Kexp Song Of The Day

On April 15, a new music discovery podcast is coming to this feed. Until then, we're counting down ten of the most downloaded songs from each of the last ten years. Today, Janice Headley brings us back to 2018 with Among Author's "Lure," chosen by Kevin Cole. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On April 15, a new music discovery podcast is coming to this feed. Until then, we're counting down ten of the most downloaded songs from each of the last ten years. Today, Isabel Khalili brings us back to 2017 with Nilüfer Yanya's "Baby Luv," selected by Kevin Cole. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On April 15, a new music discovery podcast is coming to this feed. Until then, we're counting down ten of the most downloaded songs from each of the last ten years. Today, Janice Headley brings us back to 2016 with Morgan Delt's "Some Sunsick Day," chosen by John Richards. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KEXP's Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili make an appearance on Song of the Day for a special announcement. Change is coming to this feed on April 15. Until then, we're counting down ten of the most downloaded songs from each of the last ten years. Today, we revisit Mike Gervais' "Lost (Sone Remix)" from 2015, selected by Sharlese. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Chalk - "Asking" from the 2023 Conditions EP on Dutch Tilt Belfast-based post-punk trio Chalk reflect on past relationships on today's Song of the Day. As vocalist Ross Cullen explains in a press release, “It’s a reaction to feelings of ours that look at the past and a longing for others who aren’t in your life anymore. How we grow as people and those we leave behind as a result. We wanted 'Asking' to follow the recollection of someone whose memories are fading when trying to remember about someone in the past." The track appears on Conditions, their debut EP which was released last year. Their follow-up EP, titled Conditions II, was released earlier this month.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bantu Spaceship - "Bantu Cakes" from the 2023 album Bantu Spaceship on Nyami Nyami Harare, Zimbabwe-based duo Bantu Spaceship celebrates the music of their homeland with their Afro-futuristic self-titled debut album, out now via Nyami Nyami. Vocalist Ulenni Okandlovu incorporates Ndebele chants to the laid-back production work of his partner Joshua Madalitso Chiundiza. As they explain in an interview with 15questions.net, "The both of us were in search of unique alternative Zimbabwean sound, having grown up listening to Mbaqanga, Mbube, Zamrock, Sungura, Jit, and Chimurenga. We wanted to create something that borrowed from these influences, but merging those styles with synth-wave, electro, and hip-hop elements." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ana Lua Caiano - "Deixem O Morto Morrer" from the 2024 album Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado on Glitterbeat Records Based out of Lisbon, Ana Lua Caiano combines traditional Portuguese music with modern electronica on her debut album Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado, out April 5th via Glitterbeat. Ana studied classical music for eight years, and then studied jazz for four years —  a pedigree that can be heard in her complex compositions. Today's Song of the Day examines a man's death, and in a Google-translated press statement, she states, "as the song progresses, sadness becomes joy and the tragedy of a death is seen in a more positive perspective. The song, despite having this strong and apparently sad theme, undergoes an inversion and is sung, from a certain point onwards, with enthusiasm, revealing itself to be an energetic, rhythmic and vibrant song.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Championne - "Bilboquet" a 2024 self-released single Vocalist/musician Mathilde Lejas has been active in the Rennes music scene for a while now, but has finally branched out on a solo project titled Championne. Her self-titled debut EP is a coldwave-tinged collection of dark dreampop, with Lejas's poetic lyrics spinning a web over it all.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flore Laurentienne - "Voiles" from the 2022 album Volume II on RVNG Intl. Recording under the name Flore Laurentienne, composer, orchestrator, and musician Mathieu David Gagnon captures rich, romantic instrumentals, inspired by the wilderness in his hometown of Montreal, Québec. In fact, his latest album — titled Volume II — was inspired by Canada’s St. Lawrence River, with the instrumentation designed to "illustrate and illuminate the river’s flow." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Les Amazones d'Afrique - “Flaws” from the 2024 album Musow Danse on Real World Records On today's Song of the Day, all-female African supergroup Les Amazones d’Afrique — which translates to "The Amazons of Africa" — celebrate the so-called imperfections that make each of us unique. “The song has a simple message,” Malian singer Mamani Keïta explained in a press release. “The perfect person does not exist. We all have our flaws and imperfections which we carry with us through life. But there is beauty in imperfection, and that’s what we want people to realise.” The group worked with acclaimed producer Jacknife Lee (U2, Modest Mouse, Taylor Swift) on their third album Musow Danse, released last month via Real World Records.  “Jacknife Lee took time to listen to each of our voices,” says vocalist Fafa Ruffino, from Benin. “He doesn’t understand the language but you can tell that he feels the emotion, understands that our souls are deeply invested in our words. I feel like he entered our minds. What he did is mor

Nusantara Beat - “Kota Bandung” a 2023 single on Bongo Joe Amsterdam-based sextet Nusantara Beat is comprised of members of EUT, Altın Gün, Jungle By Night, POM, and Surf Aid-Kit. Together, they celebrate Indonesian classics, like on today's Song of the Day, which is a cover of a traditional '70s single. Their interpretation of "Kota Bandung" brings a modern vibe to its garage-surf-rock style, with psychedelic guitars and Megan De Klerk's alluring vocals.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Francis of Delirium - “Blue Tuesday” from the 2024 album Lighthouse on Dalliance Records Francis Of Delirium — a project of Luxembourg-based artist Jana Bahrich — is set to release their debut LP, Lighthouse, on March 22nd via Dalliance Recordings.  “For this album, hope is the prevailing feeling I’m left with after making it and listening to it,” Bahrich said in a press statement. “The idea is that there is this light guiding you out into a space where you can be more open and accepting of love and joy. Even as you gain or lose love, it never really goes away; it just transforms itself, moving into other relationships with you.” She says today's Song of the Day was "a chance to go back a little bit to our original sound, heavy guitars, uptempo, in-your-face music… We are a band that really loves to play live, sweaty, messy, and physical music, so it felt important to have this song be part of the album." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener f

Four Tet - “Loved” from the 2024 album Three on Text Records Long-running electronic artist Four Tet — real name: Kieran Hebden — returns with his twelfth studio album, titled Three, which came out last Friday via his own label, Text Records. Four Tet's previous LP was 2020's Parallel. Last year, he teamed up with Skrillex and Fred Again for a sold-out five-hour show at Madison Square Garden. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clinton Fearon - "LOL" from the 2024 album Survival Vibration on Kool Yu Foot / Boogie Brown Productions Seattle's own reggae legend Clinton Fearon returns with his 14th full-length solo album on April 5th, titled Survival Vibration. He declares today's Song of the Day as "one of my very favorites on the album," adding, "I love the simple ways of how it reminds us to take care of ourselves. For over 30 years I’ve been telling my friends and fans to do what they love and love what they do. Finally, it’s a song. On the musical side, I love what the thumb piano is doing: its tone and the parts it's playing do a lot for the song. And then from the moment the intro is done and the rhythm starts, I can’t help but want to dance." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Summer Pearl - "feel right" from the 2023 album outmysystem on Kitto Records London-based artist Summer Pearl taps into her Jamaican/Grenadian heritage on her debut mixtape, outmysystem, which was released late last year. Infusing reggae and dub influences into her neo-soul sound, her latest release features a guest appearance from reggae royalty Liam Bailey and production by the prolific broken beat pioneer, Kaidi Tatham. "This project is a collection of songs, some of which I wrote almost eight years ago and some a lot more recent. These are songs that I needed to get out of my system in order for me to move on. To be able to move on and get over that relationship, romantic or platonic; to move on but not forget the loss of friends and family." "I guess it’s somewhat of a release in order to get back to myself. This is the first project I’ve released in three years and I feel like it’s the most me. There are a few songs on love and having a good time, and then of course I’m a student of life and have to wri

GC OConnor - "Love on High" a 2023 single on Low Key Source Australian artist GC OConnor makes a powerful introduction with her debut single "Love On High," capturing a jazzy alt-R&B sound that she describes as "stoner-soul." The single was produced by Sydney/Gadigal-based duo The Goods.  In a press release, OConnor shares, “This track speaks to all the years of chasing the dance floor ‘love at first sight’ feeling. The brief elation of fleeting entanglements. And the lows of not actually caring about long lasting human connection. All I took to the studio was the guitar, the hook, and words on a page. The Goods brought the rest to life all in a single session, along with it being mastered by Dave Cooley.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Quantic - "Run (feat. Andreya Triana)" from the 2023 album Dancing While Falling on Play it Again Sam For the past twenty years, DJ/producer/multi-instrumentalist Will Holland has crafted a unique blend of dance music under the name Quantic, mixing in funk, soul, bossa nova, cumbia, jazz, and more. The British-born New York-based artist calls his latest LP — titled Dancing While Falling — his most "grown up release to date." Citing disco influences like Bohannon and Larry Levan, Holland explains, "’I'm really interested in Latin music and Afro Caribbean rhythms and I think there's a really amazing point in history where the emergence of those rhythms and its combination with American soul sparked what we now know as disco." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Samory I - "Outside (feat. Lila Iké)" from the 2023 album Strength on Overstand Entertainment / Easy Star Records Kingston, Jamaica-based artist Samory-Tour Frazer — who records as Samory I — celebrates his progeny on his debut solo album, Strength.  "It represents the struggles I’ve overcome, both mentally and physically," the roots reggae vocalist says in a press release, "and is also a representation of my son, who is my driving force behind this album." (His baby boy is featured with his proud papa on the cover art of the new album.) Today's Song of the Day features guest vocals from fellow Jamaican artist Lila Iké, who adds, “I have been waiting for this collaboration since 2016 when I moved to Kingston and my next-door neighbor was blasting unreleased songs from Samory I. The reverence in his voice captured me immediately, and I’ve been a fan since. I can’t wait for people to hear and feel the power in his sound. His new album will be a classic.”  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https:/

PAPISA - "Dores no Varal" from the 2024 album Amor Delírio on Costa Futuro PAPISA is Rita Oliva, a musician, singer, songwriter, and producer based in São Paulo, Brazil. She released her first EP in 2016 and has graced some of Brazil's main stages, as well as the SXSW festival in Austin, TX, where she´ll be back this 2024 edition of the El Sonido showcase. The release of the single "Melhor Assim" in 2023 and "Dores no Varal" in early 2024 heralds the arrival of her next album. She now collaborates with Tagua Tagua in refreshing her indie dreamy pop. In her words, “sometimes sounding acidic, sometimes sweet, but always Brazilian.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.