A Deeper Listen

Mike Park is the only person behind Asian Man records. The label has helped break ska and punk bands including Alkaline Trio and Less Than Jake. Park recently turned down an offer to have Asian Man Records be bought out by a larger label for $3 million. He’ll instead continue running it out of his mom’s garage, like he has been for nearly 30 years. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Park to learn more...

The band Draag talks with Emily Fox about how their experiences being in a religious cult and dealing with substance abuse come up on their latest record, 'Dark Fire Heresy.' They also discuss representation in the music industry and their perspective as a POC-fronted band.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Karl Blau has been a staple in the Northwest Music scene. He started the Anacortes Music Channel, a live music venue and a 24/7 streaming station of exclusively Anacortes music. He launched a monthly music publication titled Show Chime, and founded the Anacortes Music Project, a non-profit with goals of preserving Anacortes history, and boosting local shows and local artist profiles. He was recent...

On her debut solo album, ‘Flowers At Your Feet,’ Rahill Jamalifard of Habibi continues to embrace the sounds and stories of her Iranian heritage, this time evoking memories of her loved ones through sonic artifacts like field recordings, audio from home movies, and references to Persian film and poetry. Rahill joins KEXP’s Isabel Khalili to discuss the vulnerability of the new album and how it hel...

Seattle’s Kassa Overall is about to drop a new record later this month. Back in April DJ Miss Ashley sat down with Kassa to talk about his new album, the ending of Washington Middle School’s band program in Seattle, of which Kassa attended, and mental health.  Listen to an interview with Kassa and his Washington Middle School band teacher: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/6/22/kassa...

Durand Jones of Durand Jones and the Indications talks about his debut solo album, 'Wait Til I Get Over.' It’s an homage to his hometown in the rural south and a love letter to his 17-year-old self. The album also features the first love song Jones has ever written for another man, a process he says was “freeing.”  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Y La Bamba has just released their sixth studio album, 'Lucha.' The project is fronted by Luz Elena Mendoza, whose dreamy vocals weave between Spanish and English. Mendoza speaks with KEXP’s Albina Cabrera about family, Mexican American identity, queerness, and mental health, and how these themes show up in their music. They also discuss Mendoza's recent move from Portland to Mexico and their prod...

Blondshell reflects on the ways she's grown from toxic relationships, the different ways addiction manifests in her life, and how these themes come up on her self-titled debut album. She also shares her views on the importance of boundaries, both personal and within the music industry, and embracing the emotions of being a rising 25-year-old musician. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/...

More and more people are discovering the power of artificial intelligence through services like ChatGPT. So, tech companies are getting more and more into art spaces — including music discovery. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour brings us this review of RadioGPT and Spotify DJ.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lonnie Holley has lived a storied life. He was taken from his family by a burlesque dancer who performed in carnivals when he was a baby, suffered head injuries from getting hit by a car as a kid, then put in the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, also known as Mount Meigs. He went on to become a visual artist whose works have been on display at The White House and The Smithsonian. Holl...

Schoolhouse Rock turned 50 years old this year. KEXP’s Eva Walker caught up with one of the songwriters and performers of the program, Lynn Ahrens, to talk about the music of the show and the show’s legacy.  “The original premise of Schoolhouse Rock, the president of that agency, a guy named David B. McCall had five kids and they could not remember their times tables but they could remember the ly...

Adi Oasis is a French Caribbean singer and bass player. She spoke with Emily Fox about the themes of gun violence, black resilience, and female empowerment that come up in her new album, 'Lotus Glow.' Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For KEXP’s "Music Heals: Addiction & Recovery" programming, Macklemore shares his journey on the subject and how a robbery at his studio ultimately helped someone else’s path to recovery. We also share a listener email that came in during Music Heals from Seattle’s Abbey Simmons whose story starts with Macklemore and ends with finding sobriety on tour. If you or someone you know is in crisis a...

The Garages is one of the top-selling Seattle bands on Bandcamp. It’s an 80-plus member collective with a massive following on Twitch that has put out more than 50 albums on Bandcamp since the group formed less than three years ago. Members June September and Yana Caoránach tell us more about the band and what makes the group so prolific.   Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystu...

Jónsi is the beautiful falsetto voice of the band Sigur Rós. He is also now the artist behind a multi-sensory installation called “Flood” at the National Nordic Museum in Seattle. KEXP’s Kevin Cole went to the museum to talk to Jónsi about the installation, about making perfumes with a product description that includes “a beached whale is about to explode” and Sigur Rós’ upcoming album. Support th...

Miss Grit talks about how their debut LP, 'Follow the Cyborg' helped them explore being nonbinary. “The cyborg being such a limitless entity was something that inspired me to kind of take my own identity into my own hands,” Miss Grit says. “There’s so much that people are born into when it comes to gender roles or racial stereotypes. There’s so much that our environment has an effect on how we see...

Larry Mizell, Jr., Martin Douglas, and Jasmine Albertson talk about their musical highlights from Treefort Music Fest in Boise, ID. Artists Discussed:   MIKE  Mauskovic Dance Band    Tropa Magica   Son Rompe Pera  Protomartyr  Plum Vision  NNAMDÏ  Sen Morimoto   runner  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've ever listened to KEXP's broadcast, you've probably heard us say, "KEXP, where the music matters." But there’s at least one person at the station who isn’t sold on the idea of music itself. KEXP’s Dusty Henry shares his opinion on why music doesn’t matter.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Women’s History Month comes to a close, KEXP’s Jasmine Albertson talks with three women in the touring industry (Stephanie Escoto, Alicia Blake, and Robin Taylor) about barriers to entry, gender inequities in the music industry, their general advice to bands that want to tour, and the wins they’ve had in their work. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Grace Love talks with Larry Mizell Jr. about her new solo EP, “Work In Protest.”   “This is a protest. I am standing up for myself that there are more curvy, big black women in the industry that can do all kinds of things,” Love says. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Living Singles is the series where we talk to a KEXP staff member about three songs they’re really into right now. On this episode, Martin Douglas, writer behind KEXP’s local music column, Throwaway Style, and Eva Walker, host of our northwest music show, Audioasis, each share two songs from local artists. Songs featured in this episode:  “Nightrider” by The Smokes   “Body Horror” by Lemon Boy   “...

Sound & Vision is bringing back Living Singles, where we talk with a KEXP staff member about three songs they are loving right now. Today we catch up with DJ Alex Ruder who hosts our downtempo, atmospheric and ambient music show, Pacific Notions (airing Sundays from 6-9am).   Songs featured in this episode: “Sortie” by Thomas Almqvist  "Believe" by IKSRE & Party Store “Blue Hour (feat. Jul...

This week is KEXP’s spring fundraising drive! We’re sharing listener stories about how music has helped them connect with friends and family. Please amplify listener-powered storytelling today at kexp.org/sound .  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KEXP DJ Sharlese Metcalf gets nostalgic about a previous era of Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood with Adam Miller of Chromatics. They talk about what house parties meant to the Capitol Hill area and the trouble they got into that would never fly today.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trans Musicales is a long-running music festival in Rennes, France that brings together a consistently incredible lineup of new and emerging artists from around the world. KEXP’s DJ Morgan Chosnyk shares some of the highlights from the 16 sessions KEXP filmed while at the festival.  Artists discussed:   Seb Martel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A0OsX9pRK4   Nana Benz du Togo: https://www.youtub...