Live on KEXP

Palestinian-Jordanian band 47Soul are making waves around the world in a cultish way with their completely unique take on traditional Palestinian street music infused with electronic, hip hop, dancehall, and dabke that they call Shamstep. This trailblazing new genre is named after the province Bilad Al-Sham, with their lyrics focusing on themes of displacement and community. Troy Nelson takes you through a brief history of life in the Middle East before and after the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, which led to the forced displacement of 700,000 Palestinian Arabs from what became known as Israel, stripping them of their freedom and ease of movement. Egyptian feminist activist Nawal el Saadawi once said “If you are creative, you must be dissident."  Here is one such story, of the artist straining against authority. Recorded 09/23/2019. Machina Gamar Marked Safe Intro to Shamstep Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may know composer, singer, and producer Caroline Polachek best as the frontperson of the iPod-hawking band Chairlift. But, as Troy Nelson details on this episode of Live on KEXP, the New York-based artist has long been busily churning out music for herself as well as a wide list of artists including the Queen Bee herself. Her latest record, 2019’s 'Pang,' is the first to be released under her own name and is a sweepingly bold proclamation of an artist who’s never been afraid of innovation.  For KEXP, Polachek strips down four songs from the album to just piano and heavenly vocals while Troy explains her relationship to bugs, Beyonce, and “Bruises.”  Recorded 12/18/2019. Go As a Dream Door So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings Ocean of Tears Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A prolific musical force, Georgia Anne Muldrow has released 19 albums since 2006 and has worked with everyone from Erykah Badu, Mos Def, Brittany Howard, and Blood Orange. Her latest release, 2019’s 'Black Love & War,' is a collaboration with husband Dudley Perkins that sees the poetic geniuses explore the funky depths of Afrofuturism.  Troy Nelson expands on Muldrow’s rich history while presenting a symbolic and timely analogy of the plight of a caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly, in which butterflies only appear when the caterpillar looks inside and is ready to change.  Recorded 11/19/2019. Run It Down Flowers Change Overload Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube Check out an exclusive mix the duo crafted for KEXP's 'Midnight in a Perfect World' seriesSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Instead of releasing a new session today, we are continuing our station-wide pause on new content to hold space for anti-racist education and action. Meanwhile, we are using our platform to amplify Black voices in music. Today, we revisit one of our favorite KEXP sessions by Seattle group, The Black Tones. Their 2019 debut full-length album, 'Cobain and Cornbread,' is an invigorating blend of blues and punk, produced by Jack Endino of Seattle grunge fame. Their song, "The Key of Black (They Want Us Dead)," speaks to the ongoing fight against police brutality and the violent realities of systemic racism. Cheryl Waters hosts the band in the KEXP Live Room for four songs from the new album. Recorded 06/18/2019. Ghetto Spaceship The Key of Black (They Want Us Dead) Mama! There’s A Spider In My Room Welcome Mr. Pink Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hailing from Portland, The Shivas make surfy psychedelic that takes a massive amount of inspiration from the 1960s. For this episode of Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson draws parallels from artists of that era like the Beatles, Little Richard, and The Kingsmen to the explosive shake-n-shimmy of The Shivas. For the past 14 years, the quartet has charmed audiences with their bombastic live performances and this one is no different. Performing the first four songs off their latest record, Dark Thoughts, the band proves why they continue to shine after all this time. Recorded 11/13/2019. Gloria Turn Me On Playing On The Radio If You See Me Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Formed by brother/sister duo Jack and Lily Wolter on a small island called Isle of Man, Penelope Isles channels salty seas and flowing currents for their eclectic and lustrous style of fuzzy dream pop. Now Brighton-based, the band is rounded out by Brighton locals Becky Redford on bass and Jack Sowton on drums. For this Live On KEXP session, Troy Nelson gives some background on the Isle of Man, which Jack Wolter calls a “special” and “safe” place where “80,000 alcoholics are clinging to a rock in the middle of the Irish Sea,” before the band breaks into a dazzling set of songs from their 2019 debut record, 'Until the Tide Creeps In.’ Recorded 10/30/2019. Leipzig Not Talking Gnarbone Cut Your Hair Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fourteen years ago, Latin-infused Americana band Calexico teamed up with folk singer-songwriter Sam Beam, better known as Iron & Wine, for an EP called In the Reins. After much delay, the old friends reunited in 2018 to work on their debut full-length, Years to Burn, which was unveiled last year. The chemistry between the good chums is unmistakable during this KEXP performance, recorded at 2019’s inaugural Thing Fest at Fort Worden.  DJ Troy Nelson takes us through the history of the band and introduces us to the people responsible for the quick and collaborative making of Years to Burn. Recorded 08/25/2019. Father Mountain Midnight Sun He Lays In The Reins Bring On The Dancing Horses Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For his third KEXP in-studio performance as Hiss Golden Messenger, folk-rocker M.C. Taylor brought a whole gang of talented musicians to join him. Flanked by Phil Cook, Chris Boerner, Erin Rae, Alex Bingham, and Al Smith, the sextet played a stunning set of songs off Hiss Golden Messenger’s latest record, 'Terms of Surrender.’  Recorded 10/11/2019. I Need A Teacher Down At The Uptown Bright Direction (You’re a Dark Star Now) Terms Of Surrender Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Greek-Sudanese musician Marina Satti and her ever-present all-female polyhphonic vocal group Fonέs wowed the audience at the La Chapelle by le Studio in Rennes, France during Trans Musicales this past December with their modern take on Greek, Balkan, Arabic, and Middle-Eastern sounds. After having gone viral in 2017 with her single-shot video for “Mantissa,” Satti has become a beloved figure and inspiration to young people across Greece. Recorded 12/04/2019. Koupes (Cups) Chichovite Konye Mantissa (Fortune Teller) Savvato Vradi (Saturday Night) Hilii Mastori (One Thousand Craftsmen) Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTubeSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are you wondering about changes you've noticed to the KEXP podcasts lately? In addition to the name change (from "Live Performances" to simply "Live on KEXP") and the new graphic that nods to KEXP's iconic Live Room lights, we've got some more exciting updates in store...  Sit back and let your new host, KEXP's own DJ Troy Nelson, tell you all about the changes that will go into effect starting Tuesday, April 28th. Here's a summary: The publishing schedule will move to once per week New episodes will be published on Tuesdays We'll feature a short "story-time" before each session to give you some background on the music, including anything from interviews with the artists to band origin stories to drummer jokes You'll still hear a carefully curated selection of KEXP's one-of-a-kind, world-renowned live sessions. So stay tuned and enjoy!Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.