Kexp Live Performances Podcast

The Portland musician Kelli Schaefer channels a trembling thunder on her latest album, No Identity, bursting with power and control with the finesse that only a seasoned songwriter can channel. Schaefer roars into the KEXP Live Room on Audioasis with DJ Sharlese with four No Identity songs. Recorded 02/09/2018. 4 songs - Big Black Box, Underground, Machine, Shiny Black FeathersSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jen Cloher's self-titled record isn't just her most dynamic, it's likely her most self-reflective as well. Wrapped in these spiraling, sprawling songs is a top-class songwriter expanding her sound with intricate Rust Never Sleeps-esque guitar work. Joining DJ Morgan in the KEXP Live Room, Cloher and her band run through four songs off her self-titled record. Recorded 01/27/2018. 4 songs - Analysis Paralysis, Sensory Memory, Regional Echo, Forgot MyselfSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After reuniting in 2015 for a series of live dates, Dean Wareham and the other members of Luna gradually worked back into a recording mindset, resulting in an instrumental EP and cover album combo, A Sentimental Education. Joining Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room, the band run through two songs from Sentimental and a pair of Luna classics, as well as a top-drawer Prince anecdote. Recorded 1/23/2018. 4 songs - GTX3, Fire In Cairo, Speedbumps, Sideshow by the SeashoreSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dan Auerbach's prolific streak has run for two decades now, but after an eight-year break between solo albums, he gathered a number of top-notch musicians for the sublime Waiting on a Song. Joined by the Easy Eye Sounds Revue and Robert Finley (who sings two of his own songs), Auerbach brings a warm, intimate set of songs in this acoustic session in the KEXP Live Room with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 02/12/2017. 5 songs - Waiting On A Song, Never In My Wildest Dreams, Trouble Waits For You, Medicine Woman, Get It While You CanSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The London-via-Seattle duo FKL's crisp electronic sounds channel kinetic energy with silvery tones, not unlike the grey-skied cities that Sage Redman and Joe Gillick hail from. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, the pair discuss the project's inception and relocation to Seattle from London alongside a performance of songs from their debut, Out of Tune. 4 songs - Even, A Different Street, All I Got, ViolenceSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's easy to get lost in The Barr Brothers' rich, often sweeping take on folk rock, wrapping Laurel Canyon shimmer with a sharp, fine-tuned sense of craft. Brad & Andrew Barr, Sarah Pagé, and their bandmates join DJ Morgan for a return trip to the KEXP Live Room to perform four tracks from their latest record, Queens of the Breakers. Recorded 12/16/2017. 4 songs - Queens of the Breakers, Hideous Glorious (Parts 1&2), Look Before It Changes, Song That I HeardSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When they first announced their reunion in 2014, Slowdive's legacy as one of the definitive shoegaze bands had long been crystallized, and when they returned in 2017 with a masterful self-titled album, their years apart felt like a footnote in a band producing some of their best work three decades in. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for one of the most anticipated sessions of the year, Slowdive discuss their return and perform three songs from their new album and a shoe gaze classic. Recorded 10/25/2017. 4 songs - Slomo, Star Roving, Crazy For You, Sugar For The PillSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Stas THEE Boss's solo debut, S'Women (pronounced “swimming”), finds the Seattle musician sharpening her smooth, R and B-streaked hip hop while she meditates on, in her own words, "an aquatic explanation of failed female companionships”. Joined by Seattle's Jusmoni in the KEXP Live Room, Stas performs four tracks from S'women and discusses futurism, music, and the excellence of Octavia Butler with DJ Riz. Recorded 10/21/2017. 4 songs - Solo, Before Anyone Else, Sex Pack, No ServiceSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four years passed in between Sam Beam's previous album as Iron & Wine and his latest, 2017's Beast Epic, but stepping away from the project to work on other endeavors - duet records, starting a record label, digging into his archives - refreshed him and inspired him to craft one of his most thoughtful and sweeping records to date. Joining Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room, Beam and his band play a stripped down set of Beast Epic songs that highlights the gently powerful songwriting. Recorded 10/18/0217 - 4 songs: Call It Dreaming, About A Bruise, Summer CloudsSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ten years before this performance in the KEXP Gathering Space, the Seattle hip-hop group Common Market released Tobacco Road, a key album in the 2000s Seattle hip-hop canon. In celebration of its anniversary, Sabri and RA Scion (accompanied by a full band) reunited for a performance that shows the group hasn't lost a step since their 2009 disbandment. Recorded 12/01/2017. 5 songs - Slow Cure, 40 Acres, Re-Fresh, Trouble Is, Tobacco RoadSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The grimy, industrial Seattle group Haunted Horses initially broke up in 2016, but it wasn't long before they announced their revival as a “new band.” Returning to Audioasis with DJ Sharlese for the third time, the group perform five new songs from their new chapter and talk about why they came back to the project. Recorded 11/18/0217 - 4 songs: Vessel, INTO, Winkle, Pleasure, Cold MedicineSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.