Live on KEXP

Ever take a bath in sound? Like a full-on gong-bathing sonic immersion? Well, that’s what the music of Kelly Lee Owens both sounds and feels like. It’s a complete sensory experience that melds electronica, dream pop, and techno with Owens’ heavenly vocals for an otherworldly encounter that’s possibly just as relaxing and centering (and certainly cheaper) than a day at the spa. For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson traverses Owens’ beginnings, from Wales to Manchester to London, where she made her first steps in the music industry, working at a record store and interning at XL Recordings. Forging connections with like-minded musicians led to her gaining the ears of influential people like Alexander McQueen, Bjork, and Jenny Hval and has made her a recent NME covergirl. Her latest album ‘Inner Song’ is available on Smalltown Supersound. Recorded 07/20/2018. 8 S.O. Lucid Anxi. (feat. Jenny Hval) Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Writing of reality, like all forms of truth-telling, is dangerous. That hasn’t stopped Brazilian musician Sessa from forging ahead and blending the imaginary with all-too-real scenarios. Laughing in the face of danger, his specialty is sensuality, honing in on the experience of sex in flowery yet less-than-veiled Portuguese terms on his debut album ‘Grandeza.’ For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson contextualizes Sessa’s work alongside the words of other influential Brazilians including poet Carolina Maria de Jesus, documentary filmmaker Eduardo Coutinho, and singer Erasmus to make a Brazilian lovefest (although perhaps not the kind Sessa’s typically referring to).Recorded 02/06/2020. Flor do Real Dez Total (Filhos de Gandhy) Infinitamente Nu Grandeza Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to Rumi, “The Wound is the place where the Light enters you.” Iranian American band Habibi know this better than most and use their simple, catchy songs that blend garage, psych and surf with the Middle Eastern influences they grew up adoring to spread love, positivity and change. Led by Brooklyn-via-Detroit duo Rahill Jamalifard and Lenny Lynch, activism plays an integral role in the spirit and ethos of the band. Troy Nelson delves into how the Michigan music scene shaped their influences and the long-held cognitive dissonance within the US’s relationship to Iran. Recorded 03/06/2020. Angel Eyes Hate Everyone But You Stronghold Come My Habibi Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle-based collective Polyrhythmics specializes in a flavorful blend of progressive funk, psychedelic rock and modern afro-beat. As Troy Nelson explains in this week’s episode of Live on KEXP, it’s music for the "heads.” Their songs take time to unravel, rewarding patient listeners with a lush and intricate experience that defies the current song trends for something more gratifying. When the world is a whirlwind, don’t forget– take the time to let something develop. Listen to Troy Nelson wax poetic about the value of music “heads” as well as delving into the often-limiting current trends happening with music ahead of Polyrhythmics’ spirited set featuring four songs from 2020’s 'Man From The Future.’ Recorded 02/21/2020. Digital Cowboy The Cutdown Yeti, Set, Go Chelada Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know that feeling you get when you hear something that's just the right kind of new? Seattle-born, Brooklyn-based Kassa Overall is redefining jazz for a new era, chopping and screwing live improvisations to make his own densely experimental and colorful world. In May, he unveiled his third release in less than two years, 'SHADES OF FLU,' a play on Madlib's iconic 'Shades of Blue' that has been called "a gift for the Corona-weary masses." For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson explores the influences and personal journey that led to the one-of-a-kind style of music that Overall describes as "backpack jazz" before Overall and band burst into one of the most unique live sessions KEXP's ever hosted.  Recorded 03/02/2020. Prison and Pharmaceuticals My Friend Darkness In Mind Who's On The Playlist? Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Singer/songwriter Andy Shauf is a master storyteller who adeptly weaves complex stories and tenderly realistic emotions with softly strummed folk rock. Earlier this year, he released his sixth studio album, ’The Neon Skyline,’ via Anti- and received critical acclaim for his skillful songwriting that centered around the concept of one man’s perspective of a particular night in a dive bar. For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson details Shauf’s upbringing in a tiny town in Saskatchewan, from Radio Shack to Christian pop-punk as well as his musical journey from the tiny record label P is for Panda to a Polaris nomination. Jeff Tweedy even makes an appearance to bestow accolades upon the Canadian musician so you know Shauf is legit. Recorded 02/25/2020. Neon Skyline Thirteen Hours Try Again Things I Do Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chicago poet and R&B songstress Jamila Woods is a budding phenom and self-love champion who radiates radically positive energy. Last year, she released her sophomore full-length, 'LEGACY! LEGACY!' Each of the 13 tracks on the album is named after and inspired by an influential cultural figure who has made an impact on Woods, including people like poet Nikki Giovanni, singer/actor/activist Eartha Kitt, and influential author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston. This episode of Live on KEXP delves into the “sonic monument to iconic black and brown artists” that is 'LEGACY! LEGACY!' while connecting the dots between Jamila Woods, science fiction writer Octavia E Butler, and a particularly significant recurring date in history - February 24th. Recorded 02/25/2020. ZORA GIOVANNI EARTHA Holy Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past 14 years, Metronomy has released 6 albums that span such a diverse range of genres and sonic textures that it’s tough to pin down exactly how to categorize them. If you must, then you could call them indietronica (or electro-indie, if you prefer). Created and led by English musician Joseph Mount, the band technically includes Oscar Cash, Anna Prior, Olugbenga Adelekan, and Michael Lovett but in its embryonic stage, it's actually a solo project. Delve into why that’s the case and how solitude can be beneficial in this week’s episode of Live on KEXP. “For oft, when on my couch I lie, in vacant or in pensive mood…” Recorded 02/17/2020. Lately The Light Wedding Bells Salted Caramel Ice Cream Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube KEXP is a listener-funded nonprofit, and we need your help to keep creating podcasts like this one. Donate now for our Fall Fundraising Drive! Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Philadelphia’s Dr. Dog have spent two decades specializing in bright, jaunty sing-along tunes that have captured the hearts of a large and rabid fanbase. Troy Nelson delves into the history of our favorite riff-rockers, from bassist Toby Leaman and guitarist Scott McMicken’s high school band Raccoon to the lore of Dr. Dog’s first album The Psychedelic Swamp and all the way up to their most recent record, 2018’s Critical Equation. Along the way, Nelson educates us on the merits of analog recording as well as why it could be “freakin’ genius” for a band to start their own label. Dr. Dog likes to play in the city of Seattle on Valentine's Day - DJ Cheryl Waters says that means they must love us! Believe it or not, this was recorded live February 14th, 2020. That’s like right before… Recorded 02/14/2020. Ladada Over Here, Over There Buzzing In The Light Under The Wheels Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listening to Yīn Yīn, you might expect the band to hail from the country from which their main source of inspiration is derived: Thailand. Instead, the quartet were surprisingly born and bred in the city of Maastricht in the Netherlands. That doesn’t stop them from skillfully employing their twist on 1960s psychedelia from South East Asia, alongside a long list of other inspirations including disco, rock, dub, funk, and western. HAW PIN! This expression of unity is posted everywhere in Maastricht during the ongoing pandemic. Recorded 12/07/2019. Pingpxng One Inch Punch Chông ky Dis̄ Kô Dis̄ Kô Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.