Seratones - Gotta Get To Know Ya

Panda Riot - "Extra Cosmic" from the 2022 self-released album Extra Cosmic. Not only do Chicago quartet Panda Riot tap into My Bloody Valentine's Loveless by sharing the same hot pink color on the album artwork to their fourth LP, Extra Cosmic, they also capture that dreamy shoegaze sound with their soaring, swooning guitars. (I'm also detecting a nod to the Cocteau Twins' Heaven or Las Vegas with the purple/pink theme.) Frontwoman Rebecca Scott's girlish voice is way higher in the mix than MBV though, which is a very good thing! Today's Song of the Day is a dream-pop delight with Beach House synth vibes layered throughout. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11 Jul 20224min

Khingz - "Fort Cash Money" from the 2022 album Over The World on OTOW/ freshcutflowers. Khingz has long been an influential force in the Seattle hip hop scene, with the crowning achievement of Best MC of the Year in 2009 according to Seattle Weekly for his groundbreaking record From Slaveships to Spaceships. A powerful collaborator, Khingz has worked with Geologic of Blue Scholars, Macklemore, and KEXP’s own Gabriel Teodros in the hip-hop supergroup Good Medicine, with B-Flat and Crispy of Godspeed as the trio Hi-Life Soundsystem, and, once again, with Teodros as well as rapper Nam under the project The Livin Yard. His latest single and our Song of the Day reiterates Khingz’ affinity for collaboration. Over a twinkling piano line and vibrant high hats, Khingz waxes poetic about his desire to bring up the people around him and the power and importance of doing so in “Fort Cash Money.” “Please God make me useful for those I love,” Khingz pleads. “I just wanna be the plug /I just wanna bring them power.” The song comes from Khingz’ latest full-length and first in 13 years, Over the World, released last month. Khingz will be playing the Clock Out Lounge on July 23rd for the latest installment of The Good Foot alongside notable names such as the aforementioned Geologic and Grynch. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Jul 20222min

Mejiwahn - "Heart String Special (feat. Liv.e)" from the 2022 album BEANNA on Hot Record Societe. Mejiwahn, who previously recorded under the name Art Vandelay (which personally I love greatly as someone finally watching Seinfeld in whole), is a bit of a mystery. Like the fictional character that George makes up in a job interview, there are few photos, quotes, or general living artifacts to prove that Mejiwahn exists. And yet, the producer is a very real and influential musician in the Oakland scene. Our Song of the Day, “Heart String Special” was the third single to drop from his latest Beanna full-length, which dropped this week. Featuring Dallas R&b chanteuse Liv.e on vocals, the two create a sunny, sultry downtempo summer jam that’s loose and free like we all should be during these few summer months. Made for the sunsets and sunrises, the comedowns or the comeups, it’s a perfect accompaniment to getting grounded. If I may steal from the Quietus’ review of Beanna, Mejiwahn, “Worked with R&B-jazz singer-songwriter Liv.e on her 2020 debut Couldn’t Wait to Tell You. Like that record, Beanna finds its strength in the fluidity of soundscapes, with lo-fi beatmaking and production, psychedelic backdrops and cinematic instrumentals all contributing to this nomadic and meandering feel.” Sometimes other writers just say it perfectly. Read the full story on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Jul 20222min

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.”  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Jul 20223min

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."  Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Jul 20223min

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." Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

4 Jul 20223min

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. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

1 Jul 20223min

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. Read the full post on KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30 Jun 20224min