In Our Headphones

Code Industry - “Crimes Against The People” from the 2023 self-released album Structure. Formed in 1989 after changing their name from Code Assault, Code Industry were among the few Black artists in the EBM genre during that era. On Juneteenth 2023, they resissued their 1991 EP Structure with lyrics and liner notes by band member Pen Jackson aka E.N. Sevy. Their lyrics calling out racism and hypocrisy still ring true today. On today's Song of the Day, they deliver seething lyrics against an intense industrial sound, calling to mind '80s faves like Skinny Puppy and Nitzer Ebb. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neu-Romancer - “Superposition” from the 2023 EP Neue Romantika on Fleisch. Neu-Romancer is the solo venture of Australian musician Laura Bailey, currently residing in Berlin, Germany. (She's also the bassist for VV & the Void, Ciern, and in the live line-up for Zanias.)  Her debut EP Neue Romantika features four tracks of Italo-disco-infused coldwave. "Neue Romantika" translates to "New Romantics" in German, a nod to the '70s/'80s music genre that included bands like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Soft Cell. Today's Song of the Day recalls early Depeche Mode classics with its dark, danceable rhythm. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carlo Onda - “Kette (feat. Blanche Biau)” from the 2023 self-released album EURO89. Swiss darkwave artist Carlo Rainolter composes music as both Carlo Onda and Karl Kave. Both are synth-based, '80s-inspired projects influenced by post-punk and minimal wave. His latest album, Euro89, is described as both "digital and organic," with today's Song of the Day featuring guest vocals and lyrics from Zurich-based artist Blanche Biau.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Escuela de Aviación- “Escalera infinita” from the 2023 album Fabrica de uniformes on Flexidiscos Escuela de Aviación (translated to English: "Aviation School") is the solo project of Jerónimo Martín, formerly the drummer of the krautrock-inspired band Sei Still which relocated from Mexico City to Berlin, Germany.  Still embracing the minimal synth sound of his previous band, Escuela de Aviación's latest LP, Fabrica de uniformes, is an introspective meditation on the world, set to an icy darkwave sound.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Roosevelt - "Luna," a 2023 single from Counter Records. Marius Lauber — the German-based producer who records as Roosevelt — shares a funky summertime groove for today's Song of the Day. The track definitely nods to his recent collaborations with artists like Nile Rodgers and Classixx.  “'Luna' started as a jam with a bass line two years ago — it was laying on my hard drive already when doing my last album Polydans and it never really developed into a song," he explains in a press statement. "I’ve reconnected with some of my old equipment and a stripped down setup in the last months and finally made it work, turning it into a funk driven dance track.”  Roosevelt will be playing Friday, October 6th at the Showbox at the Market. Check out the complete 35+ North American tour schedule here. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nina Kohout - "Little Butterfly," a 2023 single on Deadred Records. Slovakian artist Nina Kohout lands her second KEXP Song of the Day pick with this powerful synth-pop single. Having now graduated from the BRIT School in London, she has been playing live around Europe, with more dates planned for the Fall.   "'Little Butterfly' is a song about those who do not understand what ‘no’ means, automatically mistaking it for the words of consent," she writes on her Bandcamp page, adding "'Little Butterfly' is an anthem for the angry ones." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pahua - "Porque Yo (feat. Eva de Marce)," a 2023 single from Nacional Records. As half of the duo Sotomayor, Mexico-based artist Pahua has a rich discography fusing Latin rhythms with electronic music. With her debut solo album, Habita, she spotlights collaborators from across Latin America, like Paz Court, La Perla, and on today's Song of the Day, Eva De Marce. "Well, one of my first interests with this album was to talk about the errancy, about the roots that are connecting us with the Latin American artists," she tells KEXP in this exclusive interview. "So that's why I involved a lot of countries in this album and also to do collaborative and collective music. So I guess it was like one of the most points that I really love to have. They are in there – they're in Chile and Colombia,  República Dominicana, Cuba, Mexico. So it's also like something that has like been opening for me the doors in other places and also to connect with people that, for me, are admirable in a lot of levels and to have these connections that they are not also like in a collaborative way, but that right now they are my friends. So I am doing a lot of stuff with them in the present. And I guess that maybe the music, it's the way and it's the tool, but it's also something to do a lot of other stuff, not only in the music but also like socially and with these people to connect also with their materials and with their projects. So that's for me, like maybe the best thing." KEXP presents Pahua on Friday, July 21st, as part of our El Sonido Live concert at Seattle Center, presented in partnership with the Consulate of Mexico in Seattle, BIME, LAMC, and Chilemusica. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who Is She? - “Thursday,” a 2023 single from Father/Daughter Records Seattle supergroup Who Is She? — Robin Edwards (aka Lisa Prank), Bree Mckenna (Tacocat), and Julia Shapiro (Chastity Belt) — have become even more super with the addition of Tacocat’s Emily Nokes. Their sophomore full-length, Goddess Energy, will be out August 25th via Father/Daughter Records, and was produced by Jenn Champion.  With today's Song of the Day, the quartet add themselves to the list of bands who've written songs about days of the week. “We are big fans of day of the week songs like ‘Manic Monday’ and ‘Friday I’m in Love,’ and we realized there weren’t enough songs about Thursday,” the band shared in a press release. “So we decided to write one!”  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Southern University Jazz Ensemble - “Clean Air” from the 1973 album Goes To Africa With Love from Now-Again Records What was once an incredibly rare record is now re-issued, thanks to Eothen “Egon” Alapatt’s Now-Again Records label. Recorded in 1971, the student-performed album, The Southern University Jazz Ensemble's Goes to Africa With Love, was originally given away as souvenirs at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. This reissue marks the first time it has been made available commercially.  The group was instructed and led by legendary avant-garde jazz clarinetist Alvin Batiste, and the LP was reissued in his memory. Jazz historian Bret Sjerven provides liner notes for this release, alongside never-before-published photos. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Girl Ray - “Everybody's Saying That” from the 2023 album Prestige on Moshi Moshi London trio Girl Ray turn the beat around on today's Song of the Day with a dance-inspired track produced by Ben H. Allen, who's previously worked with Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley, and Cut Copy, to name a very few. “The lyrics on this single were inspired by the straight-to-the-heart simplicity of the disco greats," vocalist/guitarist Poppy Hankin shared in a press release. "I wrote it while missing my partner while on tour in 2020, and it plays on themes of new love and self-doubt. Musically we took reference from the nu-disco resurgence that seemed to be taking off in 2020, in particular from the likes of Kylie Minogue (Disco), Jessie Ware (What's Your Pleasure?), Dua Lipa (Future Nostalgia), and Róisín Murphy (Róisín Machine). We were really inspired by all of these women re-imagining disco.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.