KEXP DJ Kevin Sur on Martin Luke Brown’s therapeutic new track

Prometheus Brown - "(East | West) feat. Leua" from the 2023 album Taglagas on Beatrock Music LLC Seattle's own Prometheus Brown has long been an important voice in local hip-hop, dating back to his days as Geologic in the duo Blue Scholars. As the son of Filipino immigrants, he uses the stage to uplift and empower the Filipino community with his lyrics. His first ever musical project as a solo artist has been this four-part EP series, named for each of the four seasons, "after the nonliteral corollary translation for the season's word in Tagalog," as he explains. With Tagsibol and Tag-init released in 2019, he's now released Taglagas, or "fall." He adds, the fourth and final Winter EP, Tag-lamig, should be coming out later this year. Prometheus Brown has also recently joined the KEXP team as a DJ, which you can read more about here. Check out today's Song of the Day below, and revisit his 2022 KEXP in-studio session below that.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Syys 20234min

Black Milk feat. Phonte & Raphael Saadiq - "No Wish," from the 2023 album Everybody Good? on Mass Appeal / Computer Ugly Detroit-based producer, MC, and musician Black Milk returned with his eighth studio album Everybody Good? this summer, featuring special guests like Mick Jenkins, Karriem Riggins, and Quelle Chris. On today's Song of the Day, North Carolina rapper Phonte delivers a powerful, confessional, and personal guest verse against a track produced by award-winning artist Raphael Saadiq. It's the only song of the new LP that isn't produced or co-produced by Black Milk himself.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Syys 20234min

MMYYKK feat. Ricki Monique - "Bliss" from the 2023 album The Midst of Things on SwayHeavy Records. On his latest LP, The Midst of Things, Minneapolis-based musician and instrumentalist MMYYKK (pronounced "Mike") reflects on the state of the country today. Today's Song of the Day asks the questions, “Who can I trust in a world of deep fakes? Is there any objective truth in a world with 'alternative facts'? Is there one true reality or is it all subjective?" "This album is also the culmination of my processing of the trauma and hardship I experienced over the pandemic and civil unrest in Minneapolis over the last few years," he explains on his Bandcamp. "The deep levels of depression that come with living in a black body in this country. The rejection, the anger and frustration, and the fear of having my body destroyed simply for expressing that anger in the presence of the wrong white body." He adds, "My goal with this album is to provoke conversations and create engagement around these questions and themes. but also to give you something new and inspiring while opening you up to the full spectrum of my sound and voice." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Syys 20233min

C.S. Armstrong - "SOUL SURVIVOR (feat. Buddy)" from the 2023 album COME AS YOU ARE on TOP OF THE BOOT RECORDS. Today's Song off the Day is more than just a song; as C.S. Armstrong writes on social media, "shit really is my life and a proclamation to never stop." On today's featured track, the Texas-born bluesman teams up with Los Angeles-based rapper Buddy. As Armstrong writes, "I moved to LA in 2015, after living in New York I became more recluse. Wasn’t tryna work with many folks but in my time here I can honestly say @buddy has become one of my fav folks I’ve worked with. Reminds me of a cousin n he always show up for me. You are appreciated man, thank you for your phenomenal contribution to COME AS YOU ARE."Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Syys 20233min

On her latest EP, California-based artist Dea Galore teams up with L.A. group The Melodiks for a sunny, soulful set of songs. On today's Song of the Day, she invites guest vocalist Georgia Anne Muldrow, who she says has "impacted me and touched my soul since 2009... definitely a pinch-myself experience." The Flow was recorded in 2021, during the quarantine. "The ffirst timewe all made music together was golden and we were hooked," Galore continues. "We would meet up at what I call 'The Womb' haha because of how cozy it feels in there and how creative we got in there." She adds, "I hope you feel the genuine creativity and vibe we all experienced while making this project. We are all deep music lovers/ nerds/ fanatics! I’m so grateful for the experience, and I’m so grateful that we can share it with everyone."Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 Syys 20233min

Bread Pilot - "Crook," from the 2022 album New To You on Double Double Whammy Bread Pilot began in 2011, when high school students Taylor Hayden (guitar/vocals), Stephen Ibanez Jr. (guitar/vocals), and Evan House (drums) would practice in Hayden's mother's home. In fact, today's Song of the Day is named after Crook Horn Road, where a teenaged Hayden would host basement shows. After graduating, the trio relocated to Seattle, choosing to record their debut album at The Unknown in Anacortes. “We had a bunch of different musicians playing on tracks that made them so much better, adding in this new flair," Hayden told Under the Radar. "The best part of recording is that the process is so fun. That’s another strength that all of us have. When we’re starting on recording, putting our heads together, it’s like building.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Syys 20233min

Glasser - "Vine" from the 2023 album crux on One Little Independent Records Cameron Mesirow — who records under the name Glasser — returns this fall with her first album in a decade, and her third album overall, titled crux. It'll be released October 6th via One Little Independent Records. "Just getting back to making songs was hard for me after the last album," Mesirow explained in a press release. "When I made my first album, I didn’t have an established routine of trying and failing, it was very immediate. The second record was made after a few years of touring, which is a very unstable life, and I still didn’t establish a relationship to creating things regularly. After its release, I didn’t have a center from which to recompose myself. The thing that finally brought me back to music as a positive experience was that I began taking lessons to learn Balkan singing. I wanted to try to learn all this vocal gymnastic stuff that I was listening to in the Bulgarian state television choir records. I started writing songs and working toward an album." Today's Song of the Day combines electronic beats with soaring strings, calling to mind Björk's own dramatic, cinematic soundscapes. “I wanted to create something where all the parts sound like they're very separated,” Mesirow continues. “I was thinking like jazz, actually. It was about getting back to writing music after feeling a bit disconnected from the machinery around making music your profession.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

31 Elo 20233min

The Budos Band - "Frontier's Edge," a 2023 single on Diamond West Records. After six soulful albums and two EPs on Daptone Records, the New York collective The Budos Band are releasing their new EP Frontier’s Edge via their own label, Diamond West. “It’s just a natural growth,” said guitarist Tom Brenneck in a press release. “We’re going further away from the sound of Daptone and into territory they probably wanted to stay away from.” That territory is still a psych-heavy instrumental one, inspired by old school R&B, as you can hear on today's Song of the Day. “Somehow, we wrote six songs in two days,” says drummer Brian Profilio. “Tom was able to take what we were doing and put it together in a cohesive manner.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Elo 20232min