KEXP DJ Greta Rose on Australian producer and DJ HAAi

Eyelids - "Colossal Waste of Light" from the 2023 album A Colossal Waste of Light on Jealous Butcher. Portland supergroup Eyelids have gotten even more powerful on their fourth LP, A Colossal Waste of Light, which will be released on March 10 via Jealous Butcher Records. Songwriters John Moen (of The Decemberists) and Chris Slusarenko (formerly of Guided by Voices) are now joined by Victor Krummenacher (of Camper Van Beethoven) alongside existing members Jonathan Drews (guitar) and Paulie Pulvirenti (drums). Their latest album is produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, also a guest musician on the release. He'll be accompanying the band on March 11th when Eyelids plays the Sunset Tavern in Seattle.  Today's Song of the Day was released with a video from their longtime director John Clark; the band members are captured in papier-mâché, using figurines made by Scottish artist Jo Hamilton and bodies built by multi-talent Moen. "We still have that Little Rascals 'let's put on a show' with every Eyelids video," the band state on their website. "This one might take the cake, though. It's beautiful and ridiculous in equal measure." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Helmi 20233min

King Zaae - Someplace Somewhere a 2022 self-released single. Seattle-based artist King Zaae may be young at only 17 but he already has a widespread discography of genre-fluid sounds in the six years he’s been making music when he started fiddling with making music on his iPhone at eleven years old. Since 2021, though, his music has really started to take shape, refining his production techniques for a fully formed yet ever-changing musical identity. His earlier mixtapes like I Hate This Town and debut album Being Sad is a Cliché saw King Zaae lean into the emo influences he gleamed from his auntie like My Chemical Romance, Hawthorne Heights, and American Football. In recent singles (of which he’s released over a dozen since the start of 2022), he’s explored everything from R&B and funk to hyper-pop. Our Song of the Day, “Someplace Somewhere,” is a softly-strummed R&B ballad that leans on King Zaae’s smooth vocals while a warbling synth and a hypnotic electric guitar melody keep meter. The main element of emo - longing - is still present but in a more Frank Ocean than Gerard Way manner. King Zaae will compete in this year’s 2nd annual 21-and-under Museum of Pop Culture (MoPOP) music showcase, Sound Off! He’ll perform on Saturday, February 25th alongside other up-and-coming local artists Pilot Seat, defsharp, and lavenderhayez. Watch the official video for “Being Sad Is a Cliche” and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

17 Helmi 20234min

Oddisee - Try Again from the 2023 album To What End on Outer Note Label. In January, rapper/producer Oddisee dropped his twelfth studio album, To What End, which explores human ambition, posing the question: “How far are you willing to go, and why?” This idea is expressed in our Song of the Day and early single “Try Again.” Backed by a funky groove, the DC-based emcee waxes about growing from the trials and tribulations he previously endured. "Couple wins, couple L’s / Took a hit but I prevailed/ Now I got the gist on how to flip it when I fail." Synth keys, rapid-firing drums, and a luscious guitar lick round out the infectious dance jam as Oddisee encourages listeners to not let their losses define them, proclaiming "All this time you spent / All that love you gave/ Please don’t walk away / Try again.” Watch Oddisee’s stirring Live from KEXP at Home performance and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Helmi 20232min

Adrian Younge & Ali Shaheed Muhammad - "Fire In Detroit", a 2023 single on Jazz Is Dead. Launched in 2020, the Jazz is Dead series is an ongoing series from producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed Muhammad, aiming to elevate some legends of the genre with original collaborations. For the latest edition, the guys team up with trombonist Phil Ranelin and saxophonist Wendell Harrison, founders of the '70s Detroit-based label and collective, Tribe Records. Tribe Records was more than just an independent record label; it was a community-run organization that tackled all aspects of an album release, including promotion, distribution, and publishing. Their message was "music is the healing force of the universe," and it's a motto that Jazz is Dead keeps alive with their own releases.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Helmi 20235min

Ivy Sole - "Don't Hide (feat. Kingsley Ibeneche)" a 2023 single on Ivy Sole LLC / Venice Music Candid, the latest album from Philly-based Pan-Africanist artist Ivy Sole, is presented as triptych, inspired by her parents' love story and how it shaped her own views on relationships.  As she told Metal Magazine, "How the story unfolds in this album is not identical to how it transpired in the lives of my parents, or even in my life, but this much is true – Candid helped me love myself and love my family in ways I could never have imagined and confirmed that our enemy is not each other but the world we live in. How could I not talk about that when the world has only gotten more deadly for all of us?" Today's Song of the Day finds Sole reuniting with previous collaborator Kingsley Ibeneche, a singer/songwriter/dancer in his own right. Watch them perform in the music video below, directed by Sole and filmed by Wren Rene.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Helmi 20233min

C.S. Armstrong - "MA EMILY (feat. Rapsody)" from the 2022 self-released album THE MAKINGS OF ME. During the three years of lockdown, Houston, Texas-based artist C.S. Armstrong didn't release any original music. But the period gave him time to reflect. "The pandemic allowed me to sit with myself" he continues. "God told me to began producing, with not much knowledge I started to learn how to produce. I used God and my ears, I followed both until I reached this project that I’m so happy to finally give you." THE MAKINGS OF ME was produced by Armstrong with additional production by Miles James. The eight-song EP ranges from hip-hop to blues and gospel. As Armstrong calls it, it's a "journey through the things that made me who I am today." Today's Song of the Day is one of the most personal songs on the new release, inspired by his great-great-grandmother, Ma Emily. (In fact, the album cover photo was taken at her home.) Armstrong talked to our own DJ Gabriel Teodros about the song's origins: The song came about through a conversation with my mom actually. I was just asking about the history of my family and she talked about Ma Emily and that was her great-grandmother. She was just telling me her experiences with her and I took that conversation and really, I wanted to dive into, you know, generational curses that we all trying to break. And it came out literally — I didn't write anything — everything really just came out natural. So, for you to be highlighting such a personal song, it truly means a lot to me. Also, I sent it to [guest vocalist] Rapsody and I've been working with Rapsody since about 2012, and you know, she's always been supportive. When she sent her verse back, I literally, you know, fell to tears, man, because it's amazing not to have to explain too much to people. We did that through text, you know, I texted her. We weren't in the same room. I sent it to her and she sent it back in a matter of days and it gave me chills, man. So, shout out to Rapsody for delivering such a phenomenal verse. I think one of my favorite verses of last year. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Helmi 20233min

Fight Milk - ICU from the 2022 self-released Fight Milk EP. Fight Milk is the project of Redmond, Washington-based project of Jackson Leavitt, who has been releasing singles and EPs since 2019 under the name. Influenced highly by campy ‘80’s new wave bands like Devo, Fight Milk’s shows are a multi-disciplinary audiovisual experience made to entertain. Our Song of the Day, “ICU,” comes off of 2022’s self-titled EP and is a high-energy bop led by tapping synth rhythms and a scorching guitar melody, with Leavitt fusing very real and vulnerable feelings of longing with silly voices and lines that brings to life the absurdity that is longing. “I wanna see you so bad, it hurts me all of the time /It's like when you cut your thumb, and then you heal it with lime,” sings Leavitt like a long-forgotten Hawthorne Heights track before following with a bridge of, “Romp around the rink, romp around the rink /Where do you think /Romp around the rink, romp around the rink /Star on the sink.” Fight Milk will be competing in this year’s Sound Off!, a showcase for young artists in the surrounding Seattle area that has helped prior artists like Falon Sierra, Jason McCue, Naked Giants, Manatee Commune, Maiah Manser, and more gain a platform and industry education to bring their music to the mainstream. Watch the video for other Fight Milk track “Grenge” and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Helmi 20232min

Avalanche Kaito - Dabalomuni from the 2022 Dabalomuni EP on Glitterbeat Records. Avalanche Kaito is as their name suggests, an avalanche of disparate sounds, ideas, and ancestral odes. Made up of Burkinabe griot singer and multi-instrumentalist Kaito Winse and Brussels noise punk musicians Benjamin Chaval (drums, electronics) and Nico Glitter (guitar), the trio fuse West African oral traditions with pummeling post-punk for a sound so unique it defies categorization. Our Song of the Day, “Dabalomuni,” comes from the three-song EP of the same name, released in early 2022 and catapulting them into the European festival circuit, the international consciousness, and even the Grammys stage. The song is ferocious, with super-charged, sinewy post-punk rhythms backing a myriad of tribal instrumentation, glitchy electronic flourishes, and Winse’s powerful, bellowing recitations for a hypnotic experience that makes one ask, “What the hell just happened?” Watch a mesmerizing live performance of the song and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Helmi 20234min