In Our Headphones

Palehound - "The Clutch" from the 2023 album Eye On The Bat from Polyvinyl. El Kempner — the singer/songwriter behind Palehound — found inspiration for today's Song of the Day right after the band's last tour ended. The track will appear on their forthcoming full-length, Eye On The Bat, out July 14th via Polyvinyl Record Co. It'll be Palehound's first new LP since 2019’s Black Friday.  “‘The Clutch’ is the very first song I wrote for this album, back in 2020 right when lockdown started,” Kempner says via a press release. “I had been on a tour that was sliced in half by the onset of the pandemic and we had to apocalypse road trip back to New York across the country from Oregon, where our next show had been scheduled for. While that was happening, I was also having a triggering romantic experience with somebody I didn’t know too well, and by the time I got home my whole body seemed to be spinning in turmoil. Writing and producing this song grounded me and helped me process a new future and self that I hadn’t anticipated.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nonbinary Girlfriend - "BIG AND KIND" from the 2023 self-released album BIG AND KIND On today's Song of the Day, Portland pop-punk band Nonbinary Girlfriend champions the philosophy that being "kind is not the same as being small" and "sometimes, many times, kindness requires you to be big and tall." It's a spirit of compassion that carries through their debut full-length, also titled BIG AND KIND, that came out back in February. Vocalist Anaïs Genevieve shares vulnerable lyrics around gender and sexuality, inviting the listener to feel less alone.   Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day Soul Exquisite - clair des antilles a 2023 single on La fem records. While the pandemic was obviously a long and fraught-filled time, the bands formed and sowing their seeds during the first two most difficult years are now blossoming. Seattle-based sextet Day Soul Exquisite are one of those bands. Fronted by singer Francesca Eluhu, the group makes Latin American and French Caribbean-fused neo-soul that fits into a variety of arenas, all of which make you want to shimmy. While they've only released a string of singles since their 2021 formation, they've been mesmerizing audiences on stages and at festivals like Capitol Hill Block Party, Folklife, Barboza, The Sunset Tavern, So Dreamy Festival and more.like  Our Song of the Day is the early 2023 single, “clair des antilles,” which starts with a French spoken-word introduction and bursts into a dynamic jazzy production that’s a wistful ode to the French Caribbean. Eluhu describes the meaning behind the song as this: “My family is from Guadeloupe and I wrote these lyrics while reflecting on how leaning into nature can cleanse the mind of colonial rhetoric disguised as intrusive thoughts. The second verse acknowledges imperialism and calls for a redistribution of wealth: “Hear what they call me? Savage like a pirate…let me follow my instincts and I’ll take back a piece of what the white man stole baby.” Bob Marley’s lyrics, “Emancipate yourself from mental slavery. None but ourselves can free our minds,” is one direct influence that summarizes the message of self love in the song.” Catch Day Soul Exquisite at Timber Fest on Friday, July 28, get a sneak peek at their live stage show with a VHS-style recording of their performance at 2022’s So Dreamy Festival, and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Witch Prophet - Memory from the 2023 album Gateway Experience from Heart Lake Records. Toronto-based neo-soul artist Ayo Leilani aka Witch Prophet recently unveiled her third studio album, Gateway Experience, which delved into her personal experience with focal aware seizures, sometimes known as Déjà vu or Déjà reve. They’re out-of-body experiences that include lucid dreaming and memory loss. “If I came out with an album like this five years ago, it would probably be a little too witchy,” says the former Polaris-shortlisted artist. “Now it’s a lot less scary to talk about.” Our Song of the Day, “Memory,” deals directly with the memory loss aspect of her unique condition. “I’m at a loss for words /Can’t remember the last time /I’ve been here /Yeah my memory keeps fading fast /Trying to hold on to the bit I have,” croons Leilani over a downtempo R&B beat. She receives backup from another shining Canadian artist, Begonia, who was nominated for a JUNO Award for Adult Alternative Album Of The Year for her critically acclaimed 2017 EP Lady In Mind and was shortlisted for The Polaris Music Prize for her 2019 debut full-length. "’Memory’ is about my struggle with memory loss and brain fog,” Leilani explains. “There are some days where I can't get the right words out, where I can't remember something as simple as someone's name or whether I've taken my medication (moments after taking it). While working on the album I had a dream where I was singing with Begonia. When I woke up she just happened to be on TikTok live. I joined and told her about my dream and she turned it into a reality." Watch the Francesca Nocera-directed claymation video for “Memory” and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SoulChef & Uptown Swuite - "Wheels Fall Off" from the 2023 album LUA on SoulSwuite Music New Zealand-based artist SoulChef teams up again with west coast MC Uptown Swuite for today's Song of the Day. (We spotlighted the duo last year with another of their singles.)  The latest in their "SoulSwuite" series is titled LUA, or "two" as translated from Samoan. The duo have long used their music to celebrate their shared heritage. As Uptown Swuite told HipHopDX, "We really just wanted to capture the Samoan experience all around via our eyes — whether it be a Samoan living in California, New Zealand. or even the motherland Samoa/American Samoa.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

dragonchild - "Sera" from the 2023 album dragonchild on FPE Records. dragonchild is the new project from saxophonist DA Mekonnen, who previously led the Boston-based 11-piece Ethiopian music collective Debo Band. As a solo artist, he says he plans to take his exploration of Ethiopian music and explode it "into vivid, three-dimensional space." On today's Song of the Day, he collaborates with Addis Ababa-based electronic artist Ethiopian Records (real name: Endeguena Mulu); he also samples the track "Seqota" by Yezinna Negash, a fellow Addis Ababa-based vocalist.  As he sums up in a press statement, “The record feels and breathes to me like the Ethiopian music I’ve been trying to figure out my whole life.”  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speakers Corner Quartet - "Can We Do This? (feat. Sampha)" a 2023 single on OTIH Records KEXP loves a literal name ("The Morning Show on KEXP," anyone?), and jazz collective Speakers Corner Quartet have just that. The group formed in 2006 as the in-house band at South London landmark Speakers' Corner, a place that hosted open-mic nights where these four musicians would play for hours, improvising hip-hop beats for guest MCs to rap over. “There’s never been a rush as we’re just happy being in a room together," percussionist Kwake Bass told Qobuz. "Playing instruments is just an extension of that and I think that’s what the community is all about, it’s just another part of the conversation.” Now, as a recording collective, they continue to bring that live experience to their albums with an impressive list of guests. They've worked with Novelist, Joey Bada$$, Kae Tempest, Mica Levi, and on today's Song of the Day, fellow South London artist Sampha.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

La Fonda - New Mexico from the 2023 self-released album We Are Infinite. Seattle-based quintet La Fonda recently released their sophomore full-length We Are Infinite, a dream pop-indebted elegy to navigating life in a corporation-led city and the financial and mental health struggles that brings and finding the specks of hope within. Led by Filipino-American sisters Valeria and Veronica Topacio, the two have been grinding to make La Fonda into the band it is now since 2016. Playing every venue while tinkering with their sound has massively paid off, as the new record sees the band at their best. Our Song of the Day is the early single “New Mexico,” an anthemic ode to life on the road and the complicated feelings and relationships formed in the unique scenario of touring. Quick goodbyes to people who felt like family for a moment, scenic vistas that are constantly being replaced, and the feeling of constantly chasing something in the distance but not knowing exactly what it is. The immense beauty and simultaneous sadness of it is captured in the shimmering song. The band had this to say about the inspiration behind “New Mexico”: “This song takes us back to tour 2019. We spent some extra time in New Mexico with the band and our friend, who was hosting us at his home. He died of a drug overdose in the peak of the pandemic and this song is for him. We wrote parts of this song while at his house and unfortunately this was the last time we saw him. So many great memories happened on this tour and especially spending time at his home laughing under a red tiled roof with desert beneath our feet. We will never forget being in New Mexico together and it is a sacred place for us.” Watch the video for “New Mexico,” co-directed by Gemma Cross, Lily Grace, and GiiiRLBAND, and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Miya Folick - So Clear from the 2023 album Roach on Nettwerk. Los Angeles-based musician Miya Folick released her sophomore full-length ROACH in late May, an album that unpacks “trying to get to the core of what life really is,” according to Folick. Following her 2018 debut Premonitions and 2022’s 2007 EP, the album is full of rich, shimmery production with help from Gabe Wax (War on Drugs, Fleet Foxes), Mike Malchicoff (King Princess, Bo Burnham) and Max Hershenow (MS MR), heightening her quarter-life crisis to cinematic levels. Our Song of the Day, “So Clear,” is the moment Folick finally sees a way through the wreckage of prior mistakes. “I was desperate like you read in the paper,” she coos. “Screaming in oblivion /I was alone in a lonesome place /'Til I finally said I'm done.” Coupled with sun-drenched production from Hershenow, it’s a classic movie-montage moment with our main character breaking through. Folick says this about the song: “‘So Clear’ is about pulling yourself out of the wreckage you’ve made of your own life again and again, for the thousands of days we live on this earth and realizing life is so much more expansive than the petty concerns we waste precious time on. An epiphany that I have over and over again is that I am very small, but my actions are very meaningful. So I have to choose to live truthfully every day. It’s not easy! The song is very dramatic, and I imagined it as a good karaoke song when we were making it.” Folick will be joining the Head and the Heart and Father John Misty for a North American tour starting in August, with a date in Spokane at the Pavilion at Riverfront on August 6th. Watch the visualizer for “So Clear" and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hallelujah Lilly - "Bunny Rainbow Revolution," a 2023 self-released single DJ Kevin Cole picks another mystery track for this week's Song of the Day: while I can't seem to discern if Hallelujah Lilly is based in Reykjavik, Iceland or Nashville, Tennessee (or Canada?), Kevin was kind enough to share how he discovered her music: I was doing a DJ set at Lucky Records in Reykjavik last year on the Sunday of Iceland Airwaves.  She came on and performed a solo acoustic set after me, and I was taken aback by her songwriting, grounded uplifting optimism, and spirit.  I might not have heard her if it wasn't for this fortunate booking alignment. After her performance, I asked if she had music out and she said she was working on an album and would send it to me.  This is the first song I've received. There's a haunting, lo-fi sparseness to "Bunny Rainbow Revolution" urging you to "set yourself free."  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.