Troy Nelson

Wolf People found its origins in 2005 when singer/guitarist Jack Sharp recorded a demo album in Bedford, England. Named after the children’s book "Little Jacko and the Wolf People," the band finds its roots in Black Sabbath, Cream, Traffic, and early Jethro Tull and Fairport Convention, encapsulating the sounds of the past with a gentle and nostalgic reverence. bit.ly Watch Wolf People perform and incredibly stripped-down yet no-less dreamy, set at Pickathon: blog.kexp.org

"To be honest I never saw any relationship between us and the pop world other than the fact that I looked like a pop star. I actually felt more affinity with the likes of artists who were big when we started out [in the late ’70s]; artists like David Bowie and the Velvet Underground. I kind of felt we were part of that lineage. I always understood that the pop world needed your more commercial Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran elements, and that’s fair enough. Still, where most of our singles weren’t your standard pop, they had enough melody to maybe show people that this could be better pop or rock music than the mass-appeal stuff. I think that’s why we always had a big cult following with what we do." bit.ly

Local dream-crafters Golden Gardens enjoyed a Featured Song of the Day, which you can download here, as well as watch a lovely session at our star-filled studio at the Old Home on Dexter: blog.kexp.org

"I was brought up to love [the countryside]. My Dad was very, very keen on that. He really instilled in us that it was bigger than us, and therefore we should look after it and respect it. For me, it’s a bit of a religion. It feeds the soul, and it’s a place to think, and a place to create, and to be in awe of, to find peace in. It’s kind of everything, really. I love being in the city as well, because it’s fun culturally, but it doesn’t give me the same sense of fulfilment. And whenever there was a full moon we drove to the sea and swam. We lived about an hour and a half away, so it would be like 'Full moon! Get in the car!' That was one of the last things I did with my father: swim in the sea under a full moon. And we used to swim in the sea at all times of the year. It didn’t matter what time of year it was: you had to get in the sea! That was probably his army officer bit coming out. I did a lot of walking and hiking with him, too." bit.ly

UK DJ/Producer Simon Green brought his luscious Bonobo to our studio a few years ago, and played a sublime session. Check it out here: blog.kexp.org

Shabazz Palaces' Ishmael Butler recently reformed with his fellow members of Digable Planets and performed a breathtaking and emotional set at our KEX Hostel stage at Iceland Airwaves this past November; keep your eyes peeled for video on our Youtube channel! In the meantime, check this out! Shabazz fever on Dexter: blog.kexp.org

Blood is perhaps one of the most prolific producers in Seattle, having worked with Shabazz Palaces, THEESatisfaction, Moondoggies, Vox Mod, Champagne Champagne, Tea Cozies, and The Lights, and has remarked, "I think I’m probably more focused with other bands than I am with myself. [Laughs] With me, I literally don’t know where things are gonna go when I’m making my music. I’m limited by my abilities cause I’m doing all of it... I know a ton of musicians who are super talented, and when I hear them on something that I’m working on, then I try my best to get them. But a lot of stuff is just me playing around here and finding sounds that I like, and from that a song can emerge. With other bands I get to hear their finished music for a long time before we even get in the studio, so I know exactly what I’m gonna do, how I’m gonna approach it. [Laughs]." We can't help but feel he's selling himself short; check out a gorgeous in-studio Blood performed for us last year: bit.ly

Formed out of the ashes of Bauhaus in 1985 by former members Daniel Ash (vocals, guitar and saxophone), David J (bass guitar and vocals) and Kevin Haskins (drums and synthesisers), as the group had split in 1983. Prior to that, Ash and Haskins recorded and performed in Tones on Tail between 1982 and 1984. "The band's name was taken from the comic book series Love and Rockets by Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez. Gilbert later referred to the confusion caused by this in his book Love and Rockets X, as there were several different bands named 'Love and Rockets' for a period." bit.ly

Renton, Spud, Sick Boy, and Renton are back, and because we love you... and Trainspotting... two trailers: www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RK7Cre-SS4 www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsozpEE543w

"We all started out as friends. Stella came into the band and we didn’t really know her super well. We weren’t really friends with her beforehand. She was an acquaintance, we had met her a few times. Emily and Theresa grew up together, they’ve been best friends since they were eleven. I met them after and instantly fell in love with them. Over the years, collaborating, working on relationships in general can be super challenging. I think creative relationships, with others or just yourself, and dealing with the internal dialogue that comes with being an artist is pretty complicated. You might take things a little more personally, it’s not just a work relationship, it’s also a friendship. There are two sides to that. It can work against us, but because we’re friends we want to talk through it and work it out. Where you might just brush past it alone, we have to figure out how to communicate about it. No one is okay with not feeling close." bit.ly

This song, as so many, began as one of Bob Ross' proverbial happy accidents: "I was working on another song – maybe 'Dreams' (2015) – when I had an idea for a flute beat. I picked up the mic and 'Wow' came out totally spontaneously. I put it away and forgot about it. Then 'Wow' was on in the studio one day and someone said 'You should put this on the record.' I went 'I don’t think anybody would like this.' Usually, I turn in a whole album to my record company when they want a single. But there were a lot of songs in progress, so I sent in a cache of them this time. Nothing happened for months, then suddenly the record company said 'We’re putting 'Wow' out as a single.' I was 'Really? 'Wow'? Huh. Well, OK then.' 'Wow' was the last song on the cache I’d sent over." bit.ly

“I consider Supa Dupa Fly a great album because everything about it.You hadn’t heard it before, you hadn’t heard that sound. Even the rap flows were different. I think it was 10 years ahead, 15 years ahead. It’s funny, we did that album in two weeks.” bit.ly

A new documentary on L7 recently saw its L.A. premiere earlier this November. Donita Sparks remarked, "It's a weird thing to watch all this stuff. I was surprised by some of the things my bandmates said that I didn't know. You think a falling-out happens because of reason A, but it's a combination of reason B and C... Everybody's sorry for stuff. If you start doing an autopsy, shit comes back. When it got heavy toward the end of the film, everyone in the room was just very quiet." Read on, and watch an exclusive film clip here: bit.ly

A fresh band from Toronto. For a fun track to check out, here's "Mink Coats" -- "a bilious eulogy for Toronto’s “Rob Ford Years." soundcloud.com

David Prowse on the band's auspicious beginnings: "We met up and hung out in Toronto in spring of 2014 and we kind of jammed a bit. We jumped on stage and played with Dan (Boeckner) from Operators at that time. That was kind of the first time that I think anybody had really seen or heard from us in a few months. So around that time we did jam a little bit, but things really got going for real in the fall of 2014, which was when we rented a house in New Orleans and we spent about five weeks in this house with all the gear in the living room and just played every day. We hadn’t written in a long time, and it took a minute to just get the ball rolling again. It was kind of a state of inertia that you had to push yourself out of. The hardest part of writing a record is the beginning, just like with anything. Once you feel the momentum building, ideas start to flow more freely, but that initial moment of kind of where do we even start…"

On growing up performing: "It was everything from Mennonite churches to Baptist churches to backwoods churches where there was literally no instruments, just a bunch of old people in a church — like, especially in the Deep South. We also had the experience of being on the street, when she decided that she wanted to go out and do street ministry to homeless people, to whoever would listen. Sometimes she sang into a karaoke machine. My sister would bring her keyboard, put some batteries in it and we would go for it. Then we would go to some revivals, and I would play drums, or play whatever. I guess I was drafted. I mean, the thing is, like, especially in southern churches, that is kind of how you learn how to play music. You’re usually the student of an older musician. If they’re not there that day, and you know how to play whatever song you guys have been working on, you get up there and you play it. I never really owned a drum set or anything. I never owned a guitar until my mid 20s."

"Accounts of the song's origin vary somewhat, but it grew out of the late 1969/early 1970 nexus of English and American musicians known as Delaney & Bonnie and Friends, that involved Delaney and Bonnie Bramlett, Leon Russell, Eric Clapton, and various others. The song's working title during portions of its development was 'Groupie Song'. In its first recorded incarnation, the song was called "Groupie (Superstar)", and was recorded and released as a B-side to the Delaney & Bonnie single 'Comin' Home' in December 1969. Released by Atlantic Records, the full credit on the single was to Delaney & Bonnie and Friends Featuring Eric Clapton. Sung by Bonnie, the arrangement featured slow guitar and bass parts building up to an almost gospel-style chorus using horns." bit.ly

"I stumbled upon the words 'Oczy Mlody' [in a little paperback I found and bought]. They struck me as sounding like Oxy (as in Oxycodone) Melody and, as my imagination ran away with it, also the name of a drug made in the future. Every time I would pick this book up I would, kind of, add to the made-up meaning that I had given to the words that I liked. The actual meaning of 'oczy mlody' is something like 'eyes of the young,' which we (Steven and Dennis and I) thought was great. 'Eyes Of The Young' is not really a title that appealed to us, but Oczy Mlody, meaning 'eyes of the young,' greatly appealed. Ha. Who knows why. And so we began to realize we were starting to make a record with this kind of removed, abstract substitute meaning, or a record that we followed what meaning the initial sounds triggered. Sounds of words. Sounds of music. Sounds of beats.'" bit.ly

Lindy West: "It’s very strange ('Or not strange at all! Hi!' says feminism) that most of the music we funnel into little girls’ ears——even music written by former little girls — is about how women are petty, pretty garbage whose only valuable function is to hold perfectly still in men’s boudoirs and wait for intercourse. 'I wanted to make songs that were the opposite of ‘Genie in A Bottle’ or 'The Boy Is Mine,'' Sadie Dupuis says of Slugger, her new solo album under the name Sad13. 'Songs that put affirmative consent at the heart of the subject matter and emphasize friendship among women and try to deescalate the toxic jealousy and ownership that are often centered in romantic pop songs.' What!? Songs for women that actually champion women’s autonomy, reflect women’s desires, listen to women when they talk, and let women be funny and normal and cool, like women actually are?" www.sadthirteen.com/

Matt Friedberger theorizing on why he and his sister record under the moniker "Fiery Furnaces": "We'd like to play for little kids and in old folks' homes and play in nasty bars as well. The music we want to play is more catholic - it's a big enough mess that whether it's the old folk or the kids, they could find something amusing. Hopefully, it is really silly, shiny music. I want it to have a broken toy sound. And also a piano singalong thing. I always like the idea of families entertaining themselves by singing, like every member of a family has a special song they sing when they get drunk enough, a Cole Porter song or whatever. That's fun pop music to me." bit.ly

The Williams twins of Doves ~ Jez and Andy ~ formed Black Rivers last year and released an album; said Andy, "Even though we’d retired to this coastal cottage on Anglesey, we weren’t putting logs on the fire and getting our pipes out. We just wanted to have energy and to make a modern record – and listening back to it now, there’s this definite feel of escapism." "It’s almost like every song is about immigrants, about yearning for a better life," remarked Jez, referring in particular to "The Ship" and "Voyager 1" itself. 'Sometimes you write this stuff and you don’t know. This is a new band and that’s how it feels. It doesn’t feel like, oh, it’s a nice little side project. It’s a whole new thing for us." Here's "The Ship" for you to enjoy: bit.ly

Albert Hammond Jr, a founding member of The Strokes, came to KEXP and played a glorious set with his own fantastic solo material; watch the magic replay itself right here: blog.kexp.org

Cool facts about this album: 1. Hang is Foxygen's first proper studio record, recorded in Los Angeles, CA at Electro Vox Studios. | 2. It was written and produced entirely by Foxygen | 3. Features Steven Drozd of the Flaming Lips, as well as Brian D'Addario and Michael D'Addario of the Lemon Twigs as players on the record. | 4. Features a 40+ piece symphony orchestra on every track. Trey Pollard from Spacebomb arranged and conducted the orchestral parts, with additional arranging from Matthew E. White. | 5. No computers were used in the process of making Hang. It was recorded & mixed entirely on 2" tape and the vinyl lacquers were cut directly from master tapes. jagjaguwar.com Watch Foxygen swank up our studio with a sweet session: blog.kexp.org

"The Animals' recording was propelled by a bass guitar riff from Chas Chandler, soon joined by an electric twelve-string guitar riff from Hilton Valentine; in the view of musicologist Walter Everett, the doubled line gave the song its strength. Dave Rowberry (Alan Price's replacement) on organ gave the record the sound that distinguished the Animals from other 'British Invasion' groups, differing from Dave Clark Five's Mike Smith's through its darker timbre. Music writer Dave Marsh compared the dual part to a rock version of pointillism. Then lead singer Eric Burdon's low-pitched, gruff vocal[3] entered with lyrics that author James E. Perrone thought rhetorically matched Burdon's origins from Tyneside in the working class North East England:" bit.ly

"Miami’s Jacuzzi Boys‘ name may make them sound like a dancehall or lounge act, but this young trio is planted firmly in 60’s lo-fi garage rock. While they might be mistaken for a mid-century transplant, the Floridians are most definitely a product of the 21st century. Formed in 2007 as a duo, they soon brought a bassist on board to round out their sound, and before long caught the attention of labels in the Orlando area." Read on, and enjoy this free downloadable Song of the Day for the JBs: blog.kexp.org

From our exclusive interview with Goodbye Heart, Sam Ford talks about relocating to Seattle: "Living in NYC, you are always contending with the energy, the adversity, and the elation that goes along with it. I will always consider myself a New Yorker first and foremost, but it wasn’t until we moved to Seattle that I was able to put my creative work right in front of me rather than having to weigh it against the day-to-day reality of my environment. That said, being away from NYC has given me a ton of perspective that I was sorely lacking by the time we left. It’s pretty tough to compare the music scenes I think. I actually feel like the term 'scene' is more applicable to New York. In Seattle it feels more like a community. That might sound a little mushy, but I think it speaks to the way people create, consume, support, and share music out here." blog.kexp.org

Born August 5, 1983, Dawn Angeliqué Richard ~ known professionally as Dawn Richard or D∆WN ~ is an American singer-songwriter who started her career after auditioning for Making the Band 3 in 2004, worked as an NBA cheerleader for the New Orleans Hornets while attending the University of New Orleans, and now works as an actress, as well as a curator for Adult Swim. bit.ly

"The music video was directed by Chris Hopewell, who previously directed the animated video for Radiohead's 'There There.' It uses stop-motion animation in the style of the Camberwick Green, Trumpton and Chigley series of 1960s English children's television programmes (also known as the Trumpton Trilogy). The video was conceived and finished in 14 days. The plot homages the 1973 horror film The Wicker Man. An inspector is greeted by a town mayor and invited to see a series of unsettling sights, culminating in the unveiling of a wicker man. The mayor urges the inspector to climb into the wicker man, whereupon he is locked inside as a human sacrifice and the wicker man is set on fire. As the flames gather, the townspeople turn their backs and wave... According to the son-in-law of Trumpton creator Gordon Murray, the family was not asked permission to use the style for the video and saw it as a 'tarnishing of the brand.'" bit.ly Watch the video here: bit.ly

Solange on the magnificent videos accompanying her album: "The visuals were super important in the overall storytelling of the project. Initially they were supposed to come out at the same time as the album, but they ended up coming later, and ultimately that gave people time to digest the music first, and create images in their own head. It’s just like reading a book—the record is very visual in itself. I wanted to express an almost stately look for black men and women, because I feel like historically we haven’t been put in the most regal or majestic context. I set out to create that in the album sonically, and I wanted that to carry through in the visuals as well. My husband, Alan, and I wanted to represent black sisterhood, strength, pride, and elevate the black man and all of his beauty and glory. This was our way of contributing to that narrative."

The brainchild creation of Croatian/Dutch singer-songwriter Marina Tadic, with a little help from her (incredibly talented) friends, which include the phenomenal rhythm section of Jacco Gardner’s band. Read more about this artist, and dig deeper into her stylishly cool tracks: beyondbeyondisbeyondrecords.bigcartel.com

When asked about feminism, gender biases, or her status as role model, Chrissie Hynde responded, “I’m a songwriter and a singer. I don’t know why I’m called upon to make these proclamations about stuff that has nothing to do with me. I don’t know why I have to keep qualifying it as if I’m running for president, you know? Just look at my track record. Every five minutes we have to make a decision and chances are we make a bad decision, you know, because we’re human. We make mistakes. Only a fool could live a life and say they had no regrets, but on the other hand you cannot allow that to impact your future. You know you have to move forward... I just do what I do and frankly I’m just glad I got away with it." bit.ly

While we didn't exactly have the same amount of space available on David Letterman's stage at the time, Samuel T. Herring and company still managed to rock the heck out of our starry little old studio: blog.kexp.org

The legendary Lee Fields will be coming to KEXP and performing on the Afternoon Show next Tuesday, December 6 at 3pm (which you can come watch!), and Neumos later that evening. Tickt info here: neumos.com

Formerly of Swearin', Crutchfield is now recording under her own name. Her twin sister, Katie ~ with whom she was in the band P.S. Elliot ~ is in Waxahatchee, and the two sometimes tour their bands together. A documentary on the twins, in their much earlier incarnation as The Ackleys, can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sGGVW5o3BU

"The album is the first to feature drummer Boris Williams. Bassist Simon Gallup, who had previously worked on three major Cure albums of the early 80's, was called back before the recording. In 1985, the band became a quintet with instrumentalist Porl Thompson as fifth official member. The Head on the Door is the first Cure album where all the songs are composed by singer and guitarist Robert Smith only." bit.ly

Love what you heard? Then absolutely DO NOT MISS a live session and interview with these firecrackers tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) at 4pm, with your fine host, Troy Nelson.

"Describing themselves as like 'Menudo on drugs,' San Juan, Puerto Rico's Davila 666 combine Stooges-like garage rock fire with the occasional sugary pop melody. The seven -- not six, surprisingly -- Davilas include singer/tambourine player Sir Charles, multi-instrumentalist AJ, guitarists/vocalists Miss Davila and Johnny Otis, drummer/guitarist/vocalist San Pablo, percussionist/vocalist Panda, and guitarist/drummer/vocalist Gigi. Their theatrical live show -- which includes themes, props, costumes, and dancers -- won them fans in the States when they toured with the Black Lips and the King Khan & BBQ Show." bit.ly

This track was commissioned by Dr. Martens to celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Check out the video for it here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eHvd-ofyGc

"The album was made over four years between Champaign Urbana, Illinois and Brooklyn, New York. During the album’s writing and production stages, Fein saw her marriage fall apart and found herself relocating halfway across the country, both of which serve as the main inspiration for the record’s concepts. 'These songs are 100% a diary of my life over the last four years,'"

"Why any woman would want to divorce themselves from the idea of equality is beyond my understanding... I think that's a result, in some ways, of a generation that followed the 90s, and women took for granted their rights, their human rights. [They] thought they were there to stay, not really understanding that human rights get eroded constantly and you always have to be really vigilant to make sure that these rights that women have fought so hard for remain in place. Instead we got a whole generation of young women who maybe thought they were living in the Garden of Eden. I'm not entirely sure what went wrong or what's happened but they divorced themselves from the idea of feminism." More from this recent interview with the indomitable Shirley Manson: ab.co

Alexis Krauss, formerly a Teach For America educator and a wedding band singer, on working in Sleigh Bells: "In the past, our vocal approach was almost a textural one... the vocal was really just an instrument. A lot of the deliveries on Treats are very deadpan, robotic, almost cheerleader vibe, you know? I've always kind of approached the band as [being like] myself, but also almost a character, so when I start writing, I try and occupy a head-space of the instrumental, which is a pretty frantic, crazy headspace. It's the same with our live shows." bit.ly

Fun facts: This song was featured in the video game True Crime: New York City, and also heard playing on the jukebox in the Simpsons episode, "Love, Springfieldian Style," specifically in the third segment, "Sid And Nancy" (a re-imagining of the film of the same name), just before a character played by Martin Prince changes it to the Bay City Rollers' "Saturday Night." It was also covered by Elvis Costello and The Attractions!

"Nots are a four-piece noise-punk band band from Memphis, who released their debut album We Are Nots in 2014 and have toured North America and Europe. The band are fronted by Natalie Hoffmann (vocals/guitar) with Charlotte Watson (drums), Alexandra Eastburn (keyboards) and Meredith Lones (bass). The band are signed to Goner Records in Norther America and Heavenly in Europe." bit.ly

Celebrating Nate Mendel's 48th birthday today! As well as Sunny Day Real Estate, Mendel also plays bass for Foo Fighters.

Father John Misty will be performing alongside The New Pornographers, J Mascis and special guests, and Naked Giants for SmooOch, a benefit for Children's Hospital. Full info here: www.showboxpresents.com/events/detail/312217 Watch a gorgeous benefit show he performed for our New Home at Columbia City Theatre a few years ago: http://blog.kexp.org/2015/08/25/live-video-father-john-misty-at-columbia-city-theater/