In Our Headphones

Lydmor - "Nevada" from the 2021 album Capacity on hfn music. This week's Songs of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, spotlighting artists playing the SPOT Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, May 6-7th.  Danish artist Lydmor [real name: Jenny Rossander] examines the space she's in on her fourth album Capacity, a Björk-inspired expression of futuristic electro-pop. On today's Song of the Day, she's joined by Faroese singer Eivør on guest vocals. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Les Filles de Illighadad - "Eghass Malan" from the 2017 album Eghass Malan on Sahel Sounds. This week's Songs of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, spotlighting artists playing the SPOT Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, May 6-7th.  Hailing from the secluded commune of Illighadad, located in central Niger, Les Filles de Illighadad tap into their "desert blues" heritage on their most recent album, Eghass Malan. The band breaks the mold of the typical male Tuareg guitarist with lead vocalist/musician Fatou Seidi Ghali, the first professional female Tuareg guitarist, and still one of a very few in general.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Verdens Sidste Idé - "Marianne" from the 2022 self-released album Strå. This week's Songs of the Day were selected by KEXP DJ Kevin Cole, host of Drive Time, spotlighting artists playing the SPOT Festival in Aarhus, Denmark, May 6-7th.  Danish pop band Verdens Sidste Idé [translation: The World's Last Idea] is a seven-member orchestra led by songwriter/frontman Asbjørn Hvelplund. They debuted with the full-length Den Indre By [translation: The Inner City] at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, but forged ahead during the global lockdown to create their sophomore full-length Strå [or Straw], just released in February.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Robert Glasper - "Why We Speak (feat. Q-Tip & Esperanza Spalding)," a 2022 single on Loma Vista / Concord. In 2012, jazz pianist Robert Glasper's fifth album, Black Radio, was a breakout success. It landed him the Grammy for Best R&B Album, while at the same time, hitting #1 on the Billboard jazz charts. The following year, Black Radio 2 was met with similar success, winning the Grammy for Best Traditional R&B Performance for the track "Jesus Children of America" featuring Lalah Hathaway and Malcolm-Jamal Warner. Now, in 2022, he's released the latest installment, Black Radio III, where he continues to defy categorization and embrace collaboration. Featured guests include India.Arie, Meshell Ndegeocello, Killer Mike, Common, Ty Dolla $ign, and on today's KEXP Song of the Day, Esperanza Spalding and Q-Tip. “When I’m working on Black Radio, I’m not interested in who’s the hot new artist at the time,” Glasper told Relix. “It’s more about people who are open to pushing the music. I’m interested in, ‘Are you actually talented? Do you actually work on your craft?’ Black Radio has become a bar. If you’re on Black Radio, you have to be a certain thing. Who really has something to say?” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah MK - "MITTOS (Make It To The Other Side)," a 2022 self-released single. Montreal-based soulstress Sarah MK shares an uplifting new single, the first from her sophomore full-length Wax & Gold, out later this month on April 27th. “I wrote this song a few years back for a friend of mine going through a difficult time in her life,” Sarah MK told the Tinnitist. “I just wanted her to know that no matter what she’s facing, she’s going to get through it and make it out. The song seems just as poignant now speaking to the whole world as we try to navigate living through a global pandemic.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rell Be Free - "$FreeMunny" from the 2022 self-released album Sow What? (Phase 3). South Seattle-based musician/educator/entrepreneur Rell Be Free (real name: Jerrell Davis) returns this month with Sow What? (Phase 3). On this latest installment of the series, he teams up again with local producer Noah Coinflip for their atmospheric, mysterious sound.  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mala Suerte - "Habla Mierda de Mi" from the 2022 album Mala Suerte on Freakout Records. Back in October, KEXP shared the debut single from brand new PNW meets MEX supergroup Mala Suerte. Made up of members of Carrion Kids, Acid Tongue, Los Honey Rockets, and Grizzled Mighty, the band is an international fusion of spirited sounds and talents. Our Song of the Day, “Habla Mierda de Mi” takes the psychedelic sounds of Acid Tongue, the bluesy riffs of Grizzled Mighty, the grittiness of Carrion Kids, and firey intensity of Los Honey Rockets and throws them in a blender for a song that smacks you in the face. Sung en español by Miguel Servin, the title translates to “Talk Shit About Me,” which is exactly the kind of bratty, no-fucks-given attitude that you’d expect from this quartet. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crows - "Garden of England" from the 2022 album Beware Believers on Bad Vibrations Records. London-based quartet Crows released their sophomore dark and fuzzy post-punk record Beware Believers in early April. Written during the summer of 2019, Song of the Day “Garden of England” takes its inspiration from the complicated and controversial Brexit elections. “This is straight-up our Brexit anthem,” frontman James Cox explains. “Don’t get me wrong, I couldn’t care less which way you voted, your vote, your choice. I just hated how much Brexit had become so ingrained in our day to day life. First thing I’d hear about when I woke up and the last thing I’d read before I went to sleep at night. It became all people spoke about. ‘Garden of England’ is more of a comment about the divisiveness it caused, splitting families, friends, widening the north-south divide and empowering nationalism. Public figures’ ability to lie publicly and not be held accountable, it’s just dangerous dog-whistle politics that doesn’t belong in the UK.” The song is accompanied by a video directed by Joe Hoffman and Phoebe May, with Hoffman explaining, “When chatting with a boxer mate one day, he mentioned a friend at his club who was a career ‘Journeyman’. He explained this was a boxer who was not skilled enough to go pro, but was all the same good enough to fight around that level. The Journeyman makes a career by being paid, often weekly, to lose fights (unbeknownst to many of the crowd). When up-and-coming boxers are looking to progress to the next stage of their career, they need an unbroken streak of say 12 wins. When they are nearing this streak after maybe 10 wins, the coach often doesn’t want to risk them losing at this point so they will employ a Journeyman to put on a good show, and ultimately lose the fight.” “I found this to be a fascinating concept,” he continues. “As I imagine it to be a real battle of the psyche for a Journeyman. They love the sport, but to partake and make a living in it they must fight to lose, and with this often lose the respect of their peers too. Many Journeymen work hard during the week, as low paid labourers or similar, and then will be paid a few hundred quid at the weekend to step into the losing ring. I’m sure it must be a battle in their head, but ultimately it will put food on the table and get them in the ring. The idea that he is a loser out of choice, and the fact he gets paid for it, brings into question who in this story is the actual loser? Is it the Contender? Is it the Journeyman? Or is it the crowd? I think maybe it’s all of them and none of them.” Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.