Kexp Song Of The Day

Mexican Institute of Sound - "Bolero" from the 2024 album Algo-Ritmo : Mexican Institute of Sound Hits 2004-2024 on Soy Sauce Mexican Institute of Sound (MIS) commemorated its 20-year journey with the release of "Algo + Ritmo 2004-2024" on February 2nd. Featuring 23 handpicked tracks, including two new collaborations with Ceci Bastida and Foudeqush + Esteman, this album encapsulates Camilo Lara's eclectic musical career. Blending mariachi soul, sonideros' spirit, and bold electronic beats, Lara's music reflects the rich tapestry of Mexican culture. Since its inception in 2004, MIS has resonated deeply, evoking a Mexico of bygone eras and captivating audiences worldwide. With the recent release of "Stop" featuring Ceci Bastida, Lara continues to captivate audiences, cementing his legacy as a trailblazer in Latin American music. Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jarina de Marco - "Boca Chica" from the 2023 album Caribbean All-Inclusive Luxury on 3rd Culture Kid. This week’s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico. Dominican-Brazilian pop artist Jarina de Marco makes deliriously infectious music. Beneath the shine and gloss of her immaculately crafted music is a poignant message. This has been true going back to songs like 2016’s “Release the Hounds” which sounds like stomp-clap club anthem but on a deeper level was drawing On her latest album, Caribbean All-Inclusive Luxury, she coopts the capitalist sheen of a “dream vacation” as a bitin

Pink Pablo - "falco" from the 2023 self-released road 2 neverland EP This week’s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico. Pink Pablo's EP, road 2 neverland, signals a refreshing shift in Puerto Rico's music landscape, where artists like him are redefining the boundaries of genre. His musical journey, from church performances to LA, mirrors the island's evolving music scene. The EP's eclectic mix of electropop, rock, reggaetón, and disco, coupled with Pink Pablo's vulnerable lyrics, creates a deeply emotional and cohesive listening experience. As he gains momentum and connects with

Caribe Acido - "La Carrera de Los Perros" from the 2024 self-released Ciudad Nueva EP This week’s Songs of the Day spotlight artists who DJ Albina Cabrera will visit during El Sonido on the Road, a 10-day journey visiting Santo Domingo; Dominican Republic, as part of the invitation to the Isle of Light music festival; followed by our annual showcase featuring six Latin American bands at SXSW in Austin, Texas; and finally, arriving in Mexico City for the 2024 edition of the Ibero-American music festival, Vive Latino, which is also a partner of Live on KEXP from Mexico. Caribe Ácido presents Ciudad Nueva, a four-track EP composed by Dominican multidisciplinary artist Ysmel Abreu. A 35-minute jazz-infused trance, delving into the Dominican scene's alternative and experimental sides. Produced by Adriano Sang, the well-known Diego Raposo, and Ysmel himself, the EP features Adriano on piano and bass, with Ysmel handling the electric and amplified trumpet along with percussion. Standout tracks like "La carrera de l

Chrome Corps - "Body Attestation," a 2024 single on Eskimo Recordings Seattle's own Chrome Corps brings an industrial edge to their dystopic EBM sound, especially on today's Song of the Day, which can be found on the Eskimo Recordings compilation Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX - Secret Cuts. The comp is a companion to last year's collection, Curses’ Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX, also curated by Berlin-based DJ Luca Venezia, AKA Curses. As Curses states in a press release, "Curating Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX was a big puzzle, figuring out how to fit all these tracks across 6 different 12″s required a lot of calculations and, to be quite frank, I was never that great at maths. Unfortunately, this meant we had to cut some real heaters off of DEUX. But Eskimo and I decided that we couldn’t let these gems go to dust. I’ve been DJing them loads in my sets, so it was only fair to share them with y’all to DJ and rage to yourselves. So, here it is… the final blast of bonus tracks for Next Wave Acid Punx DEUX: Secret Cuts." Read

Sugartin - "Breakdown" from the 2024 album Breakdown on exlove records Synthpop duo Sugartin spin a dreamy web on today's Song of the Day, the title track off their latest three-song EP, released via exlove records. Formed in Stuttgart, Germany by songwriters Iris and Daniel in 2022, the pair take inspiration from their Krautrock forefathers while infusing modern-day electronic influences.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sol y Santi - "Have You Heard," from the 2024 album Sol y Santi on Casa/Teca A project of producer Santiago Salazar and vocalist/lyricist Soltera, Sol y Santi released their self-titled LP last month via Casa/Teca. "We started making this album right before the pandemic hit," Soltera states on Instagram. "Santi sent me a hundred songs that he had been archiving for years and I began to write lyrics for them. After completion we sat with the album for a while and it wasn’t until recently that we finally made the decision to release it independently thru @casaxteca and share it with the world." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ortrotasce - "Seeing Red," a 2023 self-released single Ortrotasce (pronounced: or-tro-task) is the moniker for minimalist-synth artist Nic Hamersly, who has been crafting his unique brand of dramatic darkwave for over a decade. As he told the Orlando Weekly last year, as a teenager, he fell in love with experimental punk label 31G Records and its founder's band, The Locust, before moving on to bands like Coil and Throbbing Gristle. "I was more so into the harsher realm of electronic music," he tells the Weekly. "Power electronics and dark ambient and so on." He notes that his later influences leaned in poppier directions. "Hard Corps, SPK — Machine Age Voodoo, specifically — Fad Gadget, to name a few," he adds. "The juxtaposition between synth-pop and industrial in these groups just do it for me. You can probably hear this in most of my recent output." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The KVB - "Labyrinths," a 2024 single on Invada Records UK Manchester coldwave duo The KVB share the lead single off their forthcoming full-length, Tremors, to be released April 5th via Invada Records. Band members Nicholas Wood and Kat Day describe today's Song of the Day as "the most aggressive track on the album and a nod to some of our early releases." They add, "Lyrically, it was inspired by the collection of short stories by Jorge Luis Borges and its references to historical subjectivity; the flexibility of truth and construction of narratives." They describe the new album as "dystopian pop," noting that they've "expanded on previous album themes of dystopia, apocalypse, and the human condition, but with a more pessimistic outlook and deeper distrust than before. It also touches on themes of loss, and the resistance, lament and acceptance of inevitable change.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day Soul Exquisite - "Mosaic" from the 2024 album Sanguine & Cardamom on La fem Records Seattle-based, QTBIPOC-led sextet Day Soul Exquisite released their debut EP last month via La fem Records, an indie label founded by the band's vocalist/guitarist Francesca Eluhu. Today's Song of the Day is, indeed, a work of art, pieced together by Josh Pehrson's gentle percussion, Lillian Minke Tahar's hypnotic keyboard riff, and Seboulisa's soulful vocals, just to name a few of the elements that comprise this languid lullaby.  Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Salt Cathedral - "Terminal Woes" from the 2024 self-released album Before It’s Gone With today's Song of the Day, New York-based Colombian duo Salt Cathedral share a sneak peek at their forthcoming full-length Before It’s Gone, to be self-released on March 22nd. In a press statement, the band share: “”Terminal Woes” are the woes that will bring us (humanity) to our demise – in this song, climate change. How do I bring a child into a world that is getting, by all predictions, physically worse? How is capitalism/corporate interest & greed steering the wheel (or not steering the wheel?). We live in bubbles where we forget nature and animals exist too. Powerful people making decisions have their wallet, not the planet in mind. The only solution is reaching a point where the planet and the wallet align, where the most profitable business plan is to be sustainable. Sonically, it’s a march of sorts, a chorus that bursts into stacks of voices to show collectivism and a lot of inspiration from Ravi Shankar’s music

Seven Davis Jr - "Soul Music" from the 2024 album Stranger Than Fiction on Secret Angels Singer/songwriter Samuel Lonnelee Davis — known to us as Seven Davis Jr. — dug into the vault for today's Song of the Day. The track was originally recorded back in 2016 around the time of his LP Universes. As he explains on Bandcamp, "It was supposed to go on the next album but did not match the tracklist. It was released on an underground EP but never officially. Detroit's Kyle Hall began playing this track out in 2022 which led to us deciding to officially release it." The soulful (no pun intended) single can now be found on new album Stranger Than Fiction, which came out last month via his own Secret Angels imprint. "I wanted to make a tribute album reflecting all the music that has played a huge role in forming who I am as an artist and as a person," he writes. "Each track showcasing a different audio aesthetic but connecting to the next like scenes in a film, creating my own world." "This project is for others like

Art Feynman - "Chasing My Life" from the 2023 album Be Good The Crazy Boys on Western Vinyl Long-time KEXP fave Luke Temple has been recording under the alias Art Feynman for a few albums now; his press release says, as a way to "explore surprising sonic landscapes without the burdens of identity." And now, on his third LP under the pseudonym, Be Good The Crazy Boys, he's joined by a full band, and the release was recorded live in the studio. "Sonically, I was inspired by records that were recorded at the late Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas such as Grace Jones’ Private Life, Lizzy Mercier Descloux’s Mambo Nassau, and Talking Heads’ Remain in Light,” he shares.  He adds, “To me, there was a lot of energy that needed to be released as the result of living in isolation for six years. It also seems to speak to a general anxiety we’re all holding, but it’s expressed in a cathartic way.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy informa

Butcher Brown - "Down With the King" a 2024 single on Concord Jazz For today's Song of the Day, Virginia-based jazz/hip-hop collective Butcher Brown brings their take on the 1993 Run DMC classic “Down With the King.” The track was created in collaboration with the ACC Network, ESPN’s 24/7 national network dedicated to Atlantic Coast Conference sports, and the song can be heard in promotional spots that kicked off last month.  “Virginia music is one-of-a-kind, and always has been, just like the ACC,” said Butcher Brown’s lyricist and horn player Marcus Tennishu in a press release. “The Richmond aesthetic comes from a place where everyone is really diehard and blue collar — you work for what you get. We wanted this remake to be derivative of the original, but we had to put our own twist on it.” Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lesser Angels - "Burn it Away," a 2024 self-released single Lesser Angels is a goth/darkwave project out of Eugene, OR, that brings dreamy musical vibes from a trans-feminine perspective. Today's Song of the Day examines the duality of life, as they explain on Bandcamp: "'Burn It Away' is a song meant to evoke the meditative concept of fire as a type of rebirth and the cycle of positive and negative experiences in life. A beautiful day can't last forever or it wouldn't be beautiful, just like how a terrible day seems more terrible in contrast to better days. No light without shadow." "We go through these things in life like a rosebush. In that moment the thorns get caught on our blue jeans but on the outside we get to look back and see the beauty of it. And we must singe the frayed edges of our jeans so that we can keep going and stay unfettered." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

TISIPHONE - "The Sound of His Voice," a 2024 single on Icy Cold Records French coldwave trio Tisiphone returned this month with their sophomore LP Riot Puppets.  Band members Léo and Suzanne met as music students at the Conservatoire de Lyon, with Clara later meeting Léo in the drumming program. In an interview with Threshold Magazine, Clara explains, "We love rock, jazz, classical, but is true that we wanted to make this band around this coldwave thing, post-punk. It was also an aesthetic style that we loved." Read the full story at KEXP.orgSupport the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

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.

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 ful

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.