Kexp Live Performances Podcast

With literally hundreds of songs filling her numerous self-released albums, it could be somewhat intimidating to jump into Greta Kiline's catalog if it weren't for the New York City songwriter's clever wordplay and instantly accessible twinkling melodies. Pulling from her two most recent releases, 2016's Next Thing and 2015's Fit Me In EP, the songwriter now known as Frankie Cosmos and her band stop by KEXP's studios to share the story of how Kiine went from making songs in her bedroom to managing a tour with a full band. Recorded 04/20/2016 - 5 songs: Fool, Outside with the Cuties, Korean Food, O Contest Winner, SinisterSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"Bedrooms and bars... and the road" – that's where the stories that make up Kyle Craft's debut album come from, to quote the Louisiana-born, Portland, Oregon-based musician. With the help of his five-piece band, Craft's singular wail underscores the glammy, melodic edges of the songs on his debut full-length, Dolls of Highland, in this session with Cheryl Waters where he tells the story of how he went from tracking the album in a Shreveport laundry room to where he is today. Recorded 04/28/2016 - 4 songs: Pentecost, Future Midcity Massacre, Eye of a Hurricane, Lady of the Ark  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With a laid-back, poetic cadence and a bevy of hazy hip-hop beats, Seattle's DoNormaal – the stage name of Christianne Karefa-Johnson and a play on a Dutch phrase that means "stop acting weird" - creates music that has a futuristic quality to its adventurous sound. Recorded during a special, DJ El Toro-hosted Pride edition of Audioasis, DoNormaal discusses the genesis of her musical endeavors and airs two unreleased tracks alongside a pair of songs from her 2015 debut LP, Jump or Die. Recorded 04/16/16 - 4 songs: Dodo Call, Wide Awake, Adja, StandingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After pointing her songwriting perspective inward for two albums, spending some time at home in Minneapolis while pregnant caused Poliça frontwoman Channy Leaneagh to start looking outward while composing the group's third album, United Crushers. In the Minneapolis outfit's third session on KEXP, the quartet perform a set of United Crushers tracks that showcases Leaneagh's personal and lyrical progression over some of the most kinetic music the mellifluous electronic group have ever written. Recorded 3/31/16 - 4 songs: Lime Habit, Someway, Lose You, Baby SucksSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There is only one band in the world that would write a song about racing motorcycles with the infant Jesus in heaven and that band is named Diarrhea Planet. The band's third album, Turn to Gold, turns up the volume on both the Nashville sextet's guitar solos and their humor, and on their second trip to KEXP's studios, they join Cheryl Waters to deliver some of the year's best air guitar-worthy anthems. Recorded 04/06/2016 - 4 songs: Ain't a Sin to Win, Bob Dylan's Grandma, Life Pass, Heat WaveSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Reflecting on American pathologies during the creation of the band's eighth album, Shearwater leader Jonathan Meiburg sought to make what David Bowie once called an oblique protest record. The result, this year's Jet Plane and Oxbow, is some of the Austin, Texas group's most expansive and impactful music to date. Meiburg and his bandmates join Cheryl Waters to play and discuss songs about "being against something that you're for at the same time" and finding solace in Bowie's 1979 album, Lodger. Recorded 03/25/16 - 4 songs: Pale Kings, Wildlife in America, Backchannels, Boys Keep SwingingSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Splitting the difference between bursts of lo-fi energy and ragged psychedelia, the Brooklyn trio Sunflower Bean channel a number of sounds from the storied lineage of their home city into their 2016 debut album, "Human Ceremony". Drawing equally from their pair of lead singers, the group join Troy Nelson in the KEXP studio for a set of tunes that highlight Nick Kivlen's rapturous howl and Julia Cumming's kinetic punch. Recorded 03/29/2016 - 4 songs: Come On, I Was Home, Easier Said, Space Exploration DisasterSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four years after the Denver, Colorado trio made the leap from small, sweaty clubs to massive outdoor stages, the Lumineers have retained their breezy, rustic charm on their sophomore effort, "Ophelia". Returning to an intimate venue not unlike the ones they cut their teeth on, the folk rock unit perform new tunes and old favorites during a special hour-long set at the Columbia City Theater in Seattle, WA. Recorded 04/01/2016 - 15 songs: Sleep On The Floor, Ophelia, Flowers In Your Hair, Ho Hey, Cleopatra, Slow It Down, Dead Sea, Angela, Big Parade, Submarines, Scotland, Gun Song, My Eyes, Charlie Boy, Stubborn LoveSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After spending some time apart to work on other projects, Black Mountain eased back into the void between heavy and haunting that they've long occupied for their fourth LP, 2016's "IV". Their crunchy sludge now a potent force for over a decade, the Vancouver quintet join Cheryl Waters for a heady half-hour of tunes from "IV" that bask in acid-soaked riffs, copious guitar solos, and Amber Webber's otherworldly voice. Recorded 04/22/2016 - 4 songs: Mothers of the Sun, Defector, Line Them All Up, Space To BakersfieldSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the most prominent Romani language singers of all time, Esma Redžepova's half century-plus career has seen the Skopje, Macedonia singer preserve and promote Roma culture to a global audience with her music and humanitarian efforts. Backed by the colorful rhythms of Folk Masters, "The Queen of Romani Songs" joins Darek Mazzone on Wo' Pop for a career-spanning set that highlights her singular, vibrant voice. Recorded 04/26/2016 - 4 songs: 1001 Nights, Rushly Game, Zošto Si Me Majko Rodila, Čaje ŠukarijeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twelve solo albums into his career, Bob Mould's "Patch The Sky" captures the Minnesota songwriter at his darkest and most reflective. His emotional and sonic fury remains just as impactful – and loud – in this blistering live session where Mould discusses "the darkness behind the sunshine" of his new album and his reaction to the death of fellow Minnesotan Prince with DJ Kevin Cole. Recorded 05/10/2016 - 5 songs: The End of Things, Losing Time, You Say You, The Descent, Black ConfettiSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peaches stepped away from making albums for a few years to "get her ya-ya's out" – specifically a documentary, a role in an opera, and a one-woman version of "Jesus Christ Superstar" – but she returned in 2015 as vital as ever. After spending a year crafting her sixth LP "Rub" in her garage, the patriarchy-challenging performer takes no prisoners during her fiery return in this session with DJ El Toro. Recorded 10/07/2015 - 3 songs: Dick In The Air, Vaginaplasty, Boys Wanna Be HerSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New York duo PWR BTTM visit KEXP to perform a strong set of punkish garage-pop. Recorded 01/22/2016 - 4 songs: West Texas, Ugly Cherries, I Wanna Boy, 1994.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Baltimore experimental indie-dream-pop group Lower Dens stop by the KEXP studio and play songs from their haunting new record "Escape from Evil" live on KEXP's The Midday Show with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 07/27/2015 - 4 songs: To Die In L.A., Ondine, Sucker's Shangri-La, Société Anonyme.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Thao & the Get Down Stay Down visit KEXP to play songs from their fourth LP, "A Man Alive". Recorded 03/03/2016 - 4 songs: Hand To God, Astonished Man, Guts, Nobody Dies.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Malian four-piece Songhoy Blues join Cheryl Waters on the Midday Show to perform their inventive desert rock live on KEXP. Recorded 04/05/2016 - 4 songs: Al Hassidi Terei, Sekou Oumarou, Petit Metier, Soubour.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

London-based artist Floating Points (aka Sam Shepherd) performs a set of intricate textured electronic blends live on KEXP. Recorded 05/03/2016 - 3 songs: Silhouettes, Argenté, Kuiper.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Portland band STRFKR perform a dance-y set live on KEXP. Recorded 02/18/2016 - 4 songs: YAYAYA, Pop Song, Open Your Eyes, Never Ever.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Eight-piece Seattle band Polyrhythmics perform a tight set of funk instrumentals live on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole. Recorded 03/24/2016 - 4 songs: Maruken, Fairweather Fiends, Chingador, Lord Of The Fries.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

North London trio Daughter perform brooding, folk-tinged dream-pop live on KEXP. Recorded 03/19/2016 - 4 songs: New Ways, How, Numbers, Doing The Right Thing.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.