Kexp Live Performances Podcast

The Washington D.C.-via-Brooklyn artist Nick Hakim's spectral R and B is entrancing, a sublime mix of psychedelic tones and luscious vocals that shift around with glistening flair. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, Hakim discusses his introduction to music, shifting from visual art to music, and his journey to Green Twins. Recorded 10/24/2017. 4 songs - Needy Bees, Cuffed, Roller Skates, Green TwinsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ГШ (Glintshake), the Russian group fronted by Ekaterina Shilonosova, exploded onto DJ Kevin Cole's radar in 2017 with their raucous and radical take on garage rock. Performing a quartet of songs live from KEX Hostel as part of our 2017 Iceland Airwaves broadcast, the band roar through a set that could've leveled the tiny room they were playing in. Recorded 11/2/0217 - 4 songs: Симпатичный мужчина (Handsome Man), Польза (Usefulness), Без пятнадцати пять (Quarter to Five), Мой новый стиль (My New Style)Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a few years away to work on other projects, Ted Leo returned in 2017 with The Hanged Man, a personal, arresting record that ranks among his best work. Returning to the KEXP Live Room for the first time in years, Leo and the Pharmacists rip through three Hanged Man tracks and a Pharmacists classic. Recorded 11/8/2017. 4 songs - Can't Go Back, William Weld in the 21st Century, Bottled In Cork, Let's Stay On The MoonSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Call It Love, is not just Briana Marela's most dreamy and dense record, it might also be her most sublime. The Seattle musician's songs drift in and out but keep you pulled in, and Marela discusses that gliding tension with Cheryl Waters in this gorgeous session in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded  10/20/2017 - 4 songs: Feel What I Feel, Give Me Your Love, Quit, Farthest ShoreSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Paris-based Lebanese musician Yasmine Hamdan ties echoing sounds and slinky rhythms to create a danceable, ethereal haze that leaves in a trance. Joining Wo' Pop host Darek Mazzone in the KEXP Live Room, Hamdan performs four songs from her newest record, Al Jamilat. Recorded 11/14/2017 - 4 songs: Balad, Cafe, Al Jamilat, K2  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While it's true that Jófríður Ákadóttir is one of the more prolific Icelandic musicians of recent memory - her projects have included Pascal Pinon, Samaris, GANGLY, and now her solo venture, JFDR - but to focus on the quantity of her output doesn't do its quality justice. Ákadóttir's solo work in this session touches on electronic, baroque, pop, and experimental tendencies, but it's easier to just listen to this session from KEX Hostel than it is to try and delineate its sounds. Recorded  11/2/2017 - 4 songs: Instant Patience, My Work, Anything Goes, White SunSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After leaving your rock band and abandoning your faith, you're bound to come back with some kind of statement or not come back at all. Mikko Joensuu chose the former path, creating an ambitious trilogy of albums with songs that often live in spiritual, transcendent moments. Performing with a full band and string section from KEX Hostel during Iceland Airwaves 2017, Joensuu performs one of the more stirring sessions in recent memory. Recorded 11/3/2017 - 4 songs: Warning Sign, Closer My God, Dream About A Miracle, Drop Me DownSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Taylor McFerrin's music walks the line between jazz, electronic, and soul with a beautiful, aqueous flow that invites minds and feet alike to his songs. Joining John Gilbreath on Jazz Theatre, McFerrin plays an untitled, improvised set that twists and turns. Recorded 11/11/2017.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Antisocialites, the second album from Toronto's Alvvays, takes all of the charms of their stellar 2014 debut and sharpens them - the songs are catchier, the band's interplay is more sleek, and Molly Rankin's hooks are the kind of emotional echoes that cut deeper than their gauzy sweetness first implies. Joining DJ Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room, the band talk about the process of making Antisocialites and play four songs from the album. Recorded 10/27/2017 - 4 songs: Plimsoil Punks, Dreams Tonight, Not My Baby, In UndertowSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a seven year break, the members of Broken Social Scene felt compelled to reunite, not just for new music, but to underscore the personal bond that runs through the Toronto collective. Performing songs from their new album, Hug Of Thunder, and a BSS classic, the band join Stevie Zoom in the KEXP Live Room for a four-song performance and a remembrance of Gord Downie. Recorded 10/04/2017 - 4 songs: Stay Happy, Skyline, Protest Song, Sweetest KillSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Between their first session at KEXP in March 2015 to their return trip three and a half years later, Wolf Alice toured the world two or three times over and became one of the biggest bands of their generation. Visions of a Life, their sophomore record, meets the hype - it's ambitious and grand and vivid - and three of those songs (along with a Wolf Alice classic) are performed in a stripped down session with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 10/12/2017 - 4 songs: Sadboy, Space & Time, Bros, Don't Delete The KissesSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With Baba (Arabic for “father”), Happy Orchestra producer Tarik Abouzied created a vibrant, joyous record that doubles as a tribute to his late father. Performing on Audioasis as part of the Earshot Jazz Festival, Abouzied and the rest of sextet work through four kinetic jazz tunes and talk about how the project came to be. Recorded 10/04/2017 - 4 songs: Room 358, 55, Step How You Like, BabaSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“You must set an example - to be a good person, you must be a good person.” The English translation of Ladilikan, Trio Da Kali's 2017 LP, has some weight to it, but the trio of musicians from the Mande culture of Southern Mali have so much life in their music. Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop, the Malian trio perform five songs and expand on their artistic vision in conversation. Recorded 10/4/2017 - 4 songs: Dissa, Ladilikan, Kanimba, Eh Ya Ye, GuedeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Caitlin De Marrais, Kaia Fischer, and William Kuehn originally stepped away from the influential emo outlet Rainer Maria in 2006, but fate led to their return nearly a decade later, first as a performing band, then as a recording one. S/T, their first record in a decade, is full of the passionate turbulence that drove their best work, and three of its songs - along with a RM classic - appear in this session with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 10/05/2017 - 4 songs: Suicides And Lazy Eyes, Lower Worlds, Artificial Light, Forest MattressSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the seminal shoe gaze group Ride reunited in 2015, a new record was just a matter of when, rather than if. Weather Diaries, the band's first record in over two decades, channels their textural tension with a mature, reflective set of songs that shows few, if any, signs of rust. The band that closed out KEXP's old studio returns to the New Home in this heavily anticipated session with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 9/24/2017 - 4 songs: Lannoy Point, Vapour Trail, Cali, Weather Diaries, All I Want, Leave Them All BehindSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

To name her newest record, Halo, Argentina's Juana Molina sorted through her lyrics word by word before deciding “halo” was the correct way to describe this collection of rhythmic, kinetic electronic music. Joining Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop, Molina and her band return to KEXP to perform four songs from Halo and discuss the difficulty of naming the record and being one of a kind.  Recorded 9/26/2017 - 4 songs: Cosoco, Estalacticas, Paraguaya, Sin DonesSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Influenced by the year he spent on the road while writing the record, Simon Green's latest record, Migration, is Bonobo's most progressive album to date, with a wider spectrum of sounds bursting into his electronic compositions. Joined by a full band in his return to KEXP's Live Room, Green joins DJ Kevin Cole to play four Migration tracks and discuss how perpetually traveling impacted the record. Recorded 9/19/2017 - 4 songs: Migration, Break Apart, No Reason, SamuraiSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Benjamin Booker's second album, Witness, finds the musician rallying his blues rock sound to call for respect and justice in troubling times while retaining the sharp musicianship that made his debut stand out. On his return to the KEXP Live Room, Booker joins Troy Nelson for four Witness songs and a conversation about writing songs in Mexico and visiting Third Man Records' headquarters. Recorded 9/11/2017 - 4 songs: The Slow Drag Under, Carry, Believe, Right On YouSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The North Carolina musician Sarah Shook had been buzzy for the past few years, but with Sidelong, her 2017 album, her profile appropriately raised with the collection of twangy, burning country songs. In fiery form, Shook and her band the Disarmers join Don Slack on Swingin' Doors to play four songs and discuss the origins of the group, . Recorded 9/27/2017 - 4 songs: Keep the Home Fires Burnin', Dwight Yoakum, Heal Me, The Bottle Never Lets Me DownSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In between playing seemingly countless shows and becoming one of Seattle's worst-kept-secrets, DoNormaal found time to craft Third Daughter, her second full-length and a stunning addition to her catalog. On her return to the KEXP Live Room, DoNormaal performs four tracks from Third Daughter and discusses the last year and her favorite poets with Stas THEE Boss. Recorded 9/21/2017 - 4 songs: Buckle, Magic Donormarl, Emotional, Plugged InSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.