The Autonomics - Southern Funeral

RATPAJAMA - "Violence" from the 2023 album The Drunken Lost Tapes on Deepland Records With the release of her latest EP The Drunken Lost Tapes, Ratpajama — the solo darkwave project of Kyara Jereissati (aka Kyro Coma) — seeks to embrace imperfection. (Although today's Song of the Day is a goth-tinged piece of perfection to these ears, with a driving industrial beat that will take you to the Batcave, punctuated by Coma's solemn, beautifully detached vocals.) "Because of my unhealthy perfectionism I couldn't, for a long time, find them good enough to release," she shares on her Bandcamp page. "However, I realized what I had forgotten about what was most important to me in this project: having fun. Now, after a long time, I finally looked at these tracks with a different perspective and I feel extremely fulfilled for being able to share them with you guys." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

16 Maj 20234min

Zanias - "Burial" from the 2023 album Chrysalis on Fleisch Records. Chrysalis, the third album from Zanias (aka Alison Lewis), finds the ethereal darkwave artist undergoing a metamorphosis. The songs on this release were written and recorded between her current home of Berlin and her original home of Australia during a period of self-protection, as Lewis processed feelings of burnout, trauma, and, on today's Song of the Day, grief.  "That one is about burying someone you love," she revealed to Loverboy Magazine. "The period right after, when you have to build a new world without that person in it. I had flown back to Australia to be there when someone I loved died and people were angry at me for cancelling tour dates, even though I had told them a family member was ill. I wanted privacy but because of that they were questioning if I was lying. I couldn’t believe the insensitivity, and it was just really hard to feel like I had disappointed everyone over something that was already so heartbreaking and scary. So yes, ‘Burial’ is a heavy one. It’s also the first song I wrote after I decided to quit music, hence 'I can’t seem to do this anymore' and 'I’m not even sorry I disappeared.' I thought I was finished." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

15 Maj 20234min

Of The Heavy Sun - Cosmic Television a 2023 self-released single. Of The Heavy Sun are a psych rock trio from Seattle that has been churning out brooding psychedelic opuses since 2015, with the release of their debut self-titled full-length. They’re due to release their latest record Cosmic Television on June 2nd, after two years of production and “constant setbacks,” according to the band. Our Song of the Day is the album’s title track, a forceful nearly five-and-a-half-minute song that exemplifies the best of what the band has to offer: fiery guitars, humming basslines, and soaring vocals. The anxieties of modern life with the thesis being “Everyone is blinded by watching TV.” Frontman Samuel Emerick proclaims, “Finally awake /I can’t escape /Isearch these desert plains /It’s been two weeks since I was high and I can’t find a place to lay my head.” “Cosmic Television” was produced by Jesse Field mixed by Matt Bayles and mastered by Adam Cichoki. Of The Heavy Sun is playing the Sunset Tavern on Saturday, June 10th with Tuff Talk, Torch, and Prismia. Get an idea of their searing live performances with a live video recorded at the High Dive and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

12 Maj 20235min

Acid Arab & Wael Alkak - Ya Mahla from the 2023 album ٣ (Trois) on Crammed Discs. French-Algerian collective Acid Arab recently released their appropriately titled third record ٣ (Trois) (٣ is the symbol for the figure three in Arabic and “trois” means "three" in French) in February via Crammed Discs. The collective, composed of Guido Minisky, Hervé Carvalho, Pierrot Casanova, Nicolas Borne and Kenzi Bourras, is known for their fusion of electronic and North African and Middle Eastern sounds and their latest record sees them bring in a bevy of guest vocalists from North Africa, Syria, and Turkey to add depth to their already-addictive club sounds. Our Song of the Day, “Ya Mahla,” features Syrian singer Wael Alkak, an accomplished musician and founder of the Neshama Popular Arts Association who has spent the past decade making a name for himself as an artist speaking out about the revolution while merging synthesizers and machines with bouzouk, traditional chaâbi rhythms, and popular songs from the Levant. It’s a dark and churning techno track that spends nearly seven minutes hammering away. Perhaps perfect for the inky recesses of a nightclub but when translating the lyrics, it’s an anthem for freedom, reading: “What a beautiful word, ‘Freedom’ / I salute the Arab people / What a beautiful word, ‘Freedom’ / I salute the Arab revolutionaries.” Watch the visualizer for “Ya Mahla" and read the full post at KEXP.org,Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

11 Maj 20236min

Shalom - "Happenstance" from the 2023 album Sublimation on Saddle Creek. Brooklyn-based, South Africa-raised artist Shalom had been playing bass in bands while in New Brunswick for college, and working on home-recorded solo songs on the side, when she was discovered by producer Ryan Hemsworth. He invited her to contribute to his collaborative project Quarter-Life Crisis, which led to her being signed with Saddle Creek Records, who released her debut album Sublimation earlier this year.  On today's Song of the Day, the Brooklyn-based, South Africa-raised artist sings of her "need to evaporate and receive validation at the same time," displaying a raw vulnerability against a dancey beat.   “The record is an introduction to me as a songwriter,” she says in a press statement. “I think it shows my versatility, but really, it’s me being really honest, earnest, and naked. You can see my bones on this record. I'm okay with it though, because I’ve got to get it out.”   Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

10 Maj 20232min

HÆLOS - "Last Days" from the 2023 album Where We Bring Our Burdens on INDIGO KIN. London-based trio HÆLOS returns with the track "Last Days," a song they describe as "about trying to evade the fears that come from traumatic experiences by constantly reminding oneself to remain present." It's the third single to be shared from the band's forthcoming full-length, titled Where We Bring Our Burdens. No official release date has been announced yet, but if today's Song of the Day is any indication, we have another beautiful, emotive LP from HÆLOS on the way.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

9 Maj 20235min

Beach Vacation - "Lay Low" a 2023 single on Z Tapes. Take some time off with the dreamy vibes of Beach Vacation. The latest single from this Seattle-based pop project of songwriter Tabor Rupp will call to mind bands on the Captured Tracks Records roster like Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing. Rupp told the music blog kid with a vinyl that today's Song of the Day is about “wanting to leave behind everything – specifically the things and people that are stressors and forget about them forever.” Sounds like a vacation to me.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

8 Maj 20232min

Sendai Era - Calamansi dreams from the 2023 self-released album Kalayaan. Sendai Era are a Seattle-based music duo of emcee Era and producer Sendai Mike. They’ve been making music together since 2013 and released their sophomore full-length Kalayaan in January. “Kalayaan” is the Tagalog word for “Liberation,” which is a feeling the duo tried to capture throughout the album. “This album carries the lessons and experiences over the past few years,” explains the duo. “Forming a myriad of songs that signify a new beginning for us.” Our Song of the Day, “Calamansi dreams,” features guest vocals from Clarissa Abadesco and uses the economically important citrus hybrid predominantly cultivated in the Philippines, calamansi, as a metaphor for growth through discrimination and getting back to one's roots. "We wrote Calamansi dreams during lockdown,” says Sendai Era of the song. “It describes our experiences growing up in the diaspora through the lenses of family, culture, and music.” Watch Sendai Era’s music video for Kalayaan track “Written" and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

5 Maj 20233min