A Deeper Listen

Russian feminist protest band, activist and performance art group Pussy Riot has a new song out called "RAGE" that calls for the release of Russian political prisoners. Two of Pussy Riot’s members now face jail time after being involved in recent protests in Russia. The protests were in response to the recent arrest and jailing of Russian activist and opposition leader, Alexi Navalny. Pussy...

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 f...

After years of negotiations following the 2016 referendum for the UK to leave the EU, a deal over Brexit was finally hammered out just before the new year. We’re now one month into that deal and many questions remain. Isaac Kaplan-Woolner reports that with new borders, visas, work permits, and taxes, it looks like it will likely mean a lot of complications for UK bands trying to tour Eu...

Australian group The Avalanches released their third album, 'We Will Always Love You,' at the end of 2020, twenty years after their debut. The record takes listeners on a cosmic journey inspired by the Golden Voyager Record, a compilation of sounds, music and greetings from around our world that was sent into space in the late 70s. The album also features guest appearances from MGMT, Blood Orange,...

Matt and Rachel Wilson are ranchers and musicians by trade who live in the tiny town of Silver Lake in the high desert of rural Oregon. On a normal year, half of their income comes from performing live as a musical duo called Wampus Cat. Once COVID-19 hit, that income disappeared and their cupboards went dry. The Wilsons had to sell some horses to get by and work two hours from their home to make...

Entertainment attorney Dina LaPolt talks about her recent opinion piece in Variety titled, “Rap Lyrics Now Admissible in Court Evidence: A Dangerous Precedent.”  LaPolt says, “If all of a sudden every Black artist is afraid that everything that they rap about can be used against them if they were ever charged with a crime is very scary.” She adds that it’s been s...

Karli Ingersoll, co-owner of Spokane's Lucky You Lounge, and Cedric Walker, musician and board member of Keep Music Live, discuss the recent passage of the Save Our Stages Act and what it will mean for venues. At the center of their conversation is equity, and how the music community in Washington state plans to build the live music scene back better.  Joe Seamons of Black & Tan Hall talk...

Derrick “Vitamin D” Brown is a bonafide Seattle Legend: an MC, DJ, producer and engineer whose work has helped define the aesthetics and sensibilities of Seattle hip hop for over two decades. KEXP's Larry Mizell Jr. profiles Vitamin D’s story, how he bridged Seattle's funk and soul era with the beginnings of its rap scene ,  and eventually created the unmatched sound that pe...

In part two of our series on Seattle hip hop, Larry Mizell, Jr. interviews Dr. Daudi Abe about his new book, ‘Emerald Street: A History of Hip Hop In Seattle.’ Abe talks about how Seattle’s geographic isolation allowed hip hop artists to break the mold in their lyrical content, sound and more. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy i...

Seattle’s first rap group formed 40 years ago. They called themselves the Emerald Street Boys. As part of Sound & Vision’s mini-series on the history of hip hop in Seattle, we look back at the Emerald Street Boys' beginnings, their distinctive performance style, their lasting impact on hip hop, and where they are now. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com...

DJ and professor Davey D along with KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros discuss how consolidation and the Telecommunications Act of 1996 drove out small, independent and Black-owned radio stations. The resulting centralized playlists hid more independent and socially conscious hip hop artists from the mainstream eye. “It’s the same five artists over and over again. What do they talk about? Th...

As 2020 lurches towards a close, KEXP has been looking back at, and honoring, many of the music figures we lost in the last year. On Thursday, December 17th, KEXP DJs paid tribute all day long on the "People Who Died" show. But inevitably, there are more people to remember than there are hours in the day. Sound & Vision’s Isaac Kaplan-Woolner brings a segment exploring some of the lesser...

Emily Fox and Larry Mizell, Jr. discuss KEXP's top played album and top played songs from 2020. Plus, KEXP DJs talk about their personal favorite tracks of the year. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

2020 brought a national conversation around race in America. It’s a subject musician and KEXP Audioasis host Eva Walker has been talking about with her friend and fellow musician Rani Weatherby of the band Champagne Honeybee. Weatherby was adopted as a child from India by a white single mother who lived in the largely white Seattle suburb of Snohomish. Walker says this year’s conv...

Calexico released a Christmas album for 2020 called 'Seasonal Shift.' But rather than the typical holiday songs about good tidings and cheer, Calexico paints a more realistic picture of dysfunctional families, crying over a drink of Mezcal, and holiday meals ruined.  Vocalist and guitarist Joey Burns talks about the record and how it came together through collaborations with musicians from ar...

Bartees Cox Jr., AKA Bartees Strange, released his debut album this year, entitled 'Live Forever.' His sound traverses art-rock, emo, folk, R&B and even trap rap. Though many are surprised by the effortlessness with which Bartees Strange synthesizes these genres, to him it’s all at its root Black music, and as such, he wants more kids of color to see themselves on that same stage. &...

Iceland’s Sigur Rós recently released their first album in seven years, titled 'Odin’s Raven Magic.' It’s an orchestral album featuring a Paris-based orchestra and an Icelandic chamber choir. While you can hear glimmers of Sigur Rós’ signature ambient rock style and distinct vocals, much of this project sounds like something out of Medieval times.  ...

Seattle independent artist Mark Diamond was surprised when he was able to pay his rent through song streams on Spotify. By persistence in reaching out to individual playlisters on the platform, he eventually gained a million streams per month. He later got picked up by a subsidiary label of Universal Music, only to realize he was making  less  money with the support of a label. He tells...

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

Nearly two years ago, Toronto’s Royal Mountain Records became what might be the first label to offer a mental health fund for its artists. It pledged that any artist on the label could anonymously access $1,500 in funds to go towards mental health services. Label founder Menno Versteeg discusses why musicians may be more likely to struggle with mental health, why the industry should support...

Harpist and composer Nailah Hunter released her debut EP, ‘Spells,' in May of this year. Hunter says she sees composition as an act of magical healing and, as the title suggests, each song is like a spell. Her mystical approach to music-making has the power to transport listeners, while also allowing Hunter to deepen her connection with her Haitian roots. In this interview with KEXP’s...

Dirty Projectors released five markedly different EPs in 2020, jumping between sonic realms of folk, classical, avant garde, bossa nova, and soulful pop.  The first four EPs in the series feature a different vocalist from the band singing lead on each. As frontman Dave Longstreth explains, “a goal was to present a kind of mosaic ideal of this band. One in which everyone takes turn singi...

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Alice in Chains' debut album, 'Facelift.' On December 1st, the band will be presented Seattle’s Museum of Pop Culture’s Founders Award. To talk about the band’s legacy are founding members Sean Kinney (drummer) and Jerry Cantrell (vocals and guitar) as well as William DuVall (lead vocalist) who joined the band in 2006, four years after the...

Marie Davidson’s popular 2018 song, “Work It,” was a club hit, but also pointed to workaholism, in both her own life and society at large. Her latest album, 'Renegade Breakdown,' is a conscious departure from the club sound. It explores her process of detachment from commercial ideals and “industry in general." In this episode, Davidson discusses working through her va...

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...