Fatoumata Diawara - Negue Negue

Zanias - "Earthborn" from the 2024 album Ecdysis on Metropolis Records Today's featured track comes from a KEXP Song of the Day veteran, the Berlin-based project Zanias, led by Australian-born multidisciplinary artist Alison Lewis. "Earthborn" is the first single off her forthcoming full-length Ecdysis, out this Friday, February 16th. The album was created around the same time as 2023's LP Chrysalis, but Lewis points out on Instagram that these tracks have a "far more alien quality to them." She continues, "This one’s a serious healing venture, a spiritual exercise, a deep dive into all those things we feel and have no words for (hence, there are no words)." Read the full story at KEXP.org  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

14 Feb 20244min

Glaring - "Burn the Snow" from the 2024 self-released EP DR666 Over the past few years. Germany-based coldwave artist Anna Nin has been recording her melancholy medleys under the name Glaring. Her latest EP — the self-released DR666 — reflects the cold winter month of January in which it was released: chilly synths, glacial pacing, and a vapor-breath vocal delivery.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

13 Feb 20243min

Anja Huwe - "Rabenschwarz" a 2024 single on Sacred Bones As the frontwoman for German post-punk band Xmal Deutschland, vocalist Anja Huwe was at the forefront of the 4AD avant-garde art-rock scene in the 1980s. When the band broke up in 1989, Huwe left music to pursue her visual art career.  But now, nearly 30 years later, Huwe re-emerges with her debut solo album, Codes, scheduled for release on March 8th via Sacred Bones Records. Huwe's long-time friend Mona Mur managed to coax her back into the recording studio, and over the span of eighteen months, they crafted a collection of dark, dramatic soundscapes for Huwe to wrap her distinctive vocals around. “Since I sing multilingually, and often work with metaphors, I hope that the listener can grasp the moods without understanding them literally," Huwe shared in a press statement. "I believe that voice, expression, and sound can achieve an overall atmosphere. Sometimes melancholic and blue, but also uplifting, vibrant, or subliminally aggressive." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Feb 20243min

Polyrhythmics - "Clydesdale" from the 2023 self-released album Filter System Now on their 13th year as a band, Seattle's own psych-funk septet Polyrhythmics released their latest LP last fall titled Filter System.    “When I listen to this music I feel comforted and excited at the same time,” saxophonist Art Brown said of the album in a press statement. “I really feel like we've created some beautiful musical spaces that can transport you. And in that way I think it can provide a source of inspiration, and maybe revitalize the hearts and minds of folks who listen.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Feb 20243min

Nation of Language - Spare Me the Decision (Cutouts Remix) a 2024 single on PIAS Brooklyn trio Nation of Language revisit last year's single "Spare Me the Decision" with a remix by their bassist Alex MacKay, who also records under the name Cutouts. The original version of the track appears on the album Strange Disciple, which was voted the #2 album of the year by KEXP listeners.  “I knew pretty instantly “Spare Me the Decision” was the track I’d have the most fun trying to remix from Strange Disciple as it’s a personal favorite," MacKay shared in a press statement. "However, my time management isn’t always the best so while I thought I’d have turned it in before we started touring last year, I ended up finishing the master in the lobby of our Barcelona hotel, just a few hours before our set at Primavera Festival. As a result, to me that day represents a beautiful duality, wearing two very different hats from the afternoon into the evening. In the daylight a focused (albeit jet-lagged) moment of solitude and creation. After sunset, an evening onstage performing in front of a jubilant congregation of Spanish fans, far more frenzied than I could have ever imagined when I woke up that morning." He continued, "As far as the song itself: I love the drum tracks Ian and Nick came up with, especially the slinky hi-hat pattern… and Ian is a true singer, so it’s an absolute joy working with his vocals. I preserved those parts but had a go at replacing almost everything else. I thought it’d be fun to stretch the length, and try different chords under the chorus melody every time it comes around. I also slowed it down a couple BPM. I like seeing how slow I can make songs without losing the groove. Sometimes there’s a second pocket in there, a little slower than you might expect…” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Feb 20245min

Gustaf - "Starting and Staring" from the 2024 album Package Pt. 2 on Royal Mountain Brooklyn-based no-wave band Gustaf share the lead single from their upcoming sophomore full-length Package Pt. 2, out April 5th via Royal Mountain. The new album was produced by Erin Tonkon, who worked on David Bowie’s final album Blackstar. With its driving bass and anxiety-ridden performance from vocalist Lydia Gammill, it's easy to see why this group is a tour mate of bands like IDLES, Sleaford Mods, and Yard Act. Check out the video below, directed by Alex Ross Perry.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

7 Feb 20243min

Ride - "Peace Sign" from the 2024 album Interplay on Wichita Shoegaze pioneers Ride return with the album Interplay, out March 29th on Wichita Recordings/PIAS. It'll be their seventh full-length overall, and their third since reuniting in 2014.  “This album has taken a long time to make, and has seen the band go through a lot of ups and downs; maybe the most of any Ride album,” co-founder Andy Bell said in a press release. “But it has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to shake off the past, and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.” Today's Song of the Day first began to come together during a jam session in band member Mark Gardener's recording studio, OX4 studio. "We called it ‘Berlin’ and initially it featured Loz on drums, Steve on bass, and myself on a prophet 5 synth," Bell continued. "About six months later I got hold of the recording and wrestled it into song form. Lyrically I was inspired by a film called The Alpinist about the visionary free climber Marc-André Leclerc. Soon after I’d finished working on the song I remember I was raving to my bandmates about Leclerc at OX4, and a good memory of that time was us all watching that film at Mark’s studio." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

6 Feb 20244min

TR/ST - "Robrash" a 2023 single on Dais TR/ST — a project of producer Robert Alfons — shares the first single from his latest release, a self-titled EP from his new label, Dais Records. Formed in Toronto, and now based in Los Angeles, he continues to craft darkwave synth perfect for haunting the dance floor.  Today's Song of the Day was co-produced by Nightfeelings and mixed by the legendary Nick Launay, who has worked with everyone from Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to IDLES to Kate Bush.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Feb 20243min