In Our Headphones

Bint il Sham - "Ishtar” from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records A relatively new singer/songwriter, Bint il Sham says her music is "driven by translating the journey of being a Palestinian refugee between Amman and Damascus." Her songs mix minimal electronica with poetry and sociopolitical messages related to her own experiences.  Today's Song of the Day is the title track from her 2023 EP, inspired by the book Lugz Ashtar (or The Mystery of Ishtar) by author Firas Al-Sawwah.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

El Waili - “TGLY” from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records Egyptian artist El Waili — a project of rapper/producer Kareem Gaber — takes his name from a neighborhood where he once lived in Cairo.  "I started to produce music that translates my sonic experience while living in the El Waili neighbourhood," he told Egypt Today. "I wanted to deconstruct the urban noises and present a perspective and a feeling with a distinctive music style and drops." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hak Baker, an East London-based artist combining reggae and punk, talks about his party anthem 'DOOLALLY' that even got him a collaboration with Sailor Jerry. He shares his experiences as the 'house party king' and discusses the shenanigans that inspired the song during his debut LP Worlds End FM.

Aphex Twin - "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" from the 2023 EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f on Warp Today’s Song of the Day marks the first new music from electronic music icon Aphex Twin (aka Richard D. James) in five years. (And it's been nearly ten years since his last album, 2014's Syro.)  His latest EP — titled Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 — is a percussive-heavy delight. with a surprising synth-laden sensitivity. His signature glitchiness is ever-present, but the song also reflects his evolution towards more mellow moments.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Afrosideral - "Aggayu El Immenso" a 2023 single on Ocha Records Under the moniker Afrosideral, multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriter Kumar Sublevao-Beat explores the mystical side of his culture.  On today's Song of the Day, in particular, he pays tribute to the Aggayú Orisha, which is said to be "an esteemed Yoruba deity of wilderness and change," most associated with powerful flowing forces like volcanic lava and raging rivers. (An "Orisha" is a divine spirit that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa.) Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Troy Kingi - "All Your Ships Have Sailed" from the 2020 album The Ghost of Freddie Cesar on All Good Absolute Alternative Records When he began his career, New Zealand-based actor/musician Troy Kingi set a goal to release 10 albums in 10 genres across 10 years, which he calls the "10/10/10 project." Today's Song of the Day comes from his funk-inspired album, which is also his most personal album: it was inspired by a cassette tape owned by his father, who tragically disappeared around Christmas 2005, while driving between Rotorua and Auckland.  As he explained to Music 101, “It looked pretty old and had this hand-scribbled name, ‘Freddie Cesar’ on it, and on the back was just handwritten names of songs. I recognized some of the songs from my early childhood back when my parents were still together and started writing down the lyrics as a form of therapy." A search for Freddie Cesar turned up fruitless, so Kingi began to recreate the songs himself. "It’s kind of a dedication to my dad and Freddie Cesar, this album. Even though the lyrics aren't fully mine and the music’s not fully mine, I feel him when I’m singing these songs." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lord Echo - "Whoa! There's No Limit (feat. Mara TK)(Alternate version)" from the 2023 album Rarities 2010-2020: Japanese Tour Singles on Soundway Records. New Zealand-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Lord Echo (aka Mike Fabs) digs into the vault for a new compilation from London's Soundway Records, titled Rarities 2010 - 2020: Japanese Tour Singles. The title really does say it all: the eight-track LP shares digital versions of what were vinyl-only singles released only in Japan, at the time. (There's also a vinyl version available with an embossed Japanese printed sleeve and obi strip.) Today's Song of the Day revisits a 2017 track from his third album, Harmonies, featuring guest vocals from Maori-Scottish artist Mara TK. This alternate version features "influences of soul and early hip-hop amen breaks," as he shares on Bandcamp. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Freekind. - "Visualize" from the 2023 album Since Always and Forever on Butter92 Croatian duo Freekind. combines the talents of pianist and vocalist Sara Ester Gredelj and drummer Nina Korošak-Serčič. On their debut LP, Since Always And Forever, they craft a soulful sound with nods to pop, hip-hop, and jazz. Today's Song of the Day, in particular, brings a peaceful groove they say is meant to inspire. As they write on their website, "We were at a period in our lives where we had the possibility to take time for ourselves and formed a nice routine where we got up, meditated, did yoga and spent the rest of our day with a sense of ease. Eventually our schedule started filling, the media was full with news of restriction, fearful threats, the people being polarised and anxious and that sense of ease started fading. So all that naturally brought to a thought – I just wanna live my life in peace. In a stress-inducing fast paced world filled with a lot of music, art and series with dystopian-like depictions of the world we wanted to create our vision of life. A peaceful one. In order for it to ever come to fruition we need to – Visualize." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bulgarian Cartrader - "Golden Rope" from the 2022 self-released album Motor Songs. Berlin-based musician Daniel Stoyanov pays tribute to both his birthplace and his love of cars with his musical project, Bulgarian Cartrader.  "My name sounds Eastern European, and to be precise I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and came to Germany when I was 4. I grew up in Germany, but stayed connected to Bulgaria, kept the language, and mingled a lot with friends and family," he explained to Exberliner.com. As for the second part of the name, he adds, "If you look at me, you would never think cartrader, but it’s inside of me." (His debut album is even titled Motor Songs.) Today's Song of the Day is a warm, laid-back groove, that he describes as "not a song that runs behind to grab your attention. It just stays there, it’s slick and mellow. I have energetic songs, and sometimes I need those, but I know that when I hit the mellow strings on the guitar, these songs are more powerful." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pearly Drops - "I Cry While You Sleep (Dream, Ivory version)" from the 2023 EP Haunted Expansion Pack on Cascine Helsinki-based duo Pearly Drops pull '80s influences through their prismatic synthpop sound. Their latest EP — titled Haunted Expansion Pack — features special remixes of tracks off their sophomore LP, A Little Disaster, which came out earlier this year.  Today's Song of the Day is a remix of "I Cry While You Sleep," reinvented by Dream, Ivory, a production team of siblings Louie and Christian Baello. Pearly Drops explain to Glam Cult, the track had very different beginnings.  "This song has actually had a quite long journey. It was originally written for a completely different artist and it was probably even before our debut album. But a few years later we realised that it could actually be our own little ballad and we just had to request it back, hah. It was our attempt to make something warm, wood-y and modern with instruments from the '60s and the '80s. That’s been our favourite palette for some time now." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.