Miya Folick - So Clear

Jamaican singer Jah9 has built a remarkable career bridging dub music with jazz vocals. Taking inspiration from Nina Simone and Billie Holiday with the dancehall aesthetics of her native Kingston, Jah9 creates a sonic palette uniquely her own. “Open Heart” is a feel-good anthem, or rather an anthem in the pursuit of feeling good. Crossing over with her other career as a yoga teacher, she preaches mindfulness ideas of focusing your mind, embracing the beauty around you, and finding the moments of peace surrounding us. With the danceable rhythm and flourishing horns, Jah9 creates a vision of serenity that feels worth the pursuit. - Dusty HenrySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Aug 20233min

South London’s Yussef Dayes has made a name for himself as one of the most exciting jazz drummers and composers to emerge in recent years. Anticipation has been mounting for a full-length album from Dayes and we’ll finally see it come to fruition with his debut solo album, Black Classical Music, out Sept. 8. Alongside the album’s announcement, Dayes shared this statement:  “What is jazz? Where did the word derive from? Birthed in New Orleans, born in the belly of the Mississippi River, rooted in the gumbo pot of the Caribbean, South American culture & African rituals. Continuing a lineage of Miles Davis, Rahssan Roland kirk, Nina Simone, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong ~ music that is forever evolving & limitless in its potential. The groove, it’s feeling, the compositions, the spontaneity, with a love for family, the discipline & dedication in maintaining the very high bar set by the pantheon of Black Classical Musicians. Chasing the rhythm of drums that imitated one’s heartbeat, the melodies for the mind and spirit, the bass for the core. A Regal sound for this body of music.” The single “Rust” finds Dayes teaming up with fellow English jazz wunderkind and frequent collaborator Tom Misch. The instrumental jam finds both musicians at the height of their powers, locking into that cosmic groove Daye speaks of with delectable percussion pastiche, ambient vocals, and a bass line that’ll rumble in your bones for days. - Dusty HenrySupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

31 Jul 20233min

Love & Pain - “Deep Space (Soft Faith remix),” a 2023 self-released single. Seattle duo Love & Pain — Natalia Czajkiewicz and Brad Clifford — team up with New York City synth-pop duo Soft Faith for today's Song of the Day. The track commemorates the one year anniversary of the release of It Comes In Waves, their second full-length. As they write on Instagram, "Maybe it will make you dance or cry or do both at the same time." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

28 Jul 20233min

Code Industry - “Crimes Against The People” from the 2023 self-released album Structure. Formed in 1989 after changing their name from Code Assault, Code Industry were among the few Black artists in the EBM genre during that era. On Juneteenth 2023, they resissued their 1991 EP Structure with lyrics and liner notes by band member Pen Jackson aka E.N. Sevy. Their lyrics calling out racism and hypocrisy still ring true today. On today's Song of the Day, they deliver seething lyrics against an intense industrial sound, calling to mind '80s faves like Skinny Puppy and Nitzer Ebb. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

27 Jul 20234min

Neu-Romancer - “Superposition” from the 2023 EP Neue Romantika on Fleisch. Neu-Romancer is the solo venture of Australian musician Laura Bailey, currently residing in Berlin, Germany. (She's also the bassist for VV & the Void, Ciern, and in the live line-up for Zanias.)  Her debut EP Neue Romantika features four tracks of Italo-disco-infused coldwave. "Neue Romantika" translates to "New Romantics" in German, a nod to the '70s/'80s music genre that included bands like Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Soft Cell. Today's Song of the Day recalls early Depeche Mode classics with its dark, danceable rhythm. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

26 Jul 20236min

Carlo Onda - “Kette (feat. Blanche Biau)” from the 2023 self-released album EURO89. Swiss darkwave artist Carlo Rainolter composes music as both Carlo Onda and Karl Kave. Both are synth-based, '80s-inspired projects influenced by post-punk and minimal wave. His latest album, Euro89, is described as both "digital and organic," with today's Song of the Day featuring guest vocals and lyrics from Zurich-based artist Blanche Biau.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

25 Jul 20233min

Escuela de Aviación- “Escalera infinita” from the 2023 album Fabrica de uniformes on Flexidiscos Escuela de Aviación (translated to English: "Aviation School") is the solo project of Jerónimo Martín, formerly the drummer of the krautrock-inspired band Sei Still which relocated from Mexico City to Berlin, Germany.  Still embracing the minimal synth sound of his previous band, Escuela de Aviación's latest LP, Fabrica de uniformes, is an introspective meditation on the world, set to an icy darkwave sound.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

24 Jul 20234min

Roosevelt - "Luna," a 2023 single from Counter Records. Marius Lauber — the German-based producer who records as Roosevelt — shares a funky summertime groove for today's Song of the Day. The track definitely nods to his recent collaborations with artists like Nile Rodgers and Classixx.  “'Luna' started as a jam with a bass line two years ago — it was laying on my hard drive already when doing my last album Polydans and it never really developed into a song," he explains in a press statement. "I’ve reconnected with some of my old equipment and a stripped down setup in the last months and finally made it work, turning it into a funk driven dance track.”  Roosevelt will be playing Friday, October 6th at the Showbox at the Market. Check out the complete 35+ North American tour schedule here. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

20 Jul 20233min