Kevin Cole

The Welsh DJ and remix Alexander Paul Coe performs as Sasha -- voted the world's #1 DJ in a DJ Magazine poll in 2000, and with production and remix credits for Pet Shop Boys, Foals, GusGus, Madonna, and more! For Out of Time, he brought in singer Poliça for vocals. Learn more at the Kompakt records site: kompakt.fm

Future Islands are playing two different venues near Seattle this week -- McMenamins Elks Temple Spanish Ballroom in Tacoma TOMORROW Wednesday, September 8th -- bit.ly They're also playing Marymoor Park with Modest Mouse, THIS SATURDAY and SUNDAY Sep 11 & Sep 12 --bit.ly New standalone single from the Baltimore synth-pop heroes! NME called the new track 'a series of meditative observations on the nature of life'. bit.ly futureislands.bandcamp.com

Jamie xx's first solo album was composed over a five-year period, and features guest vocals from Romy and Oliver Sim from The xx, as well as from Young Thug and Popcaan. The album topped the Dance/Electronic charts in the US! Cheryl Waters hosted The xx Live in the KEXP Studio in April 2017: tinyurl.com

Emma Murphree describes the new Charli XCX single: '“Good Ones” is liquid epinephrine: It’s unrestrained and effortlessly danceable, yet it still retains an element of emotional intelligence and clarity...The track’s thematic elements of fraught personal relationships echo Charli’s tenuous relationship to her status within an industry largely predicated on the loss of autonomy. On her single, Charli manufactures a carefully rendered duality of letting oneself be manipulated on both interpersonal and structural scales.' Read more at the Daily Californian: tinyurl.com

NEW MUSIC from the legendary Johnny Marr. He announced a new double-LP, "Fever Dreams Pts. 1-4", no date yet for the entire LP, but the EP for Part 1 comes out in October. Speaking about the new single, Marr said: “’Spirit, Power And Soul’ is a kind of mission statement. I had an idea about an electro sound with gospel feeling, in my own words… an electro soul anthem.” -- tinyurl.com

Greg Freeman wrote a retrospective on this song for the Guardian in 2012 -- 'Where can you find a Town Called Malice on the map? It's actually located in Surrey, on the main railway line to the west country. It's a town called Woking, actually.... It's a song about housewives unhappy with their lot, even a lost heritage of steam trains, but its mood is perversely exhilarating, uplifting; it carries the confidence that you can escape.' -- tinyurl.com

'Picaresque' was recorded at the Prescott Church in northeast Portland, which the band rented for one month in the summer of 2004. To facilitate the creative process and avoid creative block, band members filled a used bike helmet with slips of paper listing strategies and ideas to try out. Non-traditional rock instruments used in the album's recording included an accordion and a hurdy-gurdy. The album was produced by Chris Walla, also the guitarist for the band Death Cab for Cutie. Read more of Sean Nelson's review for The Stranger: tinyurl.com

"Sympathy for Life" will be out on October 22nd. The album is inspired by New York clubs, Primal Scream, and Pink Floyd. “Most of the songs were created by taking long improvisations and molding them through our own editing,” co-frontman Austin Brown said in a statement. “The biggest asset we have as artists is the band. After 10 years together, our greatest instrument is each other. The purest expression of Parquet Courts is when we are improvising. Daniel Arnold directed the frenetic video for this track: youtu.be

YOU CAME OUT FOR A NICE TIME -- NOT AN EXPERIENCE "The Vega Bodegas trip the light fantastic between surreal stand-up and unhinged rock and roll" -- WalesOnline The single was recorded, mixed, mastered and produced by Todd Campbell at Stompbox Studio in South Wales. Check out their Bandcamp: thevegabodegas.bandcamp.com

By request for Rick and Kitty in Kirkland! 'I wanted to let you know my wife Kitty & I saw Joan Jett a Tulalip Amphitheater Saturday night and she sang “Androgynous“ by The Replacements. It’s funny when I hear them, I think about you and your connection to the band. I wonder if you’ve heard her version? It’s on the album Sinner. Joan made a point of just singing it with the microphone-no guitar-and it was the best song of the night and I could tell it had deep meaning for so many people there. We need to hear a sound like this every now and then so I’m hoping you can play it today. Thanks so much for all you do for all of us!' "'Androgynous' is a song about love. Love between two people who challenge the cisgender societal norms. It is a song that portrays a genderless relationship where “They both look the same”, and it doesn’t matter because “they love each other so”. Additionally, 'Androgynous' also draws upon the evolution of gender, and how it is redefined through time, as it can be understood in the lyrics “Same hair, revolution / Same build, evolution”." bit.ly

Rolling Stone called this influentual track one of the 500 greatest songs of all time: 'Big Star were totally unfashionable in their day – early-Seventies Memphis rockers inspired by Sixties British Invasion pop. A nonhit from the band's second LP, Radio City, "September Gurls" is now revered as a power-pop classic. "They were fairly dark records wrapped in a pop package," drummer Jody Stephens said of Big Star's now-adored catalog. "Maybe that's what's made them enduring."' -- tinyurl.com

Tom McGreevy, 1/2 of the Toronto duo describes the song this way in a press release: "It is about personal connection in an environment that is hostile to it, and about friendships with people who are physically distant. Me and Evan have both moved around a lot, and have friends in far-off places we don’t see as often as we’d like. In fact, we partly made this record while Evan was living in Australia and I was in Toronto. Some of those friendships are extremely important to me, and the song is kind of about grasping for those lifelines when it’s particularly difficult to believe that things are going to work out, or if there’s even any point in trying.” ducksltdband.bandcamp.com tinyurl.com

'Chime School is the project of San Francisco musician Andy Pastalaniec. Endlessly charmed by 80s indie and its 60s forbearers (and any record with a 12-string guitar), Andy cut his teeth as a drummer with SLR labelmate Odd Hope in their early group Pink Films; later with shoegazers Cruel Summer, and currently with indiepop outfit Seablite.' Andy directed the low-fi video for this track, with lots of cats and Bay Area sights -- tinyurl.com Pre-order the new album: chimeschool.bandcamp.com

Originally intended as an album for David Gedge's project Cinerama, he decided to release it under The Wedding Present after breaking up with his Cinerama co-founder. The album was recorded in Shoreline, Seattle, and in Chicago Cheryl Waters hosted The Wedding Present Live in the KEXP Studio back in April 2017: youtu.be

The Shivas will be at The Tractor Tavern on Thursday, November 11th, as part of the Freakout Fest.: www.theshivas.org 'To me, this song is about the magic of finding those few people in your life with whom you really connect and feel a common sense of understanding and belonging. Kristin had suggested “a love letter to the band” as a concept for this music video, and getting into a van with some of my favorite people to go see a small and obscure corner of the world seemed fitting. We hope you enjoy.” Read more and find a link to the groovy music video at Under the Radar: tinyurl.com Pre-order the new album: theshivas.bandcamp.com

Deafheaven will be playing at The Crocodile in Seattle on Tuesday, March 22, 2022 -- get tickets: tinyurl.com Throughout the six minutes of “Great Mass of Color,” Deafheaven showcases their heavier rock side, while other points of the song are so peaceful as to induce somnolence. The album features production from Justin Meldal-Johnsen, who is known for his work with M83, Wolf Alice, Paramore, Metric, among others. Jack Shirley, who recorded all the previous Deafheaven albums, remained on board to engineer part of Infinite Granite at his Atomic Garden East studio in Oakland, California. bit.ly

Adorable formed in September 1990 in Coventry, England. Prior to that the band was known as The Candy Thieves. Pitchfork rated Against Perfection in "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". bit.ly '“Sunshine Smile,” in particular, exemplifies all that is stellar about Adorable: a spidery guitar riff that explodes into beatific distortion, singer Pete Fijalkowski’s languid, Ian McCulloch-esque croon, and a rhythm section that burns with the nervous energy of young love.'

My Morning Jacket play the Paramount Theatre on October 1 & 2 (all-ages shows) in Seattle, with very special guest Durand Jones & The Indications! Get tickets: www.stgpresents.org “This song really hits home for me after what we’ve gone through with the pandemic,” James said in a statement. “But even before then, it felt like so many of us were trading real life for social media, trading our own stories for the storylines on TV, trading our consciousness for drugs. We need to help each other wake up to real love before it’s too late.” Read more and find a link to the video at Rolling Stone: tinyurl.com

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars’ upcoming joint album has been delayed until 2022 as they focus on “touching up parts that need a little more… grease,” as they recently told Rolling Stone. Until then, we've got this new track from the newly-released soundtrack for the Marvel film, 'Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings'. andersonpaak.com

This song marked the first commercial appearance of pianist John Legend, who was 19 years old when the song was recorded. During the recording sessions, Hill wanted to write a song about injustice and struggles amongst youth communities in inner-city Urban America. bit.ly Lauryn Hill performed "Everything Is Everything" February 2020: youtu.be

Happy birthday to Minneapolis rapper Sean Michael Daley, performing as Slug -- born on this day in 1972! The new Atmosphere album is set to include a host of features from an all-star cast including the late MF DOOM, Evidence, Aesop Rock, Sa-Roc, Lateef the Truthspeaker, Nikki Jean and more... 'WORD?' will be released on October 8. atmosphere.bandcamp.com

In a record label statement, Geese describe themselves: 'They began recording together with sneakers as mic stands and blankets draped over the amps, all within the afternoon following a school day, up until they ran the risk of noise complaints. Recently, they signed a record deal, so they are thinking about moving on from sneaker-laden mics and blanketed amps, but their musical ethos has not changed a bit. Curiously alien, yet strangely familiar, the band’s debut album, Projector, is a product of five teenagers whose love of music touches every part of their lives: their restless anxiety about their futures, and their pent-up frustration with their present-a perspective all too familiar in today’s uncertain world.' The music video has some solid 80s horror-film vibes: youtu.be

Recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, the music for this song came out of a jam session where the band switched instruments. Bass player Tina Weymouth ended up on rhythm guitar, keyboard player Jerry Harrison played keyboard bass, and David Byrne manned the Prophet-5 synthesizer, making the space-y sounds by turning the modulation wheel. "It's a very comforting song," drummer Chris Frantz said. "I think people listen to it and it kind of warms their hearts because it's a song with a happy and secure message. I love that song myself. It's really sweet - quite an accomplishment for a band such as ours." bit.ly

Nation of Language will be LIVE on KEXP Thursday, October 14 at 9:30 AM, and they play The Crocodile later that night! Ian Devaney said about the song: 'After I dropped out of college I spent a number of years delivering pizzas and waiting tables while I lived at home and tried to get a music career going. One ends up spending a lot of time contending with unrealized dreams and feeling jealousy towards those who have moved on. There’s an inferiority complex that can set in, which if unchecked, can lead down a pretty bitter and self-destructive road. This is a song for driving down that road, as indecision and longing and regret cycle together into mania, until finally, at the end, quiet acceptance and peace wash over.' -- Read more at Stereogum: tinyurl.com nationoflanguage.bandcamp.com

Cuban-American DJ and producer, Ibiza regular, and remix specialist joins JakoJako, Melawati, Arthur Baker, Bernard Sumner, and Stephen Morris with remixes of this single from New Order -- neworder.bandcamp.com

French versionThe members of Kraftwerk, particularly Ralf Hutter, were big cycling fans. this song was intended as a homage to the sport's most famous event. Soon after the song's release, Hutter was hospitalized after a serious cycling accident. -- Here's the official music video: www.youtube.com

Noise-pop duo Sleigh Bells are touring in October to support "Texis", wrapping up on October 28th with an All-Ages performance at The Showbox! Learn more: bit.ly Get tickets: bit.ly Kevin selected "Locust Laced" as the KEXP Song of the Day on August 31: www.kexp.org

The band’s anonymous members claim to hail from the remote and cursed village of Korpilombo in northern Sweden, where inhabitants had for centuries been devoted to a form of voodoo introduced by a travelling witch doctor Read more and purchase 'Headsoup' -- goat.bandcamp.com

Check out a 2019 Sound & Vision segment where the young artist reflects on her life in music: www.kexp.org

In her announcement on Twitter, Celeste wrote: "Not Your Muse is the power I found when I felt powerless... In making this album I have allowed myself to arrive at a place where I feel empowered, fiercely wide-eyed and fulfilled. I'm very proud of what I've achieved on my debut album and to be in this position, after the year that has been, I feel nothing but gratitude and excitement. I hope you enjoy it."

Happy birthday to Walter Theodore "Sonny" Rollins, born on this date in 1930! A titan on the tenor saxophone -- for his best-known album, "Saxophone Colossus", he led a quartet with Tommy Flanagan on piano, Doug Watkins on bass, and Max Roach on drums In 1986, filmmaker Robert Mugge released an homage and documentary to the great Sonny Rollins that shared a name with this album -- includes performances in New York and Tokyo! -- www.robertmugge.com

"...as the world slowly resets from the chaos of the past year, Durand Jones & The Indications’ 'Private Space' is arriving at just the right time. “I feel we’ll be arriving into people’s lives as they’re exiting a really tough period,” Aaron Frazer theorizes. “We’re not out of the woods, but hopefully this allows people to get together again, to share and experience catharsis.” Kevin Cole hosted Durand Jones & The Indications Live in the KEXP Studio back in April 2019: youtu.be durandjonesandtheindications.com

Three years after the release of Jungle Fire's self-titled LP, they have dropped this remix EP with work from several collaborators, including JKriv, DJ Nu-Mark, Samual Miles, and this remix -- 'On the A-side, Colombian juggernaut Felipe Gordon takes Atómico fully nuclear with a stomping bass-heavy house remix' -- preorder yours now: junglefiremusic.bandcamp.com