A Deeper Listen

SassyBlack is an independent musician and educator, and a staple in the Seattle arts scene. After signing to Sub Pop at age 23 with her former duo THEESatisfation, she continues to evolve as a solo artist and this year was featured on Michelle Obama’s official Spotify playlist. She’s out with a new EP, ’STUCK,’ which addresses mental health, working for free in the music in...

Marshall Law Band has been the de-facto house band for the ongoing Seattle protests that began following the death of George Floyd. The band is out with a new album, '12th and Pine,' representing their experience at the heart of the protests and the resounding messages they carry. KEXP’s Larry Mizell Jr. talks with frontman Marshall Hugh about the role of music in protest, the events and act...

Sa-Roc’s latest release, ‘The Sharecropper’s Daughter,’ is KEXP DJ Gabriel Teodros’ favorite hip-hop album of 2020. Teodros spoke with Sa-Roc about her song, “Forever." She says her goal for the song was to champion “the individual, particularly individuals that didn’t see themselves reflected within media imagery, or if they saw themselves reflected...

The new album by the feminist hardcore punk band, War on Women takes on issues of race, gender and politics. It’s called 'Wonderful Hell.' The theme of the record is encapsulated in the title track with the lyrics, “There’s got to be a better way than giving up and wallowing. Let’s raise some wonderful beautiful hell and make this world worth living in.” As frontwoman...

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. Support the show: https://www.kexp....

Backxwash was announced the winner of Canada’s prestigious Polaris Music Prize last week. Backxwash describes her music as industrial hip hop and horrorcore. She talks about how issues of mental health and her identity as a Black trans woman come up on her latest album, 'God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It,' and how she finds comfort in addressing these issues within the genr...

Jeff Tweedy (of Wilco fame) set a goal for himself during the pandemic—to write one song a day. The resulting work makes up his latest album, ‘Love Is The King.’ He also just released a new book, ‘How To Write One Song,' sharing tips around his creative process. Tweedy discusses the habits that helped him develop this prolific writing style, sometimes writing a song in just...

Kevin Morby feels a sense of melancholy when the sun goes down. That feeling inspired his latest album, ‘Sundowner.’ The album was written after Morby moved from LA to his hometown of Kansas City. He says this record was his “attempt to put the Middle American twilight—its beauty profound, though not always immediate— into sound.” Many of the songs paint a pictu...

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...

Seattle’s Deep Sea Diver is out with their third album, 'Impossible Weight.' The album was written after frontwoman Jessica Dobson's experience with depression.   “I just hit this crazy wall where everything turned black and I couldn’t see a foot in front of me,” Dobson says. On the journey to heal and overcome that sadness, Dobson started volunteering with a non-profi...

Bob Mould has been making music for more than 40 years. His career started when he played in the punk band, Hüsker Dü, which was prominent in the 80s. Mould is now out with his 14th solo record, 'Blue Hearts.' Mould discusses some prominent themes from the new album, as well as parallels he sees in politics of the 80s and today, and the importance of music as protest. He also talks...

The Cheater’s Guide to Spotify is a series on Medium by OneZero author, Peter Slattery. In the series, Slattery lays out various ways people game the Spotify system to rack up streams. In this episode, he talks about some of those methods, like creating playlists of popular soundtracks and adding in music that wasn’t part of the soundtrack to give a song more streams, faking a big name...

Fleet Foxes recently released a surprise album at the exact moment of the fall equinox, 6:31am PT on September 22. Frontman Robin Pecknold discusses the significance of the equinox on the record, tells stories behind some of the songs, and shares how he found a renewed appreciation for music during the pandemic. KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts l...

Pitchfork published an article last week titled,  “What it’s Like to Be Black in Indie Music.” Its author, Matthew James-Wilson, talks about his personal experience in the scene as well as what he gathered from various musicians he interviewed for the story. He says the artists he spoke with were “playing to largely white crowds and feeling like their music was subject...

Sylvan Esso is out with their third studio album, 'Free Love.' Sylvan Esso has said that this record is “about being increasingly terrified of the world around you and looking inward to remember all the times when loving other people seemed so easy, so that you can find your way back to that place.”  Amelia Meath of the pop duo breaks down some of the stories behind the music, exp...

Aluna Francis started her career as one half of the electronic duo AlunaGeorge. But as a Black artist in dance music, Aluna always felt like an outsider. For her first solo record, 'Renaissance,' she wanted to create a record for Black folks and bring dance music to its roots. After all, techno was formed in the early 80s by Black artists in Detroit and House was created by Black DJs in Chicago ar...

Music journalist Jessica Hopper has been writing about misogyny, sexism and abuse in the music industry for more than two decades. When reacting to the fallout of Burger Records because of sexual abuse and misconduct, she says abuse in the music industry is nothing new. “Historically within music for male artists, women’s bodies, particularly young women’s bodies has been seen as...

Burger Records was a garage rock record label in Orange County that built its brand on bringing rock and roll to teens and putting the spotlight on underground bands. It folded in July after a wave of sexual assault and misconduct allegations were posted on social media that involved members of more than a dozen bands on the label. Today’s story will dive into the rise and fall of Burger Rec...

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 Spee...

Blimes and Gab, the rap duo consisting of Seattle MC Gabrielle “Gifted Gab” Kadushin and San Francisco’s Samantha “Blimes Brixton” McDonald, recently released their debut album, 'Talk About It.' They join KEXP’s Gabriel Teodros to discuss the new album, finding alternative income streams during the pandemic, and being authentically themselves in a music industry...

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...

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...

Author Mark Ribowsky talks about the legacy of Little Richard, from the surprising story of his first hit single, "Tutti Frutti," to the many comebacks he had later in his career. Ribowsky also discusses the influential singer's struggles and frustrations with navigating a racist music industry, which he captures in his newly released biography, 'The Big Life of Little Richard.' "I call it rock &a...

Portland-raised rapper Aminé talks about how the racial tensions he felt in his hometown are reflected in his latest album, 'Limbo.' “Growing up as a Black kid in Portland, Oregon, there just isn’t a lot of us there so we never felt like we were welcomed in with open arms or felt comfortable walking around in my own city, which I love dearly to my heart,” Aminé says...

“The Postal Service is the last lifeline for us musicians," says Jessica Dobson of Deep Sea Diver. On this episode, labels and musicians weigh in on changes to the USPS. The Postmaster general has been testifying before Congress about changes at the Postal Service, including reducing overtime hours and the removal of mail sorting machines. The changes have led to accusations of slowing down...