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Wednesday, Dec 28 2022, 1AM
Playing ya all my 2022 favs for my last show of the year!!! WEEEEE!
#14 KEXP Listeners' Best Albums of 2022!
The Smile are an English rock band comprising the Radiohead members Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, bass, keys) and Jonny Greenwood (guitar, bass, keys) with the drummer Tom Skinner. They are produced by Nigel Godrich, Radiohead's longtime producer.
Did you get to see The Smile this past weekend at WaMu Theater?
The Smile recently recorded a session live in the KEXP studio! This session will air on KEXP Friday January 13, 2023.
thesmile.bandcamp.com
Σtella ("Stella-with-a-sigma") is a painter, visual artist, and musician out of Athens, Greece, with dreampop flavored by Greek folk music. She says of this new song: "We strive to charm, and to be charmed. Mirroring each other’s desires like birds-of-paradise in a tropical forest, dancing wildly to impress a potential mate. But despite our best efforts, things don’t always go as planned…”
stellawithasigma.bandcamp.com
The highly anticipated debut LP from Say She She (named as a silent nod to Nile Rodgers, C’est chi-chi!: It's Chic!), the all female discodelic soul band, will transport you with their dreamy harmonies, catchy hooks and up tempo grooves!
The ladies of Say She She deliver a mesmerizing vocal performance, weaving their voices together in an elegant, haunting style that incorporates earworm melodies, lush harmonies, playful adlibs, and climactic hindi riffs accented with operatic cries that will reel you in and lift you into their otherworldly ether.
saysheshe.bandcamp.com
"Vocalist/percussionist Brijean Murphy and producer/multi-instrumentalist Doug Stuart have been making sweltering groovy soundscapes as Brijean since 2019 and recently followed up their 2021 full-length Feelings with the EP Angelo. Named after their 1981 Toyota Celica, Angelo was born out of a period of immense grief, in which the duo leaned heavily on each other and music as a way to cope." bit.ly
brijean.bandcamp.com
This song is about the people who’ve always stood by me, even when I was wretched. When I was trying to be something other than myself—they saw me even through that and held me down. Folks from past lives, and folks who’ll play a big part in my future—I’m grateful for them and the love they’ve poured into me. This song is for and about them. -Bartees Strange
Bloc Party's Kele Okereke on their new single: “From the moment we wrote ‘Traps’, we knew it had to be the first thing people heard from this album; playing it in soundchecks on our last tour before it was finished and hearing how it sounded in those big rooms and outdoors.” bit.ly www.blocparty.com
#23 KEXP Listeners' Best Albums of 2022
The Japanese-born American singer’s sixth studio album. It was the best selling album in the United States during the first week of its release.
Her first album in four years, Mitski recorded Laurel Hell with her longtime producer Patrick Hyland throughout the isolation of a global pandemic, during which some of the songs “slowly took on new forms and meanings, like seed to flower.”
Watch her Live on KEXP session from 2019: www.youtube.com
Schoolteacher by day, searing pop-punk wunderkind by night, Vietnamese-American artist Monét Ngo is a man of many talents. His debut single "Lonestar" showcases more than a few of those talents, on an inspiring coming-of-age alternative ballad about dealing with loneliness and anxiety.
"'Lonestar' was written at one of the lowest points in my life. It was a time where I was feeling a lot of social anxiety amongst my peers and I was dwelling on past mistakes and conversations," Ngo relates, "I was at a turning point in my life where I wasn’t sure who I wanted to be or what I wanted to do next with my future. Should I follow the safe route and pursue teaching, or should I work even harder to pursue my dream with music. The aggressive tone of the song sets the tone for me trying to come to terms with all these sources of anxiety within my life."
PinkPantheress is a 21 year old English singer, songwriter, and record producer. PinkPantheress's songs, which are frequently short in length and include samples of music from the 1990s and 2000s, span a number of genres, including bedroom pop, drum and bass, alt-pop, and 2-step garage.
Lorely Rodriguez, aka Empress Of, just released her first new song of 2022 which the pop artist describes as “one of my favorite songs I have ever made.”
She continued, “I’ve never put live strings on a recording before, it was very emotional. There’s a sexual urgency. There’s a power play. I think it’s one of the sexiest songs I’ve made.”
Empress Of played live on KEXP (at home) in 2020. Check out her full performance here: www.youtube.com
Watch Rosalía perform Chicken Teriyaki Live on Saturday Night Live last March:
bit.ly.
www.rosalia.com
Spoon was last Live in the KEXP studio in 2017. Check out the full performance, and interview with Cheryl, here: bit.ly
You can also watch the awesome music video for The Hardest Cut here: bit.ly.
spoontheband.bandcamp.com
Cheryl Waters chose "Stabilise" as a KEXP Song of the Day when it came out as a single in 2021 - download it for FREE and subscribe to future KEXP podcasts: bit.ly.
Nilüfer Yanya also stopped by KEXP to play an in-studio session in May 2022, hosted by Cheryl - watch Live Video from the session here: bit.ly.
niluferyanya.com
"Graveyard Love" appears to be inspired by the brutal colonialist rule the United States has imposed on Puerto Rico, where guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López was born. Of the lyrics to “Graveyard Love,” vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala explains, "They will seek your ruin, and burn your lands because if they can’t have you, no one can.”
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Special Interest is a four-piece punk band emerging from New Orleans, Louisiana.
This song was inspired by the Angola Three, Black revolutionaries who were held in solitary confinement for more than 40 years while imprisoned at Louisiana State Penitentiary (also known as Angola Prison). bit.ly
See the official video for "Herman's House": www.youtube.com
specialinterestno.bandcamp.com
#30 KEXP Listeners' Best Albums of 2022
This is the third album from the Nashville-based artist Sophie Allison.
They are closing out the year touring in the US and kicking off 2023 touring in Australia.
Check out their 2021 session live in the KEXP Live Room. www.youtube.com
In the latest song from Meg Remy (U.S. Girls), she satirizes the pandemic real estate grab. The track features backing vocalist Kyle Kidd.
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See the "contractor approved" music video here: www.youtube.com
My #7 album of the year!
The GRAMMY-nominated, South London trio PVA released their highly anticipated debut album this year!
Here is PVA Live on KEXP with Troy in 2021 - www.youtube.com
www.pva.band
My #6 album of the year!
Melt Yourself Down have never been fully attached to a particular scene or sound, but this ability to stand out has allowed them to survive.
As musician Pete Wareham puts it: “We don’t fit the archetype. For too long this has felt like a problem, now we have the opportunity to say: We don’t fit in, we’re in the cracks, we’re ourselves.”
Of the single, Gaya adds: “In everything I create there is a tension between wanting to fit in, to feel included and the fear of losing my culture or forgetting where I am from. The refusal to fit in whatever narrative an African man of Asian appearance should play in western society. I started not really caring so much, not second-guessing myself or my vocals so much, which was a huge hurdle to overcome.” www.clashmusic.com
The Comet Is Coming is a London-based, Mercury Prize nominated, synth-sax-drum trio featuring Danalogue (Dan Leavers), Shabaka (Shabaka Hutchings), and Betamax (Max Hallett) -- thecometiscoming.bandcamp.com
Don't miss Live Video from Young Fathers' KEXP performance at Avast! Recording Co. in 2018: bit.ly.
Explaining Heavy Heavy's title in a press release, Young Fathers said to Pitchfork:
"Heavy Heavy could be a mood, or it could describe the smoothed granite of bass that supports the sound… or it could be a nod to the natural progression of boys to grown men and the inevitable toll of living, a joyous burden, relationships, family, the natural momentum of a group that has been around long enough to witness massive changes."
bit.ly
youngfathersofficial.bandcamp.com
New record from British hip-hop artist Little Simz! This is her fifth studio album, with elements of gospel, soul, funk, and electronic music.
The second studio album from Compton-born artist Steve Lacy. Lacy was the guitarist for The Internet, and began solo projects in 2016. He has worked with artists such as Tyler the Creator and Kendrick Lamar.
"Gemini Rights is essentially me coming into myself after a breakup. It's a story that is very fluid [and] very fun. To me, the subject matter could be sad if you look at it that way, but I feel like it is way more hopeful - and that's the story: finding happiness. I'm finding myself after a heartbreak and I am excited for people to hear this record." bit.ly
www.stevelacys.com
My #5 album of 2022!
Featuring a moving vocal sample which touches on themes of solidarity Fred again.. talks of including his own vocal on the track: “I kinda only sing on my records when I feel like I need to say something that I can’t find a sample to say for me. And yeh these were some things I needed to say.” - bit.ly
Fred again…teamed up (again) with Romy of the xx. ’
"Strong’ came from a moment in my life when I was processing past grief,” Romy said, “Whilst writing the lyrics I was thinking about my cousin Luis, we both have the shared experience of our mums passing away when we were young. I recognise in him the same trait I have which is to try and hold emotions down and put on a brave face. The song was a way to connect with these feelings, offer support and ultimately find a sense of release in the euphoria of music.”
romyromyromy.bandcamp.com
Four Tet has dusted off his KH moniker with the long-awaited official release of “Looking at Your Pager.” The song features a flip of the vocals from the 2000 single “No More (Baby I’ma Do Right)” from the group 3LW. Last year, fans captured live video of the producer dropping the song into a set. “The sample has been cleared,” he shared on Instagram. pitchfork.com
From New York songwriter and producer Doss! “‘Jumpin’’ is about letting go, getting lost, and the out-of-sequence memories of wobbling lights and vibrating floors going by like a slow-motion montage,” said Doss. “It’s going wherever the night takes you and being up for anything.” pitchfork.com
One of the most exciting DJs from the new wave of high-speed and industrial techno artists, Martyna Maja, AKA VTSS, has been carving a niche of her own. Marrying demonic industrial techno with EBM, sped-up trance and hardcore, the Polish DJ, producer and live act has been wowing audiences across the globe with her high-energy, heavy-hitting sets. vtss.bandcamp.com
Anna Lunoe is an Australian DJ, vocalist, songwriter and producer now living in Los Angeles, California.
2022 has marked a momentous year for the return of electronic, GRAMMY-nominated duo, ODESZA. They dropped their latest album ‘The Last Goodbye’ to critical and fan acclaim alike - Billboard said it is “full of lush soundscapes, grandiose moments and productions that are equally complex and emotive” - released a cinematic short film music video starring Simone Ashley for LP cut “Love Letter (feat. The Knocks)”, and embarked on their current groundbreaking nationwide amphitheater tour which has sold 400k+ tickets to date, with numerous sold-out, multi-night runs including in their hometown of Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena, LA’s The Forum, and New York’s Forest Hills Stadium and more.
They continue the exciting momentum with the release of ‘The Last Goodbye Remixes No° 1’ EP, which reimagines cuts from the nostalgic and transformative LP with remixes by tastemakers including the likes of DJ Seinfeld, Gilligan Moss, Devault, Nils Hoffmann and Eli & Fur.
odesza.bandcamp.com
odesza.com
The debut full-length from London-based DJ/producer (aka Teisha Matthews).
‘Capricorn Sun’ is both a statement of where she is right now as an artist and producer, but also a reflection of time she spent writing and recording the album, and the impact of global events, familial upheaval and personal struggles during that period.
- tshamusic.bandcamp.com
My #3 album of the year!
Let's ascend! KEXP.ORG Donate now.
“This is a track I made with one of my dearest friends Jon Hopkins," said HAAi regarding 'Baby, We're Ascending.' "I’d been working on this particular track alone for a while and got stuck with it – I posted a clip on my Instagram one morning and Jon messaged me asking what it was and could we work on it together.”
bit.ly
HAAi will release her first studio album on May 27th.
haai.bandcamp.com
My #2 album of the year!
MUNA appeared on KEXP's Sound and Vision in June: The indie-pop trio MUNA talks about being an openly queer band since they started in 2014, and why they believe the conversation should go beyond “Representation.” Listen here: bit.ly
“Good Ones” appears on Charli XCX's new album, Crash, out now! She says, the song "laments my inability to keep hold of healthy relationships, instead being endlessly drawn back to the dysfunctional and toxic.”
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Filmed in Mexico and co-directed by Hannah Lux Davis, the video “sees me dramatically mourning the untimely loss of my partner as I battle with the realization that once again I’ve abandoned the goodness in my life, in favor of the sinister, with a visual aesthetic that marks a new era of me: Charli XCX.”: www.youtube.com
Hey there, little girl, don't you wanna see the world?
Don't be scared
And, hey there, little world, are you ready for this girl?
Live on KEXP: www.youtube.com
FRED is a solo project started by keyboardist Gabriel Molinaro, who spent two years on the road with Seattle alt-psych band Motopony and has played with several other projects including Moon Palace, Tenderfoot, and Timothy Robert Graham. The name FRED references Molinaro’s grandmother, Winifred, who they describe as a “sharp-witted and elegant woman who smoked cigarettes and read Sufi poets.”
Molinaro wrote the songs on the Creature EP while grieving the death of their mother, who died in 2019 after a three-year battle with cancer. The EP was guided by Molinaro’s desire to connect with and understand the women in their family, which ultimately led them towards a deeper understanding of themselves.
“I thought this collection of songs would be all about grief,” Molinaro explains, “but it surprised me by becoming so much more than that.” In the year following the death of their mother, Molinaro also came out as non-binary. “I realized I’m trying to understand the women in my family because I’m trying to understand myself.”
extrachill.com
'“Do Me a Favor,” the latest single from Glüme, is an upbeat ode to the insecurities that often plague one’s mind from being burned too many times. How can you recognize if something is real after so many heartbreaks? Sometimes the answer is sometimes just in the other person making the bold moves. “Do me a favor and take me,” she begs.'
This song was recently selected for the KEXP Song Of the Day podcast by DJ Cheryl Waters. www.kexp.org
LEATHERS is the darkwave dream of visual artist and musician, Shannon Hemmett of Vancouver, BC based outfit, ACTORS. leathers.bandcamp.com
My #4 album of the year! Stay tuned for their KEXP session coming soon to our youtube channel:)
Check out the music video, which was directed by Hand Held Cine Club, the production company of guitarist Justin Lockey’s brother. www.youtube.com
Once Twice Melody is a double album comprised of 18 songs! It's the most recent album from Beach House, out this past February.
Check out "Pay No Mind," a cool compilation of tour footage that the band released in 2018: bit.ly
Katherine Paul has announced her third full-length album, The Land, The Water, The Sky, out February 10, 2023! blackbelteaglescout.bandcamp.com www.blackbelteaglescout.com
A large international ensemble based in London, they blend West African funk and electronic bass music with cosmopolitan aplomb.
See their previous 2019 KEXP performance here: www.youtube.com.
ibibiosoundmachine.com