotify page.

The live version of "Ya Taleen al-Jabal" heard at the beginning of the episode is performed by Emel Mathlouthi.

Palestine Amplified was written, produced, and hosted by Isabel Khalili, with editing support from Roddy Nikpour, Dusty Henry and Larry Mizell Jr. Audio was mixed by Roddy Nikpour, who also contributed original music. 

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Emily Fox and Larry Mizell Jr. break down the top three most played albums on KEXP this year, as well as listeners' top three albums of 2021.

Top Played Albums on KEXP in 2021:  

1. Jungle - Loving In Stereo
2. Little Simz - Sometimes I Might Be Introvert
3. Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams

KEXP Listeners' Top Albums of 2021: 

1. Japanese Breakfast - Jubilee 
2. Arlo Parks - Collapsed in Sunbeams 
3. IDLES - Crawler 

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Many Seattle-area venues say they can only muster 8-9 weeks of being closed amid coronavirus until they have to shut down permanently. Washington State’s governor has extended shelter in place orders until at least May 4, which will put local venues at about the eight week mark. Even if venues can open on May 4, they won’t have performances ready. Venues often have to book performances months in advance and many musicians have cancelled their tours completely for 2020. Members of the newly formed Washington Nightlife and Music Association talk about the current state of music venues and the five steps that need to happen in order for them to survive. Plus we hear from listeners about the songs that make them hopeful.

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As we wrap up the year, we highlight our interviews with some of the artists who have topped the KEXP charts in 2024. The top played songs on KEXP in 2024 were:

1. "Starburster" by Fontaines D.C.
2. "Like I Say (I runaway)" by Nilüfer Yanya
3. "My Fun" by Suki Waterhouse
4. "Favourite" by Fontaines D.C.
5. "Sepricon" by Brittany Davis

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A Prince album recorded in 2010 called “Welcome 2 America” was recently released. KEXP DJ and resident Prince expert, DJ Kevin Cole talks about the ethics of releasing an album following an artist’s death and discusses the themes on the record.  

“What struck me about listening to Welcome 2 America, here’s an album that Prince recorded 12 years ago, it’s been in the vault since then and the themes that he addressed are as relevant and as important as they were when he recorded it 12 years ago. In fact, some of it is eerily foreshadowing a lot of what went down last year in 2020-- the political division, the use of the internet and social media for disinformation, sexism and racism. That blew me away, how relevant it is now,” Cole says.  

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Cat Power produced and released her 11th studio album and third covers album on January 14th. The cover songs span decades and genres, from old school country and Billie Holiday, to Nick Cave and Bob Seger, to contemporary artists like Lana Del Rey and Frank Ocean.

Chan Marshall of Cat Power spoke with Emily Fox about the record, overcoming her struggles with mental health, and how motherhood has grounded her and given her strength.

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The Arcs are out with a new record, 'Electrophonic Chronic.' It’s their first since their debut release in 2015. The band was formed by Black Keys guitarist and vocalist, Dan Auerbach. The late Richard Swift was also in the band.

The Arcs member and co-producer Leon Michels talks with Emily Fox about how the record was recorded while Swift was alive and how “the process of finishing the record helped me and Dan grieve his death.” 

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Sound & Vision’s mini-series, Apparently, explores the stories of musicians and performers who are juggling parenthood with their art.

On this episode, Seattle-area musician and visual artist, J’Von, talks about how becoming the father he never had comes up in his music.

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Erykah Badu will perform at Seattle’s WAMU Theater on Friday June 23rd. Seattle native, writer and interdisciplinary artist Mia Imani reflects on how the high priestess of neo soul has influenced her own artistry, spirituality and Blackness. 

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Natasha El-Sergany of the Seattle band somesurprises talks about the cosmic, political. and social inspirations behind their new album, 'Perseids.' She also discusses her journey coming to the US with immigrant parents, her day job as an immigration lawyer, and how all of this fuels her music.

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Seattle indie rock band Pedro the Lion gained a cult following in their early days, making Christian-adjacent music that saw lead singer David Bazan’s reckoning with his faith and politics. After putting the project on hiatus for more than a decade, Bazan returned to the Pedro name in 2018 with the announcement that he’d be recording a five-album series with each record dedicated to a place he lived. Recently, Pedro the Lion put out the third record in the series, 'Santa Cruz.'

Bazan talks with KEXP’s Dusty Henry about making the record, learning to “re-parent” himself, and what he’s learned about himself through the process of making these albums.

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Seattle had a thriving funk and soul scene in the 60s and 70s. There were dozens of bands and more than 20 venues specializing in the genres.

For today’s episode, Emily Fox talks with KEXP DJ Supreme La Rock about how he first discovered Seattle’s funk and soul scene while digging for records. His discoveries later turned into a compilation called 'Wheedle’s Groove,' released by Light in the Attic Records in 2004.

We also hear about the scene from drummer Robbie Hill of the Seattle funk bands Black on White Affair and Robbie Hill’s Family Affair, and why he turned down an opportunity to be signed to RCA records.

Watch the Wheedle's Groove documentary here

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-robbie-hill 

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Salt Cathedral is a New York via Bogota Colombia duo. Their song, "Terminal Woes," is the most played song on KEXP so far this year.

“This song came from that upsetness of thinking, we’re not taking care of our planet. As a woman in my 30s, thinking should I have children? Should we bring more children into this world because it’s a difficult world and it’s warming up and there’s no climate justice,” says Salt Cathedral’s Juliana Ronderos.

Ronderos, Salt Cathedral’s Nicolas Losada, and KEXP’s Emily Fox talk more about the future of children in the screen addiction era and how these themes are addressed in Salt Cathedral’s latest album, 'Before It’s Gone.'

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KEXP's Martin Douglas explores the here and now of Black punk culture, featuring a handful of notable Black punks to tell their own stories and inspirations. He also sheds light on the Black origins of punk music, the importance of DIY, and how the ethos of punk culture unites "outsiders" of all kinds.

Voices featured:

• Hanif Abdurraqib, author 
• James Spooner, filmmaker and graphic novelist
• Stephanie Phillips, singer and guitarist of Big Joanie 
• Osa Atoe, musician and creator of the Black punk fanzine Shotgun Seamstress

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Australia’s Gordi is out with a new album, ‘Our Two Skins.' It addresses her queer identity, something she didn't come to terms with until recently. Gordi was supposed to tour the album on a bill with Of Monsters and Men but the tour was cancelled due to COVID-19. Having just wrapped up her medical degree in January, Gordi says she’s on call to put her medical degree to work if COVID-19 cases in Australia start to spike.

Gordi also discusses how the Bandcamp proceeds from her song, “Unready," are going to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. Gordi said putting out music amid worldwide protests over the police murder of George Floyd and others “felt gross” and she felt she needed to do something to support Black lives, including those in Australia. “Australia’s biggest shame is the treatment of our first people by white people,” Gordi says.

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Bobby McFerrin is the renowned vocalist and Grammy award-winning songwriter behind “Don’t Worry Be Happy.” He’s not the only notable McFerrin who has made waves in the music industry, though. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with two of the McFerrins, Taylor and Madison, to learn more about their family history and how the siblings are continuing the McFerrin musical legacy.

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The First Nations electronic duo The Halluci Nation is out with the first part of a two-part EP inspired by wrestling. It's called 'Path of The Heel' and it features Damian Abraham of the Canadian hardcore band, Fucked Up.

Bear Witness and 2oolman of The Halluci Nation talk with Emily Fox about the wrestling storyline of the EP and how they go about incorporating powwow music into their electronic beats.

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