Kexp Song Of The Day

Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations - "Blood Ah Go Run (feat. Wesley Joseph & ESKA)" from the 2023 album I Came From Love on Transgressive. Mercury Prize-nominated artist Dave Okumu returns with his new project, Dave Okumu & The 7 Generations, a name he says honors "my actual ancestors, the ancestors of others, my musical ancestors, and my descendants." Their debut album, I Came From Love, will be released April 14th via Transgressive Records. In a press statement, the UK-based guitarist/producer explains, "the narrative of this record emerged in tandem with the origin of its musical journey, through a rumination on survival, ancestry and heritage. The account of the young west African girl who was transported to South Carolina in 1756 and sold to the slave owner Elias Ball and the subsequent unearthing and presentation of her story to her descendants became an emblematic framework for these songs, opening doors to many aspects of the diasporic experience. The music stands in loving defiance of any for

Caleb Kunle - All In Your Head a 2022 single on Pony Recordings. While Caleb Kunle may only have a handful of EPs and singles under his belt, the soul-pop artist has been making a splash in the UK since the release of his debut EP Eden in 2017 which landed him the prize of Emerging Artist of the Year 2017 from Thatchers Haze x NME. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Kunle immigrated to the Irish countryside of Laios at eight years old where his love of music was fostered through church choir and playing guitar. Inspired by Nina Simone and Sam Cooke, Kunle’s music has a sound that’s simultaneously retro and refreshingly modern. Our Song of the Day, “All In Your Head,” opens with stirring strings before Kunle bursts in with an impassioned “Oh!” From there, a bellowing horn section, jazzy piano, and uptempo drums accompany Kunle’s croons to pop perfection. Kunle had this to say about the song: “All in your head is an anthem about us facing and rising to our inner challenges. Referenced in the middle 8 lyric ‘It’s in your h

Queralt Lahoz - "Blade," a 2022 single on Costa Futuro/Say It Loud. Queralt Lahoz is a rising star from Spain who has captivated audiences with her powerful live performances over the past handful of years. Ahead of not only her Eurosonic slot, but also her first stints at SXSW in Austin, Texas, she released the song “Blade.” Her most powerful, pop-centric track yet, the song sees her both sing and rap with equal dexterity about mystical forces at work. Vampires are no match for the katana she weilds which speaks true to the survivor mentality that’s always run strong through her work. Watch the Bycontrast-directed video for "Blade" and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BILBAO - "Get Up!" from the 2022 album Shake Well on [PIAS]. Like the beautiful city in Spain where they derived their band name, Bilbao create sunny, summery songs, showcased on their debut LP Shake Well. It's hard to believe then that the quartet themselves actually hail from Germany. "There is the 'Bilbao' song by Yves Montand, a chanson that my parents used to play," bassist Jannes Eschrich shares about their moniker. "He tells of the place of longing Bilbao. Our band should also be a place of longing, a place that we conjure up in rainy Hamburg and that you can dream of." Bilbao came together after the four friends attended the Reeperbahn Festival in 2019, writing and recording their first EP within a month. Despite the pandemic, they kept the momentum going, resulting in their first full-length, released in early 2022. Calling to mind bands like Bombay Bicycle Club and Two Door Cinema Club (and other groups that don't have "club" in their band name), Bilbao suceed in transporting you to sunnier shores w

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OSKA - "Starstruck" from the 2022 album My world, My love, Paris on Nettwerk Music Group. Though paying tribute to the City of Lights on her debut album My world, My love, Paris, singer/songwriter OSKA (real name: Maria Burger) was born in a small village in Lower Austria, the youngest of eight kids. She moved to Vienna at the age of 18 to study music, busking on the streets, and sharing her debut EP, Honeymoon Phase, in 2020. The five-song release won her the XA Music Export Award at Waves Vienna Festival 2020. Conceived near the beginning of the pandemic, OSKA envisioned the story of a couple "who board a boat as the world comes to an end" as the theme for her eagerly-anticipated first full-length. She cites her inspiration as the Edith Piaf song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" (which translates to “No, I do not regret anything”). Today's Song of the Day has a particular cinematic influence. "This song was inspired by one of my favorite movies, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," she shared in a press releas

Jarv Dee & WD4D - “Lets Work,” a 2022 single on MOOR LIFE. Today’s Song of the Day is a Seattle-centric bop that sees rapper Jarv Dee hook up with producer WD4D for a buoyant banger about the stressful nature of the “work hard, play hard” lifestyle. While the track is light and airy, Jarv Dee clearly isn’t. “Sometimes I wanna take a vacation just to clear my head and get my money right,” he exasperates on the hook while a scorching beat evokes the feeling of a summer evening with zero concerns. A vacation in the ears is better than no vacation at all. Jarv Dee stopped by KEXP in July 2022 for a live performance. Watch it and read the full post at KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Blinky Bill, M.anifest, Khaligraph Jones - “Inaweza Haiwezi,” a 2022 single on Rauka Music Ltd. You may know celebrated Kenyan producer/DJ Bill Sellanga, aka Blinky Bill, is one-fourth of the electronic collective Just A Band and has produced songs for notable names like Nneka, Goldlink, and Sampa The Great. The OneBeat Alum and TED Fellow is on the verge of releasing his anticipated sophomore record We Cut Keys 2, which follows 2018’s Everyone’s Just Winging It and Other Fly Tales. Our Song of the Day is the lead single from the record, “Inaweza Haiwezi,” which features two of Africa’s greatest rappers, M.anifest from Ghana and Kenya’s Khaligraph Jones. Produced by Blinky Bill and Swiss producer Hook (MDQ), mixed by Commissioner Gordon (‘Miseducation of Lauryn Hill’, ‘Welcome To Jamrock’) and mastered by Tony Dawsey (Jay-Z ‘Blueprint 3’, Whitney Houston “My Love is your Love”, Nas ‘Illmatic’), the song is a bouncy, bass-heavy thrillride that shows off each rappers dexterous flows in this “East/West classic.”

Ukhoikhoi - “Abathembu” from the 2022 Nongqawuse EP on Next Movement More than just a musical duo, uKhoiKhoi call themselves a "a live looping, musical performance art showpiece." Hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa, the group is comprised of musician/composer Yogin Sullaphen and vocalist Anelisa Stuurman. Their band name pays tribute to their shared KhoiSan heritage, an indigenous tribe said to be the first inhabitants of southern Africa. By combining operatic elements with chanting and poetry, they create a unique Afro-Futuristic sound they call "indigenous-electro." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Little Simz - “Angel” from the 2022 album NO THANK YOU on Forever Living Originals. With her latest single "Angel," London-based artist Little Simz continues to pay tribute to her friend Harry Uzoka, who was murdered in 2018. "Harry listenin’ from Heaven on repeat/He was backin’ it when nobody believed" She previously wrote about Uzoka with her 2019 song "Wounds" off the album GREY Area. As she told The Guardian at the time, "“I remember waking up, Googling, trying to find out as many details as I could and going to the studio in bits. I sat in the dark in tears and I didn’t go on socials to see everyone posting ‘RIP’ – and because I didn’t do that, I was able to write 'Wounds.'” Today's Song of the Day not only finds Little Simz continuing to process her grief, but also struggling with the music industry, as she notes on the couplet: "They don’t care if your mental is on the brink of somethin’ dark/As long as your cuttin’ somebody’s payslip" A ten-minute short film was released to accompany her latest LP NO

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Stas THEE Boss is no stranger to KEXP. The former host of our station’s beloved weekly hip-hop show, Street Sounds, Stas has been a fixture of Seattle since she emerged as part of the duo THEE Satisfaction. Though Stas has since moved away, her sound, influence, and ingenuity can still be felt reverberating in Seattle. The rapper and producer has been busy dropping singles the past couple of years following 2020’s immaculate On the Quarner. “Don’t Crash” finds Stas steeped in deep house, capturing the feeling of blurry, 4 a.m. euphoria on the dancefloor. As always, Stas’ voice is the smooth tether holding you down. It’s an exciting new dimension to her ever-expanding sounds and ideas in her catalog.  Get to know more about Stas KEXP’s Fresh off the Spaceship podcast. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nick Hakim - “Vertigo” from the 2022 album COMETA on ATO / PIAS. Nick Hakim has been making amorphous psych-soul since 2014 that hones in on his gorgeous buttery smooth croons. Just since 2020, he’s released three projects, 2020’s WIl This Make Me Good, a collaborative record with jazz saxophonist Roy Nathanson, Small Things, in 2021, and, most recently, the intimately stunning COMETA. Featuring appearances by Alex G, Helado Negro, Arto Lindsay, and DJ Dahl, with co-production from indie’s go-to guy Andrew Sarlo, COMETA is a collection of romantic songs written through different lenses, guided by Hakim’s own experience of falling in love in a way that made him feel like he was floating. This is best seen on our Song of the Day, “Vertigo,” in which Hakim is struck by the hypnotic feelings of falling in love. The tender track whirrs and sputters as Hakim coos, "Can't tell if it's me or the room that's moving." “The key is to find that extremity of love for yourself,” he says of the romantic themes on the record

Dina Ögon - "Oas," a 2022 single on Playground Music Scandinavia. Stockholm-based songwriter Dina Ögon captures the warmth of Laurel Canyon with her immaculate, soothing arrangements, and pristine vocals. After releasing her self-titled debut album in 2021, Ögon teases more of what’s to come with new single titled “Oas.” The title track from her forthcoming sophomore album on Feb. 3, 2023, the song is a breezy exhale as we reach the end of the year. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SHIRT - "Dave Chappelle Is Wrong (Beef With God)" from the 2022 album I Turned Myself into Myself on Mello Music Group. Queens-based artist Shirt carries many titles – rapper, conceptual artist, experimentalist. These are all titles that are easy to call yourself and harder to live up to. Shirt, of course, rises to the occasion. On his Bandcamp page he describes his latest album, I Turned Myself Into Myself, as “an album that understands that the devil’s greatest trick is mobilizing our collective fear, to render us catatonic and indifferent to so much possibility around us.” With that in mind, the opening track “Dave Chapelle Is Wrong (Beef With God)” comes out blazing without mincing his words. It’s a song that dares to up to our heroes and push for the right way forward. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Zahara Elan - “Dear Santa…(NAUGHTY),” a 2022 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 18th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 24th from 9pm -12am and then jump back on the mic Christmas day from noon - 9pm for his no standards, non-traditional Christmas broadcast, including a special holiday edition of Sunday Soul. Zahara Elan is a young musical prodigy who’s been posting her covers and, recently, original songs on YouTube the past couple of years. Born in 2008 with Malignant Infantile Osteopetrosis (MIOP), a very rare and fatal genetic bone disorder in which the bones grow unchecked, Zahara (formerly known as Zoe) required serious medical procedures to save her life. Early videos on her YouTube channel, made by her parents, focused entirely on her therapies and development but recently they’ve shifted to focus on her main passion: creating and pe

We Are The Union - “Yr Always Alone (On Christmas)” from the 2022 album I Surrender Sleighs on I Surrender Records. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 18th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 24th from 9pm -12am and then jump back on the mic Christmas day from noon - 9pm for his no standards, non-traditional Christmas broadcast, including a special holiday edition of Sunday Soul. We Are The Union have been making ska-infused pop punk since 2005 with five full-length records to their name. After multiple lineup changes, original members vocalist/guitarist Reade Wolcott and bassist Brandon Benson have remained and added Ricky Weber on lead guitar and Jer Hunter on the ska-important trombone. Their latest single “Yr Always Alone (On Christmas)” centers on the idea of loneliness and how especially excruciating the feeling is around the holidays. “Nuclear holiday /Oh,

BumbleWasps - "Ill Be at Work for Christmas" from the 2021 self-released album F U Xmas. UK-based BumbleWasps describe themselves as “cute like a bee, scary like a wasp.” It’s an apt description for the project with its bubbly aesthetics and biting lyricism. No more is that better exemplified with their yearly Christmas music, especially last year’s F U Christmas. Stand out track “I’ll Be At Work for Christmas” captures the dismal capitalist nightmare of working on the holidays. While you’re smashing back that egg nog and roasting the Yule log, let BumbleWasps remind you that they and others are somewhere out there putting in the hours. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bat Hearse - “Coffin for Christmas,” a 2021 self-released single. This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed songs selected by Brian Foss, host of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 18th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 24th from 9pm -12am and then jump back on the mic Christmas day from noon - 9pm for his no standards, non-traditional Christmas broadcast, including a special holiday edition of Sunday Soul. Detroit-based Gothabilly band Bat Hearse lean into darkness and horror but with a humorous slant. The five-piece have released two records, their 2021 self-titled debut and 2022’s Transylvania Moonshine but before dropping either, their first single was a tune in celebration of a very unlikely holiday for a band gushing Halloween out of their pours. “Coffin for Christmas” barrels in like an undead force to be reckoned with. In between frequent howls, frontman Rick Ruiner sings of unrequited love and is either threatening them with a coff