KEXP Live Performances Podcast

Fatima's chic modern soul effortlessly captures London's vibrancy. Performing live at Studio 9294 in London as part of KEXP's 2019 International Clash Day broadcast, the Stockholm-born singer performs five songs. Recorded 2/5/2018. 4 songs - May I, Only, Dang, Caught in a Lie, Westside

When they made their maiden voyage to the Pacific Northwest, the Brazilian psych rock outfit (and occasional Built To Spill collaborators) stopped by KEXP's Live Room to perform five songs in this session with Cheryl Waters. Recorded 3/27/2019. 5 songs - Volte Consciente, Malquerências, Domador, Vitin, Ilhas de Força

Eno Williams' Nigeria-via-London afrobeat project moves your heart and feet at the same time. Performing songs from their 2019 album Doko Mien, the group kick off KEXP's International Clash Day 2019 broadcast live from Studio 9294 in Hackney Wick, London. Recorded 2/4/2018. 4 songs - I Need You To Be Sweet Like Sugar (Nnge Nte Suka), Wanna Come Down, Tell Me (Doko Mien), The Chant (Iquo Isang), Trance Dance, Basquiat

The Liverpool punk outfit are ferocious and fierce, screeching and shredding with every second. The band perform songs from their eponymous debut live from Studio 9294 in Hackney Wick in London during KEXP's International Clash Day 2019 broadcast. Recorded 2/17/2019. 6 songs - Victim Age, Lucy Fur, Loner, Hunger Pains, Sissy Fists, Boy

The Ukranian Dakh Daughers collective spans a wide range of creative mediums, and this session finds the group performing a quixotic mix of theatre and music live at Avast! Recording Co. on Wo'Pop with Derek Mazzone. Recorded 1/14/2018. 4 songs - Rosy, Sept Verres, Druzhba, To More More

Pedro The Lion's return in 2019 found David Bazan revitalized and passionate, crafting one of his strongest albums in years. Backed by his band, Bazan performs a set of songs from the new album, Phoenix, along with some Pedro classics in the KEXP Gathering Space. Recorded 1/18/2019. 8 songs - Yellow Bike, When They Really Get To Know You They Will Run, Gas and Matches, Model Homes, Keep Swinging, How I Remember, Quietest Friend, Kept Secrets

Wild Pink's second album, Yolk in the Fur, is a leap forward for the band, sharpening their take on expansive, ethereal rock. The New York band join DJ Atticus at Avast! Recording Co. for a set of four songs from the album. Recorded 12/17/2018. 4 songs - Burger Hill, Lake Erie, Yolk in the Fur, There Is a Ledger

Nabihah Iqbal's silvery electronic cuts have a futuristic allure to their popping rhythms that make for a quixotic listening experience.The razor-sharp electronic musician formerly known as Throwing Shade performs four songs from her debut album Weighing of the Heart from the Musée de la danse during Trans Musicales 2018. Recorded 12/5/2018. 4 songs - Saw U Twice, In Visions, Zone 1 to 6000, Untitled Friday

Love Is Magic, John Grant's fourth solo album, is another collection of clever and heart-wrenching songs delivered with a delectable croon and a razor-sharp wit. In this session, Grant joins Troy Nelson at Avast! Recording Co. for a session of four songs from the album. Recorded 12/18/2018. 4 songs - Touch and Go, Is He Strange, TC and Honeybear, Vietnam

Colorful and aqueous, the Rennes, France brass band whips up a rhythmic, sharp performance from the Musée de la danse in their hometown during Trans Musicales 2018. Recorded 12/8/2018. 4 songs - Harika Maru, Savana, Route 35, Monn

A Seattle staple for over a decade, Gabriel Teodros' incisive and reflective music reached a new peak with his 2018 LP History Rhymes If It Doesn't Repeat (A Southend Healing Ritual). In this session, Teodros joins Troy Nelson at Avast! Recording Co. for a session of four songs from the album. Recorded 11/28/2018. 4 songs - First Cut, Quantum Entanglement, Continuum, Around The Way

Hazy and alluring, Red Ribbon channels a smokey, Twin Peaks-esque mystique in their atmospheric rock. The Seattle outfit perform four songs from their debut album Dark Party at Avast! Recording Co. with DJ Sean Morrow. Recorded 11/28/2018. 4 songs - Seven Months, Overdrive, Your Car, Idiot Orange

Seattle veterans John Atkins (764-Hero) and James van Leuven (Plan B) joined forces for the scrappy lo-fi art punk project Sun Breaks. The Seattle duo join DJ Atticus at Avast! Recording Co. for a four-song session. Recorded 11/29/2018. 4 songs - All on Camera, Summer of Broken Bones, Heart, Moments

The Westman Islands, Iceland musician is quickly becoming a KEXP live session regular, and his talent for enrapturing melodies shines through in this session from KEX Hostel in Reykjavik during KEXP's broadcast from Iceland Airwaves 2018. Recorded 11/8/2018. 6 songs - Until the Last Minute, Across The Borders, Lay Your Head, Let It Pass, Love Child, High Alert

John Craigie imbues his songs with a wry sense of humor tempered with a deep understanding of American folk rock tradition. The San Francisco songwriter joins The Roadhouse's Greg Vandy at Avast! Recording Co. for a session of five songs. Recorded 11/29/2018. 5 songs - While I'm Down, Let's Talk This Over, When We're Sober, Don't Ask, Westbound Bart, 28

The kaleidoscopic garage pop of South London's WOOZE is both flirtily playful and endlessly beguiling. Theo Spark and Jamie She perform four songs in session with KEXP at Musée de la danse in Rennes, France, during Trans Musicales 2018. Recorded 12/9/2018. 4 songs - Hello Can You Go, Ladies Who Lunch With Me, I'll Have What She's Having, Party Without Ya

Maria Uzor and Gemma Cullingford's chrome-plated electronic music has a brilliant dance sensibility. The Norwich duo perform five tracks from their self-titled debut album live from Rennes, France as part of KEXP's sessions at Trans Musicales de Rennes 2018. Recorded 11/15/2018. 5 songs - If You See Me, Petrol Blue, Glass, Pushin', Substitutes

Seattle's Cold Soda boasts quite a bit of Pacific Northwest musical pedigree - namely the members of the Cave Singers who swap instruments for this new project. Playing four songs from their self-titled debut, the quartet join Cheryl Waters in session at Avast! Recording Co. Recorded 11/26/2018. 4 songs - Houses, Roll Up, Neon Cross, Holly Leaf

Los Mundos' rugged sound pumps up its intensity with hints of psychedelic sludge and ripping guitars at every chance it gets. The Monterrey group join DJ Chilly at Avast! Recording Co. for a four-song session. Recorded 11/15/2018. 4 songs - El Color Que Cayó Del Espacio, Amantes de la Sangre, Lenta Combustión, Rompe Tu Guitarra

The Reykjavik electronic outfit aYia's jagged electronic rhythms are fascinatingly caustic. The group perform cataclysmic songs live from KEXP's Iceland Airwaves 2018 broadcast at KEX Hostel. Recorded 11/9/2018. 5 songs - Sparkle, Crystal, Slow, New Moon, Ruins

The Reykjavik composer Kristín Björk Kristjánsdóttir's work is emotive and moving in its graceful poise. The composer performs two pieces as part of a tribute to Jóhann Jóhannsson live at Mengi in Reykjavik. Recorded 11/11/2018. 2 songs - Talk To Your Hands, A Miracle Is A Shift In Perception From Fear To Love

Bjarni and Sigurpáll, aka Bagdad Brothers, create dreamy, metallic guitar pop that shines with the best of Iceland's music scene. In this session from KEX Hostel in Reykjavik, the outfit perform nine songs during KEXP's broadcast from Iceland Airwaves. Recorded 11/07/2018. 9 songs - carlos í mölinni //, kamelblús, úr öskunni í elfin, góðir hálsar / góðar glósur, Brian Eno Says: Quit Your Job, sjálfbær elskhugi, Dansa, malar í kassanum, Pepperoni Project

Cumulus' five year gap between records found Alexandra Niedzialkowski's songwriting aging richly, returning with the crips and radiant Comfort World. The Seattle musician and her band join Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room for five songs and a conversation about the album. Recorded 11/20/2018. 5 songs - Sing To Me, Retreat, Stereo, Cannonball, Tough Crowd

A glammy enigma, Art D'Ecco's reverb-soaked shimmer bursts with a hazy energy. Performing four songs from his debut album Trespasser, D'ecco and his band join DJ Abbie in the KEXP Live Room. Recorded 10/29/2018. 4 songs - Never Tell, Last In Line, Mary, Who Is It Now?

For the better part of the last five years, Young Fathers' blend of hip-hop, electronic, and avant music has been impossible to pin down, and despite being their most accessible album to date, 2018's Cocoa Sugar remains a thrillingly difficult to grasp piece of art. The Scottish trio perform four Cocoa Sugar songs in the KEXP Live Room and speak with DJ Atticus on the album's themes. Recorded 11/21/2018. 4 songs - Wire, Feasting, Wow, Toy

Adopting a new moniker ahead of her eponymous second album, Chris took a massive leap forward with one of the most physical and kinetic pop albums of 2018. Joining DJ Kevin Cole in the KEXP Live Room, Chris and her band perform four songs from the new album and discuss its themes. Recorded 10/23/2018. 4 songs - Comme si, Girlfriend, 5 dollars, Doesn't matter

At the end of his previous album cycle, Matthew Houck put Phosphorescent on hold for a moment to focus on raising a family and building out a new studio. Renewed and revitalized, Houck returned with his seventh studio album C'est La Vie, highlighted with four songs in this session with DJ Troy Nelson. Recorded 11/21/2018. 4 songs - New Birth in New England, There From Here, Around the Horn, C'est La Vie No.2

Seeking to remove himself from the traditional album cycle, Kristian Matsson chose to make his next project as The Tallest Man On Earth an audio/visual project called When The Bird Sees The Solid Ground. Explaining his choice of medium and highlighting four songs from the project, Matsson joins Cheryl Waters at Avast Recording in this session. Recorded 11/24/2018. 4 songs - Somewhere in the Mountains, Somewhere in New York, Johnny and Mary, Then I Won't Sing No More, Forever Is a Very Long Time

Glistening, eruptive, and immense, Aurora's electronic-tinged pop is a gale of infectious melodies and propulsive rhythms. In this session, Aurora and her backing band perform five songs from her EP Infections of a Different Kind – Step 1 and an old favorite live from KEX Hostel as part of KEXP's broadcast from Iceland Airwaves 2018. Recorded 11/08/2018. 4 songs - Churchyard, Gentle Earthquakes, All Is Soft Inside, Runaway, Forgotten Love, Queendom

Sóley, Sin Fang, and Örvar Smárason (of múm) spent 2017 recording a track per month, resulting in Team Dreams, an album that captures the airy kinetics of all three musicians. The trio perform five songs from the record live from KEX Hostel during KEXP's broadcast from Iceland Airwaves 2018. Recorded 11/09/2018. 4 songs - Random Haiku Generator, Wasted, Tennis, The Sun Will Go Out, Dream Team Party Kids

Nashville, Tennessee's finest purveyors of mind-bending rock returned in fine form in 2018 with their fifth album, the self-referential and swirling ATW. Joining DJ Cheryl Waters at Avast! Recording Co., the band perform three songs from ATW and an old favorite. Recorded 11/16/2018. 4 songs - Diamond, Fishbelly 86 Onions, Workhorse, Blood And Sand / Milk And Endless Waters

Be The Cowboy, Mitski's fifth album, is an instant classic, a snapshot of a singular songwriter crafting her most compelling and incisive work to date. Joining DJ Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room, Mitski and her band perform four songs and discuss the process of becoming the cowboy. Recorded 10/31/2018. 4 songs - Geyser, Why Didn't You Stop Me?, Nobody, Two Slow Dancers

Marissa Nadler's increasingly consistent and intriguing discography expands excellently with her eighth album, For My Crimes. The Boston songwriter performs four icy, intricate songs from the record in this session with DJ Kevin Cole. Recorded 10/19/2018. 4 songs - For My Crimes, I Can't Listen To Gene Clark Anymore, Blue Vapor, Said Goodbye to That Car

Heaven, Dilly Dally's second album, is roaring and relentless, finding Katie Monks and co. more direct and dynamic than ever. In this session, the Toronto group perform four Heaven songs and in the KEXP Live Room and discuss making the album with DJ Troy Nelson. Recorded 10/30/2018. 74 songs - I Feel Free, Marijuana, Sober Motel, Heaven

Boy Azooga's colorful, charismatic debut arrived in 2018 to establish the Welsh rock outfit as one of the UK's breakout artists of the year. In this session in the KEXP Live Room, the band play four songs from their debut album, 1,2, Kung Fu! Recorded 10/29/2018. 4 songs - Face Behind Her Cigarette, Walking Thompson's Park/Jerry, Breakfast Epiphany, Loner Boogie

Wrapped in echoing drums and cinematic synths, New Compassion, Nini Fabi and Benny Gebert's second album as HAERTS, is a glimmering slice of neon pop. The Munich-via-Brooklyn group highlight the new album in this KEXP VIP Concert. Recorded 10/22/2018. 7 songs - Healing, The Way, Matter, Your Love, Sign, In This Time, New Compassion

Lost Under Heaven's evolution as a thrillingly progressive outfit continues with their 2019 sophomore effort, Love Hates What You Become. Previewing the record on the Morning Show with John Richards, Ellery James Roberts and Ebony Hoorn perform five songs. Recorded 10/31/2018. 5 songs - Lost Under Heaven, Bunny's Blues, For The Wild, I and I, Post Millennial Tension

Natalie Prass's sophomore effort, The Future and the Past, is an elegant, kinetic collection of songs that finds the Virginia R+B songwriter in fine form. Joining DJ Sean Morrow in the KEXP Live Room, Prass and her band perform four songs from the album and discuss being in your twenties and dog clothing businesses. Recorded 9/24/2018. 4 songs - Never Too Late, Ship Go Down, Lost, Short Court Style

Jonathan Wilson's resume is one of the more accomplished ones of his generation, and his newest album, Rare Birds, is another left turn in a career full of them. Fresh off playing guitar on tour with Roger Waters, Wilson joins DJ Evie in the KEXP Live Room to perform five songs from Rare Birds. Recorded 09/25/2018. 5 songs - Over The Midnight, There's A Light, Trafalgar Square, Living With Myself, Loving You

More than twenty years into their career, DeVotchKa remain as beguiling and enrapturing as ever. Returning to the KEXP Live Room, the Denver outfit perform four songs from their new album This Night Falls Forever. Recorded 09/20/2018. 4 songs - Angels, Straight Shot, Break Up Song, Empty Vessels

Tacoma's Perry Porter rides crisp beats and slicky slides between verses with an effortless, magnetic confidence. Joining DJ Chilly in the KEXP Live Room, Porter performs four tracks from his excellent album Channel Surfing. Recorded 08/28/2018. 4 songs - Corners, Surf, Bling Bloaw, Bobby Rozay

Arthur Buck - the aptly-named project of Joseph Arthur and Peter Buck - finds both journeymen in fine form, with their self-titled debut an excellent addition to both artist's canons. The pair join Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four songs. Recorded 09/07/2018. 4 songs - Wide Awake In November, The Wanderer, Can't Make It Without You, Fall In Love With Me

Reverting back to a solo project for her second album as IAN SWEET, Jillian Medford wrangled dissonance to create a powerful document of moving forward. Medford and her band join DJ Atticus in the KEXP Live Room for a bracing session of four songs from Crush Crusher. Recorded 10/24/2018. 4 songs - Hiding, Spit, Bug Museum, Holographic Jesus

Ten years after its release, The Helio Sequence's Keep Your Eyes Ahead remains a stark, stunning snapshot of 2000s indie rock, and on its anniversary, frontman Brandon Summers joins John Richards in the KEXP Live Room for a set of four songs from the record and to tell the story behind the  . Recorded 10/26/2018. 4 songs - Lately, You Can Come To Me, Can't Say No, Hallelujah

Fifteen years into their career, We Were Promised Jetpacks sound revitalized and resolved on their fourth album, The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream. The Edinburgh rock quartet perform four songs from that album live in the KEXP Live Room with DJ Cheryl Waters. Recorded 10/03/2018. 4 songs - Hanging In, Someone Else's Problem, The More I Sleep, The Less I Dream, Repeating Patterns

Harriet Pillbeam's shimmering dream pop under the moniker Hatchie emerged at the beginning of 2018 and closes out the year as one of the last twelve month's emergent artists. Joining Cheryl Waters in the KEXP Live Room, Hatchie performs four songs from her debut EP Sugar & Spice. Recorded 09/18/2018. 4 songs - Sugar & Spice, Try, Bad Guy, Sure

It's difficult to think of a band that's had a bigger breakthrough in 2018 than IDLES, but then again, it's different to think about anything else when their furious and vulnerable songs pulverize speakers, venues, and ears in the way that they have all year. Performing four songs from their sophomore album Joy As An Act of Resistance, the Bristol quintet walk into the KEXP Live Room with John Richards and exit 30 minutes later with an instant classic KEXP session under their belts. Recorded 10/04/2018. 4 songs - Colossus, Never Fight A Man With A Perm, Television, Danny Nedelko

A musician who needs no introduction, Johnny Marr is responsible for some of the most thrilling and innovative rock music of the last half century. The Mancunian guitar legend walks into the KEXP Live Room for a wide-ranging chat with Cheryl Waters and a four-song set spanning his career. Recorded 09/21/2018. 4 songs - Bug, Hi Hello, The Headmaster Ritual, Easy Money

2018 is "the year of two EPs” from Smokey Brights, with a pair of releases bookending the band's busiest year yet. The pop-rock Seattle staples join John Richards on the Morning Show to perform a pair of tracks from each EP. Recorded 08/30/2018. 4 songs - Different Windows, Flash Your Lights, Come To Terms, The Other Way

Incisively driving and immediately arresting, Bodega's slicing post-punk doesn't pull any punches. The Brooklyn outfit join Troy Nelson in the KEXP Live Room (“in the internet”, as singer Ben Hozie dubs it) for four songs from their debut album Endless Scroll. Recorded 8/14/18 - 4 songs: Jack In Titanic, Name Escape, Gyrate, Truth Is Not Punishment