Live on KEXP

Latest Episodes:

IDLES Jan 12, 2021

Show notes

So, way back when, in 2020, there were 262 “working days.” Whatever that means. Nevertheless, KEXP favorites IDLES spent one of those days joining Kevin Cole for a virtual live performance recorded at Abbey Road Studios. With cat meows censoring the FCC-unfriendly words, the British band barrels into four tracks off their latest album, ‘Ultra Mono.’

Ahead of the fiery performance, Troy Nelson dissects the diverse collaborators involved and the very deliberate four-part strategy behind making their acclaimed third studio album.

Recorded 10/06/2020.

Model Village
Mr. Motivator
War
Grounds

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Adia Victoria Jan 05, 2021

Show notes

Adia Victoria hails from Spartanburg, South Carolina, informally known as “The Upstate” just a few miles down Highway 9 from the trucks hurtling along Interstate 85 between Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia to the south. This geographical background heavily informs her music, which is often referred to as “gothic blues” and takes inspiration from Black blues artists like Robert Johnson, Skip James, John Lee Hooker, Junior Kimbrough, and RL Burnside.
For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson maps her physical journey from South Carolina to New York to Atlanta as well as her musical journey from early loves The Strokes and The Black Keys to ending up working with founding member of another well-known “The” band, Aaron Dessner, on her latest full-length, 2019’s ‘Silences.' Telling Dessner she wanted the record to sound like, “Billie Holiday got lost in a Radiohead song,” the album is a dense and expansive expression of the blues in the hands of a creatively independent woman of color unafraid to explore.

Recorded 03/12/2019.

Different Kind of Love
Heathen
Dope Queen Blues
Cry Wolf

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hot Chip Dec 29, 2020

Show notes

In summer 2019, when the world looked vastly different, Hot Chip dropped their seventh full-length, ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy.’ One of their strongest releases in years, the album marks the first time in their 19 years together that Alexis Taylor and Joe Goddard brought in outside producers to help round out their sound. With Philippe Zdar and Rodaidh McDonald by their side, the album is a blissfully cathartic release.

Last September, Hot Chip dropped by KEXP to play three songs from ‘A Bath Full of Ecstasy’ as well as a throwback 2008 track. Join Troy Nelson to listen to them here on Live on KEXP.

Recorded 09/19/2019

Hungry Child
Bath Full of Ecstasy
Spell
Made in the Dark

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Corridor Dec 22, 2020

Show notes

As the very first Francophone band signed to Sub Pop, Corridor prove that they’re worth their salt with their third studio album, ‘Junior.' Released in fall 2019, the album expertly mingles woozy shoegaze and ethereal French vocals with tightly-wound angular guitars for a completely hypnotizing effect.

Troy Nelson explores the history of the Montreal band and the swift making of Junior while the band plays a selection of songs off the record.

Recorded 12/12/2019.

Agent Double
Junior
Grand Cheval
Domino

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Courtney Marie Andrews Dec 15, 2020

Show notes

With a long, community-driven career in music, Courtney Marie Andrews’ Grammy nomination for her latest album, ‘Old Flowers,’ feels more than well earned. The eighth studio album from the Nashville-based, Phoenix-born (and at one point Washington-dwelling) singer-songwriter is nominated for Best Americana Album at the 2021 Grammy Awards. A breakup record, through and through, the songs on the album convey the heartbreak and loneliness following the end of a relationship.

For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson dives deep into Andrews’ rich musical biography, which traces back to when she was just 15 years old and playing in coffee shops. While the stages may have eventually grown bigger from there, Andrews’ focus on collaboration and community has remained strong. It’s a great reminder that music builds community and community builds musicians.

Recorded 10/06/2020.

Break the Spell
If I Told
It Must Be Someone Else’s Fault
One of These Days
Ships in the Night

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ana Tijoux Dec 08, 2020

Show notes

“It is not enough to say that justice takes time but it’s coming soon. Justice that is not exercised when appropriate is not justice.” These words from Pierre Dubois exemplify the ethos Chilean artist Ana Tijoux embodies in her politically charged music. With a rich and unconventional history, it’s difficult to unpack her life story in just 10 minutes but Troy Nelson makes that attempt.

Everything from her unorthodox childhood with fiercely intelligent parents that instilled the radical passion that would carry her the rest of her life to her time topping the charts as an MC with the group Makiza to her successful solo career is covered in this week’s Live on KEXP followed by a vivaciously strummed set that Tijoux recorded for KEXP during the pandemic. Her latest album, ‘Antifa Dance,’ is available on Firebrand Records.

Recorded 10/01/2020.

Sacar La Voz
Shock
Antipatriarca
Calaveritas
Cacerolazo

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bambara Dec 01, 2020

Show notes

Today’s episode is brought to you by the letter “B,” with the brooding brutalism and bashing bombardment of Bambara.

Using the beloved writing technique known as alliteration, Troy Nelson burrows into the biography of the Brooklyn-based band while also bestowing beholders with a brief background on the letter itself before the bands break into a blazing set, recorded live at KEXP right at the very end of the “before-times.”

Recorded 03/04/2020.

Serafina
Death Croons
Heat Lightning
Stay Cruel

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Frances Quinlan Nov 24, 2020

Show notes

The sooner you start, the greater chance you have of doing something for half your life. This is something Frances Quinlan understands, as she’s on the verge of reaching the half-mark milestone for playing music. Beginning with the solo project Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004, when she was in high school, Quinlan went on to release three records with the renamed full band Hop Along as well as a 2020 solo record, 'Likewise,' under her own name.

For Live on KEXP, Troy Nelson details Quinlan’s trajectory, her influences, and the people who helped her go from the basement to the studio.

Recorded 03/05/2020.

Detroit Lake
Now That I’m Back
Rare Thing
Went to LA

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly Lee Owens Nov 17, 2020

Show notes

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 YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sessa Nov 10, 2020

Show notes

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 YouTube

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected