Kexp Song Of The Day

MIKE - Stop Worry! (feat. Sister Nancy) from the 2022 album Beware of the Monkey on 10k London-via-the-Bronx artist Michael Jordan Bonema (better known as MIKE to us) has recruited the legendary Sister Nancy to help out on today's Song of the Day. Sister Nancy is the first ever female dancehall DJ, and her repeated refrain to "wake up" helps elevate this laid-back, synthesizer-laden song.  The track can be found on his latest full-length Beware of the Monkey, titled after some advice he found in his Chinese horoscope. Like on previous releases, the new album honors the memory of his mother. The video, directed by Ryosuke Tanzawa, is dedicated to her, and the single was released on what would've been his mother's birthday. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A party in the Bronx on August 11th, 1973 is widely considered to be the birthplace of hip-hop. The art form has since touched every corner of our world and evolved into one of the most significant cultural forces today. This year, on hip-hop's 50th anniversary, we’re giving it a proper tribute.  50 Years of Hip-Hop is KEXP’s newest podcast. Hosted by Larry Mizell Jr, the series highlights a different year of rap history each week. Jumping around the timeline from 1973 to today, expect personal reflections, iconic tracks and albums, and conversations around the genesis of the culture. New episodes drop every Wednesday starting February 1.  Subscribe to 50 Years of Hip-Hop now and learn more at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Liv.e - "Wild Animals" from the 2023 album Girl In The Half Pearl on In Real Life Music. Psychedelic soulstress Liv.e returns with her sophomore full-length Girl in the Half Pearl, out February 10 via In Real Life. The Dallas-born, Los Angeles-based singer/producer found inspiration while experimenting with live performance at her residency last year at London's Laylow. Today's Song of the Day was co-written and produced with John Carroll Kirby and Solomonphonic, and is accompanied by a video directed by herself.  “I really love the process of coming up with a vision and doing my best to ensure that it will come out just as it was in my imagination,” Liv.e shared in a press release. “I tend to use almost all my practices as another way to strengthen my trust and belief in myself. The concept is just based on the release of letting go old ‘people pleasing’ habits that I tended to act on in the past a lot. A depiction of gaining the strength & courage to choose myself every time.” Read the full story at KEX

Hibou - Night Fell from the 2023 self-released Arc EP. Hibou, the solo project of former Seattlite Peter Michel, dropped his first body of music in three years earlier this month. The five-song EP Arc builds upon the dreamy atmospherics that have been his signature since releasing his debut self-titled back in 2015. Now living in Paris, Michel was inspired by “an electric arc between things, or arc lightning” when titling his new EP. Our Song of the Day “Night Fell” is a shimmering, nostalgic bridge between shoegaze and dreampop with only a steady, pulsing drumbeat keeping our feet planted on ground lest we float straight to the heavens. “It’s exhilarating to be releasing new Hibou music after spending so much of the last several years concentrating on my folk project,” Michel says of Arc. “‘Night Fell’ feels like the perfect song to kick things back into gear. Packed tightly into this track is my return to the lush textured melodies and breezy blend of gossamer vocals that comprise Hibou.” Michel spent the s

Black Belt Eagle Scout - Don't Give Up from the 2023 album The Land, The Water, The Sky on Saddle Creek. Three years after the release of her sophomore record At the Party Wtih My Brown Friends, Katherine Paul unveiled the new Black Belt Eagle Scout single "Don't Give Up." The song is a dreamy, emotive gift to her Indigenous Swinomish, WA community, where over a melancholic guitar melody she hushedly touches on mental health awareness and the importance of connection to the land in the healing process. Paul wrote the song over the course of two years, starting in 2020 at a songwriting residency in Coast Salish territory before the pandemic and finishing in November 2021 while attending the same residency again. She had this to say about the song: “'Don’t Give Up' is a song about mental health awareness and the importance that my connection to the land plays within my own mental health journey. Spending time with the land and on the water are ways that strengthen my connection to my ancestors and to my culture

Genesis Owusu – “Get Inspired,” a 2022 single on Ourness With his 2021 debut LP Smiling with No Teeth, Ghanaian-Australian artist Genesis Owusu swept the ARIA Music Awards (like the Australian Grammys) landing Album of the Year, Best Hip Hop Release, Best Independent Release, and even Best Cover Art. As we await another full-length, Owusu has shared some stand-alone singles, including today's Song of the Day, which brings a fun new wave-feel to his lightning-quick raps. The track is accompanied by a video made in collaboration with creative agency Babekühl and illustrator/animator Chris Yee. Owusu heads to the US later this year, touring in support of Paramore. No Seattle dates yet, but stay tuned. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gladie - "Heaven, Someday" from the 2022 album Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out on Plum Records Recorded in early 2022, Philadelphia band Gladie chose an appropriate name for their second LP: Don’t Know What You’re in Until You’re Out. The thoughtful title covers more than just the pandemic. As frontwoman Augusta Koch explained to Flood magazine, "We decided to name the record this because it deals a lot with the theme of shifting into a new mindset, and with that change you can objectively look back and see what you were going through without your thought processes being clouded by being in the thick of it." She adds, "I think it’s also an ambiguous title in a way, because I like the idea that it can be interpreted as both a positive and a negative. Like, the duality of both ‘you don’t know what you’re in until you’re out’ could seem sad because it implies hardship and turmoil, but it can also seem hopeful in the sense that although you’re going through something really rough, there’s hope that it

Deerhoof - My Lovely Cat! from the 2023 album Miracle-Level on Joyful Noise. Bay Area-based noise-pop group Deerhoof may not be savvy on internet-memes, but they did dedicate today's Song of the Day to the online feline sensation Lil Bub, and had the song produced by Mike Bridavsky, Lil Bub's owner. As the band explain in a press statement: If you were going to compose a song about a cute cat from the internet, then get it recorded and mixed and mastered by an outside producer known not only for their recording and mixing and mastering, but for their cute cat from the internet, well, you would be shrewd indeed. But this of course we did not do, because we didn't know about Mike Bridavsky or Lil Bub when we wrote the song! Well, we think about him now: a true collaborator and artist and friend. The song is a first-look at the band's forthcoming full-length, Miracle-Level, which will be released on March 31 via Joyful Noise. It's their first Japanese-language LP, and their first to be made entirely in a proper

Quasi - Doomscrollers from the 2023 album Breaking the Balls of History on Sub Pop. "Doomscrollers" is a new single from the indie rock duo Quasi, the project of former partners Sam Coomes and Janet Weiss, off their upcoming album Breaking The Balls Of History which is set to be released in February and is their first full-length in a decade. The song is a commentary on the modern phenomenon of doomscrolling, where people compulsively consume negative news and social media, leading to feelings of anxiety and despair. The lyrics of the song also touch on themes of addiction and isolation, painting a bleak yet relatable portrait of the 21st century. The song opens with a punchy guitar riff, and Coomes's lyrics paint a picture of the current state of society, of people sleeping in their cars, teenage TikTok stars, and everyone baking bread, doomscrolling, and going out of their heads. Weiss, famed former Sleater-Kinney drummer, adds an upbeat, energetic feel to the song that belies the dark lyricism. The lyrics

Death Valley Girls - What Are the Odds from the 2023 album Islands in the Sky on Suicide Squeeze. Los Angeles-based garage rockers Death Valley Girls are releasing their fifth record Islands in the Sky on February 24th via Suicide Squeeze. The follow-up to 2020’s Under the Spell Of Joy was recorded in a cabin in the California woods in early 2022 following a “mysterious illness” that left frontwoman Bonnie Bloomgarden bedridden from November 2020 to March 2021 which inspired much of the record. “When I was sick I had to sleep most of the day,” Bloomgarden details in a press release. “I kept waking up every few hours with an intense message to take care of the island, feed the island…I have no idea why, but making music for the island kept coming up.”  Our Song of the Day is the lead single off the record “What Are the Odds,” a rollicking riff-ripping scorcher that takes its inspiration from an unlikely source: Madonna. “In ‘I’m A Man Too’ we were trying to revisit No Doubt’s ‘I’m Just A Girl’ but through a ne

Moriah Bailey - "The Ocean Life" from the 2022 album i tried words on Keeled Scales. "i was hoping on the ocean life to pull through /turns out i’ll have to say goodbye real soon." On her sophomore full-length, i tried words, harpist/vocalist Moriah Bailey reflects on the end of a relationship, and the definitions and expectations of "femininity" that can play into not only romantic relationships, but friendships, jobs, or family.  Not only is this reflected in her words, but also on the expanded sound she presents on the new album. After recording the voice and harp parts in her former rental home in Tucson, AZ, she recruited Sarah Reid (violin), Ryan Robinson (percussion), and Ricky Tutaan (guitar) to contribute to those tracks, allowing them to follow their own "musical intuition and insight." The beautifully woven results provide a backdrop for her thoughtful lyrics, ruminating on the struggle of dualities: "yes/no, future/past, darkness/light, giving/taking, masculinity/femininity, wants/needs." Today's

Fan Girl - "react (react)" a 2022 self-released single. Australian quintet Fan Girl closed out 2022 with a bang, releasing their latest single "react (react)," a boisterous high-energy piece of early 2000's-influenced pop-punk.  “We wrote this song during a particularly wintry week in our studio in Brunswick, Melbourne, channeling the energy and excitement of playing shows,” they told Australian website Pile Rats. You can witness that excitement in the song's accompanying video, filmed at one of Melbourne’s longest-running venues, Revolver Upstairs.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations - "Blood Ah Go Run (feat. Wesley Joseph & ESKA)" from the 2023 album I Came From Love on Transgressive. Mercury Prize-nominated artist Dave Okumu returns with his new project, Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations, a name he says honors "my actual ancestors, the ancestors of others, my musical ancestors, and my descendants." Their debut album, I Came From Love, will be released April 14th via Transgressive Records. In a press statement, the UK-based guitarist/producer explains, "the narrative of this record emerged in tandem with the origin of its musical journey, through a rumination on survival, ancestry and heritage. The account of the young west African girl who was transported to South Carolina in 1756 and sold to the slave owner Elias Ball and the subsequent unearthing and presentation of her story to her descendants became an emblematic framework for these songs, opening doors to many aspects of the diasporic experience. The music stands in loving defiance of any for

Caleb Kunle - All In Your Head a 2022 single on Pony Recordings. While Caleb Kunle may only have a handful of EPs and singles under his belt, the soul-pop artist has been making a splash in the UK since the release of his debut EP Eden in 2017 which landed him the prize of Emerging Artist of the Year 2017 from Thatchers Haze x NME. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Kunle immigrated to the Irish countryside of Laios at eight years old where his love of music was fostered through church choir and playing guitar. Inspired by Nina Simone and Sam Cooke, Kunle’s music has a sound that’s simultaneously retro and refreshingly modern. Our Song of the Day, “All In Your Head,” opens with stirring strings before Kunle bursts in with an impassioned “Oh!” From there, a bellowing horn section, jazzy piano, and uptempo drums accompany Kunle’s croons to pop perfection. Kunle had this to say about the song: “All in your head is an anthem about us facing and rising to our inner challenges. Referenced in the middle 8 lyric ‘It’s in your h

Queralt Lahoz - "Blade," a 2022 single on Costa Futuro/Say It Loud. Queralt Lahoz is a rising star from Spain who has captivated audiences with her powerful live performances over the past handful of years. Ahead of not only her Eurosonic slot, but also her first stints at SXSW in Austin, Texas, she released the song “Blade.” Her most powerful, pop-centric track yet, the song sees her both sing and rap with equal dexterity about mystical forces at work. Vampires are no match for the katana she weilds which speaks true to the survivor mentality that’s always run strong through her work. Watch the Bycontrast-directed video for "Blade" and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BILBAO - "Get Up!" from the 2022 album Shake Well on [PIAS]. Like the beautiful city in Spain where they derived their band name, Bilbao create sunny, summery songs, showcased on their debut LP Shake Well. It's hard to believe then that the quartet themselves actually hail from Germany. "There is the 'Bilbao' song by Yves Montand, a chanson that my parents used to play," bassist Jannes Eschrich shares about their moniker. "He tells of the place of longing Bilbao. Our band should also be a place of longing, a place that we conjure up in rainy Hamburg and that you can dream of." Bilbao came together after the four friends attended the Reeperbahn Festival in 2019, writing and recording their first EP within a month. Despite the pandemic, they kept the momentum going, resulting in their first full-length, released in early 2022. Calling to mind bands like Bombay Bicycle Club and Two Door Cinema Club (and other groups that don't have "club" in their band name), Bilbao suceed in transporting you to sunnier shores w

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OSKA - "Starstruck" from the 2022 album My world, My love, Paris on Nettwerk Music Group. Though paying tribute to the City of Lights on her debut album My world, My love, Paris, singer/songwriter OSKA (real name: Maria Burger) was born in a small village in Lower Austria, the youngest of eight kids. She moved to Vienna at the age of 18 to study music, busking on the streets, and sharing her debut EP, Honeymoon Phase, in 2020. The five-song release won her the XA Music Export Award at Waves Vienna Festival 2020. Conceived near the beginning of the pandemic, OSKA envisioned the story of a couple "who board a boat as the world comes to an end" as the theme for her eagerly-anticipated first full-length. She cites her inspiration as the Edith Piaf song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" (which translates to “No, I do not regret anything”). Today's Song of the Day has a particular cinematic influence. "This song was inspired by one of my favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," she shared in a press releas

Jarv Dee & WD4D - “Lets Work,” a 2022 single on MOOR LIFE. Today’s Song of the Day is a Seattle-centric bop that sees rapper Jarv Dee hook up with producer WD4D for a buoyant banger about the stressful nature of the “work hard, play hard” lifestyle. While the track is light and airy, Jarv Dee clearly isn’t. “Sometimes I wanna take a vacation just to clear my head and get my money right,” he exasperates on the hook while a scorching beat evokes the feeling of a summer evening with zero concerns. A vacation in the ears is better than no vacation at all. Jarv Dee stopped by KEXP in July 2022 for a live performance. Watch it and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blinky Bill, M.anifest, Khaligraph Jones - “Inaweza Haiwezi,” a 2022 single on Rauka Music Ltd. You may know celebrated Kenyan producer/DJ Bill Sellanga, aka Blinky Bill, is one-fourth of the electronic collective Just A Band and has produced songs for notable names like Nneka, Goldlink, and Sampa The Great. The OneBeat Alum and TED Fellow is on the verge of releasing his anticipated sophomore record We Cut Keys 2, which follows 2018’s Everyone’s Just Winging It and Other Fly Tales. Our Song of the Day is the lead single from the record, “Inaweza Haiwezi,” which features two of Africa’s greatest rappers, M.anifest from Ghana and Kenya’s Khaligraph Jones. Produced by Blinky Bill and Swiss producer Hook (MDQ), mixed by Commissioner Gordon (‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, ‘Welcome To Jamrock’) and mastered by Tony Dawsey (Jay-Z ‘Blueprint 3’, Whitney Houston “My Love is your Love”, Nas ‘Illmatic’), the song is a bouncy, bass-heavy thrillride that shows off each rappers dexterous flows in this “East/West classic.”