Live on KEXP

The jazz-inflicted, inspirational dub of Jah9 fills the KEXP Live Room with positive energy in this session. The Jamaican singer leads her band, The Dub Treatment, through songs on her new album, 9, and discusses doing improvisational dub soundtracks to yoga class and linking up with Mad Professor to do a dub version of the record in this session with DJ Miss Ashley. Recorded 6/12/2017 - 4 songs:...

Vieux Farka Touré's latest record, Samba, may mean “second boy” in Songhai, but the dazzling guitar work he displays in this session on Wo' Pop is second to none. Playing songs from Samba and paying tribute to his family with his music, Touré brings a snapshot of Mali's rich musical history into the KEXP Live Room.  Recorded 5/2/2017 - 4 songs: Ni Negaba, Missing, Samba Si Kairi, Ba...

During her latest session in the KEXP Live Room, Laura Marling speaks of her music in film metaphors when describing her new record, Semper Femina, to Cheryl Waters. The London songwriter's sixth LP has all the touches of a classic film, filed in with rich scenery (a tight, expansive band) and a thick plot (some of her best songs to date) in this exquisite session. Recorded 4/28/2017 - 4 song...

One of the most gorgeous and sweeping sessions recorded in the KEXP Live Room to date, Jóhann Jóhannsson - best known as the soundtrack composer for Arrival, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, among others - leads the American Contemporary Music Ensemble through songs from his latest album, Orphée, and discusses the value of music as a communicative tool in film with Kevin Cole on the Afternoon Show....

“That's all I got,” chuckles Marty Stuart after gliding through a gorgeous, breakneck rendition of “Mississippi Railroad Blues” with His Fabulous Superlatives. Notably affable and even more instrumentally impressive, Stuart runs through cuts from his latest album, Way Out West, and trades stories with Don Slack on a relaxed and dazzling set on Swingin' Doors. Recorded 5/22/2017 - 4 songs: Mississi...

Twenty two years after its release, Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen continues to enrapture with its baroque arrangements and Enigk's inimitable songwriting. Performing four cuts from the album alongside a new song on KEXP's broadcast from the Upstream Music Festival with a full band (including a string quartet), the return of Jeremy Enigk sounds as vibrant as ever. Recorded...

The Seattle soul trio Delvon Lamar Organ Trio (a.k.a. DLO3) speaks volumes without a singer. The warm chemistry of Lamarr's organ, Jimmy James' slick guitar, and David McGraw's tight, reflexive drumming is a joy to behold on this session from the Upstream Music Fest + Summit featuring tracks from their latest LP, Close But No Cigar. Recorded 5/13/2017 - 7 songs: Move On Up, Memphis,...

The Tunisian singer Emel Mathlouthi breaks cultural and musical boundaries on her own terms, bringing in traditional Tunisian sounds with modern production and protest themes on her latest album, Ensen (English: Human.) Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop, Mathlouthi performs four songs from Ensen and discusses her music during the Arab Spring and breaking down Tunisian identity as a person and...

A trio of Pacific Northwestern veterans gathered together to give thanks for angular rhythms and chrome-streaked guitars, The Gods Themselves' ineffable cool is only matched by their space-smart songwriting. Joining Sean Nelson on Audioasis, the band run through four cuts from their latest LP, Be My Animal with stylish, kinetic aplomb. Recorded 3/25/2017 - 4 songs: Be My Animal, Tech Boys, Dance W...

For their fifth session (and first in KEXP's new Live Room), longtime station favorites Alt-J went intimate to match the insular tone of their latest LP, Relaxer. With a pared-down semi-acoustic setup, the English trio play a pair of new tracks and a trio of old favorites in reworked fashions on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole. Recorded 4/28/2017 - 5 songs: 3WW, Tessellate, Warm Foothills,...

One of Wo'Pop host Darek Mazzone's most anticipated sessions in recent memory, Le Mystery des Voix Bulgares fill the KEXP Live Room with the power of a 23-person choir using open-throat singing to perform traditional Bulgarian music with contemporary arrangements. Running through a half hour of intricate and mellifluous vocal arrangements, the Prof. Dora Hristova-led ensemble perform a s...

Even if the definition of "Northwestern band” has to be stretched a little to include the Alaskan outfit Portugal. The Man, they have plenty of Northwest ties. Returning to the KEXP studios for a session featuring songs from their last three albums (all of which had a portion recorded in Seattle), they join Cheryl Waters for a recap of their last few years, including stories from working with...

Mellifluously melodious and dripping with rich vocals, Front Row Seat to Earth, Weyes Blood's latest album, is her most shimmering and accomplished to date. Laced with intimate lyrics and an atmospheric shine, Natalie Mering and her band enter the KEXP Live Room to play four songs and discuss the art of wild herb crafting with DJ Troy Nelson. Recorded 2/24/2017 - 4 songs: Used To Be, Seven Wo...

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best and Seattle's Bread & Butter like to keep it free and easy with big, crunchy chords and juicy power pop hooks. The quartet are no joke though - the crashes and choruses on their debut album are plenty effective and sound best turned up loud. Palling around with DJ Kevin Cole on the Afternoon Show, the group discuss making their debut LP, pressin...

Father John MIsty's songs have always been filled with vivid (and often flawed) characters, but he's never been as starkly human as he is on his latest full length, 2017's stunning Pure Comedy. The longtime KEXP favorite's newest LP is a sprawling, sometimes dark opus, but in this stripped down session on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, the artist sometimes known as Josh Tillman is more reveal...

Loud and proud, Seattle queer punk band waste no time with introductions, blasting out hardcore tales of love, loss, and queer life in Seattle at a hundred miles a minute. Joining DJ Larry Rose in the KEXP Live Room, the Seattle quartet thrash through four songs from their forthcoming debut with equal parts speed and style. Recorded 6/9/2017 - 4 songs: Call Me Tania, Rainbow Crosswalks, Brosexual,...

The compositions of the Iraqi oud composer and performer Rahim AlHaj do not have lyrics, but the tension, force, and vitality of his songs speak volumes about the power of music in the face of terrible strife. Backed by a string quartet and bassist on Wo' Pop, AlHaj speaks boldly about valuing different cultures and keeping an empathetic, open mind towards them in the face of challenges, both...

Embodying the sounds and spirit of New Orleans' French Quarter for more than four decades, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band is nothing short of an institution of American jazz music. Still touring extensively, the energy of the New Orleans-style jazz compositions is as vibrant as ever, certainly during this performance in KEXP's Gathering Space to a packed room.  Recorded 4/17/2017 - 6 so...

Louder, Faster, Better, and More Romantic, Cataldo leader Eric Anderson took a few cues from the bliss of his long-term relationship on his new album Keepers, and the LP's rich, buoyant tone both embodies the satisfaction Anderson has in his own life while carrying the torch of Pacific Northwestern indie rock. Returning to the KEXP studios, Anderson joins Sean Nelson on Audioasis for four Keepers...

“This is my work. This is what I do.” Mitski Miyazaki lays her manifesto out early on in her return trip to the KEXP Live Room with a full band to follow up the solo session she performed shortly after the release of 2016's masterful Puberty 2. A year on the road has only made her sharper, and the results of her touring show in this session with DJ Morgan where Mitski plays three Puberty 2 tu...

The Kyiv folk quartet DakhaBrakha created their latest album Шлях (English: The Road) as a tribute to their Motherland, and in this vital session, it's easy to hear the multitude of voices both figurative and literal that make up a stirring snapshot of a people pushing forward during a difficult time in their country's history. The Ukrainian folk outfit return to KEXP's Live Room fo...

It's impossible to say the name of the Melbourne sextet King Gizzard & Lizard Wizard without conjuring images of fantastical garage fury and on each of their records, the prolific group have only further honed their scuzzy, slashing rock with tones both spacious and slaying. The band with the best name in the world returns to KEXP's live room to play four songs from their new (also w...

The long-running group Tinariwen hail from Mail, but there's nothing lost in translation with the collective's spiraling, sprawling guitar visions that glide across headphones with as much richness as the languid works of Kurt Vile or Alain Johannes (who also guest on the group's latest album, Elwan.) The desert guitar masters return to the KEXP Live Room for a striking set of tunes...

When Sera Cahoone moved to Seattle, forcing herself to play open mic nights at the (now-defunct venue) OK Hotel  was only the beginning of a career that would lead her to literally play on top of the Space Needle. In her far-closer-to-the-ground return to the KEXP Live Room, Cahoone joins John Richards to talk about her new record From Where I Started, talk about where she literally started, and w...

Although they've been constant staples in Seattle venues, it had been more than four years since Dude York's last KEXP session, but with the release of their sophomore LP Sincerely, the self-styled “America's Band” have triumphantly returned with a new set of catchy garage jams. Joining Sharlese on Audioasis, the group play four Sincerely tracks and tell the process of writing their...