A Deeper Listen

SXSW recently increased payments to performers from $250 to $350 but performers still have to choose between getting paid or getting access to a free wristband to attend the festival. This change happened as SXSW expanded its global footprint and just put on SXSW Sydney. Contributor Celine Teo-Blockey went to the festival and spoke to artists on what they think is fair treatment and pay.    Hear m...

Heatmiser was a band co-lead by Elliott Smith and Neil Gust. It was a vital part of Portland’s early 90s punk scene. It was also the launching point for Smith’s prolific and influential solo career until his death in 2003. The band recently released a compilation record of early recordings called  The Music of Heatmiser . KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with the rest of the band’s original lineup to lear...

Sonic Youth member Thurston Moore has released a memoir called 'Sonic Life.' It is a chronicle of the singer/guitarist’s lifelong obsession with music and the relationships he’s made along the way. KEXP’s Martin Douglas speaks to Thurston about 'Sonic Life,' his interest in record collecting, and why he didn’t dive into his personal life in the book. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ S...

New York duo Armand Hammer returned with a new album last month called 'We Buy Diabetic Test Strips.' KEXP’s Dusty Henry caught up with the rappers and talked about searching for hope in a chaotic world, and the story behind their eye-catching album title.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jenn Champion is out with a new album. It’s called 'The Last Night of Sadness.' It’s so sad that a friend had told her to put an existential dread warning on the album after hearing the demos. The album has Champion writing about her own struggles with depression, addiction and losing loved ones to drugs and alcohol. In conversation with Emily Fox, Champion breaks down some songs on the album, sha...

A 23-foot-tall harp used to stand on a bluff on Bainbridge Island. It was played by the wind. Producer Sam J. Leeds talks with people who remember the harp and how it created community in the neighborhood.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/...

The Inuk artist Elisapie recently released a covers album sung in her native language of Inuktitut. The album includes covers of songs by Metallica, Fleetwood Mac, Cyndi Lauper, Queen, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and more. She chose each song for the personal memory it holds from her upbringing in a small village in northern Quebec. In an interview with Emily Fox, she shares some of those memories as...

Gregg Deal of Dead Pioneers talks with KEXP's Dusty Henry about growing up as the only native family in his Utah school, starting his first punk band in his 40s, and about the Dead Pioneers’ songs, "Bad Indian" and "We Were Punk First." Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jeremy Dutcher is a Polaris Prize and Juno Award-winning Wolastoqiyik artist from Canada. They speak with Emily Fox about their new album, 'Motewolonuwok,' the two spirit Cherokee poet who inspired some of the songs, the Indigenous issues addressed in the record, and language revitalization.   Listen to Jeremy Dutcher’s 2021 interview with Sound & Vision’s Emily Fox about their first album: ht...

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe is a Coast Salish writer and musician whose 2022 memoir recently won the Washington State Book Award. Her memoir is called ' Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk .' It travels across generations to tell a story of healing, weaving in narratives of Sasha’s ancestors with her own experiences growing up on the Swinomish reservation and getting involve...

No-No Boy released his album, 'Empire Electric,' on September 29th. His previous work was part of his PhD dissertation, with albums that looked at WWII Japanese incarceration camps, his mother’s Vietnamese family history, and his own racial identity. This latest album also explores Asian American history, family, and identity, but was not part of his degree. Julian Saporiti of No-No Boy talks with...

As part of KEXP’s Latinx Heritage month programming, Aqui y Ahora, KEXP’s Albina Cabrera shares five tracks from artists reshaping alternative Latin music right now.   Diego Raposo - EL UNDERGROUND (feat. mediopicky)   Verito Asprilla - Letras Millonarias   Terror Cactus/ Pahua - Ferrocarril（Rainsoft remix)   Amor Muere - Love Dies   Luzmila Carpio - Chakana Sagrada  Support the show: https://www...

BIGSOUND is Australia’s biggest, most established showcase for emerging local artists. Celine Teo-Blockey went to the event and shares a highlight reel of the music she saw. Miss Kaninna - Blak Britney  Kobie Dee - Basics  Porpoise Spit - People Like Me  The Empty Threats - Boys in the Gutter & Dear Sunshine  Dyan Tai - Ni Hao  Proteins of Magic - Divine Physics  Georgia Llewellyn - Like This ...

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. Support the show: https://...

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 albu...

Corinne Bailey Rae of “Put Your Records On” fame has released her fourth studio album, called 'Black Rainbows.' It was largely inspired by Theaster Gates' arts-focused restoration of The Stony Island Arts Bank, a former community savings and loan building in the south side of Chicago that has been transformed into what’s been described as a cathedral of Black art. On this episode, Corinne Bailey R...

After six years away, New York-based singer-songwriter Julie Byrne returns with a new album, 'The Greater Wings.' The time away represented a sea change in her life as well as an opportunity to explore new songs. During the recording of the album, Byrne’s creative partner Eric Littman passed away. Byrne finished the album, which she describes as a testament to the depth of chosen family. KEXP’s Du...

Genesis Owusu’s latest album “Struggler” has him genre shifting while telling a story of a cockroach which represents humanity. This comes after his debut album, “Smiling with No Teeth” explored issues of racism and depression through the characters of two black dogs. Genesis Owusu talks with Emily Fox about moving away from feeling like he can only make music as a form of therapy. He also talks a...

There’s a new book out looking at the history of Seattle and the Northwest music scene from the late 50s to mid-60s. It’s called Stomp and Shout—R&B and the Origins of Northwest Rock and Roll. Author Peter Blecha talks with Emily Fox about the book and Seattle’s music history.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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   Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Melvins are playing a 40-year anniversary show at The Showbox in Seattle on Friday September 1. Buzz Osborne of Melvins talks about the highlights of the band’s career, being an influence on Soundgarden, Mudhoney and Nirvana, and the songs that define the band.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a  short-lived but dramatic hockey residency , Seattle supergroup Who Is She (members of Chastity Belt, Tacocat, and Lisa Prank) return with their second album. ‘Goddess Energy’ finds the band penning odes to Shania Twain, Marianne Williamson, and Anne Hathaway. KEXP’s Dusty Henry talk with the band to learn more about what it means to have “too much goddess energy” and the group’s innovativ...

The Seattle band Brad released their final record following the death of singer Shawn Smith. Brad members Stone Gossard (also of Pearl Jam) and Regan Hager (also of Satchel and Malfunkshun) talk about Shawn’s legacy as a person and as a musician. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Shamir has released their 9th album, 'Homo Anxietatem.' Each of Shamir’s albums sound very different from one another, showcasing huge sonic and genre leaps and shifts. Shamir looks at each of their albums as “a scrapbook” that represents the sound of their mind state during that time. In this conversation, they walk us through the sonic character of their previous albums and how they came back to...