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FKJ - Greener (feat. Santana) Jul 06, 2022

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FKJ - "Greener (feat. Santana)" from the 2022 album V I N C E N T on Mom + Pop.

How do you get legendary guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana to perform on one of your songs? Well, according to multi-instrumentalist FKJ (that's short for French Kiwi Juice, but his real name is Vincent Fenton), you just need to ask nicely. As he explains in a press release, "I told him I would listen to the radio as a young boy, in the days before Spotify, waiting for his song 'Smooth' to come on so I could tape it, and that he plays his instrument like it has its own language and it speaks to me. I just didn’t think he’d end up saying he’d be happy to play on my track."

Santana himself had this to say about their soulful jam: “It is a joy to collaborate and share music with my brother Vincent (FKJ) on ‘Greener.’ Together we have painted a canvas of color, texture and musicality that we know will bring you courage and a deep awareness of your own light and life. Once that happens, there’s no division, separation, or fear. It’s just joy.”

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Xênia França - Ancestral Infinito Jul 05, 2022

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Xênia França - "Ancestral Infinito" from the 2022 self-released album Em Nome da Estrela.

Straight out of the gate, Brazilian artist Xênia França scored two Latin Grammy nominations for her 2018 debut album, Xênia, and the single “Pra Que Me Chamas?”

She returns with her self-released sophomore effort, Em Nome da Estrela, which translates to "in the name of the star." França expands on the rich influence of her homeland (she even covers a song by tropicália pioneer Gilberto Gil), bringing a sultry R&B vibe with a touch of psychedelia.

She writes on her Facebook, "I hope this album can take everyone on an enlightened journey, full of love and access their ancestral technological power."

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Coco Peila - Remember Jul 04, 2022

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Coco Peila - "Remember" from the 2022 Whose World? (The New Normal) EP on Miss Behave Records/La Vida Diosa Publishing.

With her latest EP, Whose World? (The New Normal), Bay Area-based MC, singer-songwriter, and producer Coco Peila continues to use music as a platform to speak on causes she feels passionately about. (Her last KEXP Song of the Day spoke out against outdated beauty norms.) This new release is described as a "Hip Hop and Climate Justice audio-visual initiative," presented by BlackGold Movement and developed as a part of Creative Wildfire, "a collaborative call to action from frontline communities, represented by Climate Justice Alliance, New Economy Coalition, and Movement Generation."

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Supercrush - Perfect Smile Jul 01, 2022

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Supercrush - Perfect Smile - from the 2022 self-released Melody Maker EP.

While Seattle power pop band Supercrush have technically been a band since 2013, they only just released their debut LP Debt Offensive in 2019. With time to makeup, the band, led by veteran hardcore, punk, and metal musician Mark Palm, quickly followed that up with SODO Pop in 2020 and just dropped the EP Melody Maker in early June via Supercrush’s own KR Records. Made up of five soaringly sweet hook-laden songs, the EP is tailor-made for the sunny days that have finally emerged, including our Song of the Day “Perfect Smile.”

In America, we put high precedence on good teeth. And, unfortunately, it usually takes money in order to acquire perfect teeth. “Perfect Smile,” delves into how easy it is for one who does not have them to fall fast and hard for someone who does. Perhaps, the love interest has other qualities that their narrator also loves but it’s the one quality of obsession that comes into play here. While we could admonish them for their admiration for something that most people can only control to a limited extent, who doesn’t love an incredible smile?

Supercrush are currently in the middle of a US tour, with a tour-ending hometown show in Seattle on Saturday, July 16th at the Vera Project. Watch the visualizer for “Perfect Smile” at the link below.

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Penelope Isles - Play It Cool (Alt Mix) Jun 30, 2022

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Penelope Isles - Play It Cool (Alt Mix) - a 2022 single on Bella Union.

It’s a family affair for Penelope Isles, the sibling songwriting duo of Lily and Jack Wolter, who have channeled the energy of their UK homeland the Isle of Man for some seriously dreamy sounds over the course of two records. Now based in Brighton, their latest record, 2021’s Which Way To Happy, sees the band recruit the help of Henry Nicholson, Joe Taylor, and Hannah Feenstra to fill out their expansive soundscapes for an intoxicating leap forward.

Still, a lot of those sounds aren’t exactly accurate to what the band is playing on tour which is why they decided to re-imagine a few of those songs and release them as alternate mixes. Our Song of the Day (and third from Penelope Isles) is the alternate mix of stand-out track “Play It Cool.” Slightly stripped down but no less gorgeous, bouncy, and effervescent, the song only builds excitement to see the band deliver the songs on stage. This is what they had to say about the single:

“We have been working on how to re-imagine songs from Which Way To Happy for our festival shows this summer…. Play It Cool seemed to fall into place a lot easier than others… maybe because we stripped a lot of things away that are in the album version, so we felt that it would be ‘cool’ to re-mix and create an alternative version, where the arrangement and sonics are more like how we are doing it live. Everything is pretty hard panned in the stereo mix, so the drums are on one side and the bass on the other. It’s kind of fun to pan to one side and isolate things. Inspired by those early Byrds and Beatles mixes.”

Penelope Isles is currently on tour behind Which Way To Happy but, unfortunately, currently solely in Europe and the UK. Watch their 2019 KEXP in-studio performance at the link below while we eagerly wait for them to hop the pond.

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Oceanator - Beach Days (Alive Again) Jun 29, 2022

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Oceanator - "Beach Days (Alive Again)" from the 2022 album Nothing's Ever Fine on Big Scary Monsters.

"By the ocean /

Is where i wanna be /

When this all comes to an end"

On her 2020 debut album Things I Never Said, Brooklyn-based songwriter Oceanator (real name: Elise Okusami) pondered the apocalypse against grungy guitars and Green Day-inspired pop/punk. On her follow-up LP Nothing’s Ever Fine, she continues to explore similar themes... except on today's Song of the Day.

“I feel like summer is supposed to be the good times,” she told Under the Radar. “I wanted to write some songs about some of the good parts of life, and a lot of those are — for me at least — in the summer.”

Her sophomore full-length was co-produced by Bartees Strange and her brother, Mike Okusami, who each brought their musical expertise to the table. “Bartees and Michael both have this really extensive knowledge of sound and gear,” she explained. “So, it was extremely helpful to be able to translate what I was saying into sounds. Maybe I could have gotten some of the sounds on my own, but it would have taken like 10 years.”

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Camilla Munck - Blessed Be Jun 28, 2022

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Camilla Munck - "Blessed Be" from the 2021 album Aeon on Moondrop Records.

Danish artist Camilla Munck began with a background in soundtracks and sound design. On her debut album AEON, she taps into these skills for an emotive, atmospheric experience. On her Facebook page, she describes today's Song of the Day as "a song about finding oneself in and outside communities. to dare step in and out of them. about following oneself, following one's curiosity. and about finding peace in the movement."

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Confidence Man - Holiday Jun 27, 2022

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Confidence Man - "Holiday" from the 2022 album TILT on Heavenly Recordings/[PIAS].

With today's Song of the Day, Australian electro-pop duo Confidence Man aim to make the party last forever.

“We’ve been trying for the most epic, hands up, euphoric anthem for a while and this is the first time we’ve come close… Turns out it’s pretty difficult, but nothing’s too hard for Con Man,” said vocalist Sugar Bones.

His bandmate Janet Planet added: “No one tells Confidence Man what to do. Who said a Holiday can’t last forever? Spend big and live free, that’s our motto. And it can be yours too. A vacation is just sunburn at premium prices but a holiday is a state of mind.”

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Beautiful Freaks - CROCODILE Jun 24, 2022

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Beautiful Freaks - "CROCODILE," a 2022 single on Scream Queen Records.

Constantly evolving in their sound, Beautiful Freaks has always been a band built more on energy and experimentation than a specific genre tag. Formed in 2013, Peter Bryson and James Bonaci came together over their love for metal, jazz & punk. Their 2018 debut Cameo Artist was hardcore glam at its most frenzied and visceral but the former Bellingham band now resides in Seattle and is entering the next phase of their evolution with the recently released singles “Slugs” and “Crocodile.”

More refined and vocally driven than their prior work, “Crocodile” features Meg Hall shining on lead vocals to tell the story of a not-so-good guy that meets his demise. The angular hooks, spacey guitar wails, and unique time signature make the song some sort of math rock/psychedelic/post punk hybrid and an exciting new direction for the queer & trans band.

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Chainsaw Girl - Chainsaw Girl Jun 23, 2022

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Chainsaw Girl - "Chainsaw Girl" from the 2021 self-released Chainsaw Girl EP.

Portland’s Chainsaw Girl were brought together with a combination of fate and Yu-Gi-Oh. Guitarists Manny Ruiz and Kei Iguchi met at a conference for the Japanese manga series in 2016 and found their common interests spanned beyond Yu-Gi-Oh and into a deep love for music. Vocalist Cricket Greene was later asked to join after their loud and constant singing could be heard through Iguchi’s walls. With the rest of the crew found either through Craigslist or mutual friends, their self-described “Boring Dystopia-core” band was complete.

While very far from boring, finding a better label for the band is difficult. Pulling from a wide range of influences including Title Fight, Joyce Manor, J-rock bands like Number Girl and Polka Dot Stingray, Bay Area DIY bands such as Pllush and Pardener, as well as Mitski, Hayley Williams, and Caroline Polachek as vocal inspirations, Chainsaw Girl straddle the line somewhere between vulnerable indie rock and harder punk.

Our Song of the Day is the eponymous opening track off their self-titled EP which implies it to be Chainsaw Girl’s manifesto. “Chainsaw Girl / Never learned to play guitar,” howls Greene in the opening line. Iguchi describes the song as “an experiment in abstract character development through lyrics.” Each bandmate wrote their part in separation and brought them together, creating a full and diverse picture of who each bandmate considers the character of Chainsaw Girl to be.

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