Song of the Day

Introducing KEXP’s newest music discovery podcast. In Our Headphones brings you five song recommendations every Monday, straight from KEXP’s DJs and Music Directors. We learn stories and insights about the artists, make connections between the music and the world around us, and get to know the diverse roster of DJs that make up the KEXP airwaves. Join hosts Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili on this never-ending journey of music discovery. Our first episode launches Monday April 15 with the legendary Cheryl Waters.

Hosts: Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili
Trailer mixed by: Roddy Nikpour
Editorial director: Larry Mizell Jr.

Our theme music is “好吗 (Hao Ma)” by Chinese American Bear

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Contact us at headphones@kexp.org.

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Before introducing you to 2024's most downloaded Song of the Day, Janice Headley and Isabel Khalili share an exciting update about what's to come on this feed on Monday, April 15.

Song of the Day has brought listeners full song downloads every weekday for nearly 20 years – that's close to 5,000 songs! We appreciate you being along for the ride, and we hope you'll stick with us as we evolve the series to bring you more of what KEXP does best: music discovery with a human touch. 

Next week, this feed will become "In Our Headphones." Like Song of the Day, you'll still be getting 5 new songs each week, but now you'll hear about them straight from KEXP DJs. Stay tuned for our first episode featuring Cheryl Waters.

Feedback, questions, suggestions? Email us at headphones@kexp.org.

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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 2023 with ODESZA & Yellow House's "Heavier." Read more about the track on KEXP.org.

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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 2022 with Samora Pinderhughes' “Masculinity (feat. Immanuel Wilkins)”. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.

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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 2021 with Bizarrap, Duki & Nicki Nicole's "YaMeFui" chosen by Albina Cabrera and DJ Chilly. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.

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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 2020 with Chicano Batman's "I Know It," chosen by Kevin Cole. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.

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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 2019 with Hezza Fezza's "Like Prince," chosen by Kevin Cole. Read more about the track on KEXP.org.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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."

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Ana Lua Caiano - "Deixem O Morto Morrer" from the 2024 album Vou Ficar Neste Quadrado on Glitterbeat Records

Based out of Lisbon, Ana Lua Caianocombines 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.”

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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. 

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Flore Laurentienne - "Voiles" from the 2022 album Volume IIon 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."

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mega cat - “Rat Fight” from the 2024 album mega caton Share It Music

Sure, we've all been witness to a rat fight, but leave it to Seattle's own mega cat to capture the energy in today's Song of the Day. After co-founders Kim West (piano and synthesizer) and Ryan Devlin (bass and guitar) watched the melee in a neighbor's yard (the press release reveals "one rat picked the other up and threw him down with such force that the couple heard an audible thud"), the couple knew the song they'd been working on that afternoon with drummer Aaron Benson finally had its title. 

The cinematic single is accompanied by a music video featuring Molly Sides (of Thunderpussy), dancing in a boiler room. The clip perfectly captures the James Bond-esque quality of the dramatic, instrumental track. 

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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 more than musical. It is spiritual.”

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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. 

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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."

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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.

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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."

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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 write what I see in this crazy world. outmysystem is allowing me to move on to the next chapter in my life and I’m excited to see what that looks like, feels like, and sounds like."

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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.”

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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."

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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.” 

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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.”

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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.

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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 biting protest satire. “Boca Chica” opens the album sounding like an advertisement that draws many tourists to places like the Dominican Republic. Not just that but it feelsluxurious with her pristine vocals and lively production. But a deeper listen reveals de Marco is singing from the perspective of locals, exasperated by the spectacle of it all. That the song can exist as both a poignant commentary and a dance floor anthem is a testament to de Marco’s incredible songwriting prowess. - Dusty Henry

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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 his audience through live shows, Pink Pablo's authenticity and commitment to his craft are undeniable, solidifying his position as a rising star in the Latin music world.

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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 los perros" and "El Número" shine on this EP, which, according to the Dominican music website Discolai, also pays homage to Dominican history and culture, with nods to Luis Días and references to streets named after historical battles in the Ciudad Nueva neighborhood.

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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."

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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. 

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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 Santireleased 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."

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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."

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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.”

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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. 

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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.”

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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 me who fit into multiple categories and none at the same time," he concludes. "While bringing it back to an old school-ish energy, simply about humble songs, good vibes and fun beats."

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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.”

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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.”

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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."

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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."

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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)."

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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. 

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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."

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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.”

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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…”

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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. 

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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 Alpinistabout 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."

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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. 

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Brittany Davis - "Sepricon" from the 2024 album Image Issues on Loosegroove Records

Last we spoke with Seattle artist Brittany Davis, they had released an EP via Loosegroove Records, the label ran by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard (who is also Davis's bandmate in the side project, Painted Shield). Now, they've returned with their debut full-length album, titled Image Issues,out March 1st on Loosegroove. It's an ambitious 26-track, concept-driven release, interspersed with spoken word pieces by Davis, and with deeply personal lyrics touching on their "discrimination as a Black, non-binary, blind musician, to traumatic family experiences touching on abuse, gun violence, and the prison system." The LP was co-produced by Josh Evans (Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Brandi Carlile), with Gossard's full support. (“He is everywhere in spirit and conception and love and vision,” Evans told Spin Magazine.)

Davis describes today's Song of the Day as "definitely born to funk...to soul funk! The record is an ode to James Brown and filled with thoughtless greatness...there really is no rhyme or reason to it...all primal instinct." Check out the music video below, directed by Tony-nominated modern dance choreographer Donald Byrd (The Color Purple, The Minstrel Show). 

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Izzy and the Black Trees - "F-16" a 2024 single on Antena Krzyku.

Polish punk rockers Izzy and The Black Trees tap into some COVID anxiety for today's Song of the Day.

As vocalist Izabela “Izzy” Rekowska explains to music blog Vanadian Avenue: "Back then, I was watching many movies and Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb really got stuck in my head. Plus, there was a constant hum of jet planes flying over our apartment. So, you get the story. The song was recorded with our producer Marcin Bors at his home studio in the mountains. Marcin also produced our second album Revolution Comes In Waves. We really loved working on that album as well as on 'F-16' and our previous single, 'Shutdown City.'"

The band are currently working on a new EP with their sights set on a third full-length in the future.

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Waxahatchee - "Right Back To It (feat. MJ Lenderman)" from the 2024 album Tigers Blood on ANTI-

On today's Song of the Day, singer/songwriter Katie Crutchfield — best known as Waxahatchee — enlists the talents of MJ Lenderman (of the band Wednesday, as well as a solo artist) for an unconventional love song.

“I wrote it backstage at Wolf Trap when I was on tour opening for Jason Isbell and Sheryl Crow,” Crutchfield says in a press statement. “I’m really interested in writing love songs that are gritty and unromantic. I wanted to make a song about the ebb and flow of a longtime love story. I thought it might feel untraditional, but a little more in alignment with my experience to write about feeling insecure or foiled in some way internally, but always finding your way back to a newness or an intimacy with the same person.”

The track will appear on her forthcoming full-length, Tigers Blood, out March 22nd via Anti-. The LP was recorded with Brad Cook at Sonic Ranch in Texas, and features guest appearances from Spencer Tweedy and Phil Cook, in addition to Lenderman.

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SPRINTS - "Adore Adore Adore" from the 2024 album Letter To Self on City Slang

Dublin, Ireland-based garage rockers Sprints rage against the patriarchy on today's Song of the Day, as vocalist Karla Chubb explains on Bandcamp:

“'Adore Adore Adore' is a guttural reaction to my experience of criticism, gender, and misogyny. People can't seem to stop pressing their idea of what being a woman or acting like a woman is or should be upon us. You can't act like this, you can't say that, you have to be born with this or that and it's exhausting.

There is still a different standard of behaviour expected from me vs even the other members in Sprints. There is a different set of invisible rules I am supposed to abide by — I am supposed to fit their mould and give them what they want — and not deliver what it is I am here to do.

So at a time when trans rights are under attack, people are trying to force upon us what they think a woman is or should be, this is the outward expression of my own frustration, struggle and rage.”

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Arcwelder - "Lafayette" from the 2024 self-released album Continue

Minneapolis trio Arcwelder return with their first new album in 24 years. During their '90s heyday, they released six albums on Touch & Go and Big Money Records before their double-decade hiatus. Their latest LP was mixed by J. Robbins of Jawbox, Burning Airlines, and Government Issue.

And it's all too appropriate that "Lafayette" is today's Song of the Day, as the band say the track is drummer/vocalist Scott  Macdonald's tribute to "music, radio stations, and the childhood radio that delivered it all to him." Check out Morning Show Producer Owen Murphy's 2017 chat with Scott here.

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Spoon Benders - "Dichotomatic" from the 2023 self-released album How Things Repeat

With their sophomore full-length, How Things Repeat, psych-rock group Spoon Benders continue to elevate the glam-garage sound we first fell in love with on their 2020 debut LP Dura Mater.

As they explained to Be in a Band or Die, "Since April of 2019, the band has been writing, rehearsing, and performing live together multiple times a week. I think How Things Repeat has captured that growth and is an excellent representation of our evolution together as a band and individually as players and songwriters. For How Things Repeat we are building on our sound and looking to express similar energy through the recording as we do on stage in the live setting."

The accompanying music video — directed by Karlee Boon — aims to capture the opposite: the monotony they experience in their day jobs. "People often forget that musicians work grueling 9-5 jobs to survive while balancing their band and personal lives," they added.

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Skating Polly - "Hickey King" from the 2023 album Chaos County Line on El Camino Media

Tacoma-based punk-pop trio Skating Polly describes today's Song of the Day as "the most Skating Polly song" on their latest LP, a double-album titled Chaos County Line, out now via El Camino Media. Songwriters (and step-sisters!) Kelli Mayo and Peyton Bighorse trade off vocals on the stripped-down single, inspired by a bad date Kelli went on.

“In Peyton’s verse she’s talking about never knowing how far to go or how much of yourself to give to someone, and when my part comes crashing in it’s about guys being possessive and always trying to leave their mark on you,” Kelli says in a press release. “To me, it’s the most Skating Polly song on the record because it’s all these different energies happening at once.”

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Hurry - "Beggin' For You" from the 2023 album Don't Look Back on Lame-O Records

Philadelphia-based group Hurry released their sixth album last year, titled Don’t Look Back, a nod to a 1995 Teenage Fanclub song, if that gives you a hint to their influences. And today's Song of the Day brings that same jangly, power-pop goodness. 

The new album was produced by Ian Farmer (of Slaughter Beach, Dog, and Modern Baseball), and is out now via Lame-O Records. 

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Matt Pond PA - "Imagining Everything" from the 2024 album Call and Response on 131 Records

Today's Song of the Day marks a homecoming for singer/songwriter Matt Pond who launched his career in 1998 as matt pond PA, but tried to ditch the name the past few years, releasing an album under the moniker The Natural Lines in 2022. But now, he's re-embraced his original band name with the release of this new single.

"Our album as The Natural Lines was one of my favorite experiences in making music,” Matt toldBrooklyn Vegan last year. “We thoughtfully built songs and a band that represented the inner world of the post-pandemic return to reality. But as it stands now, I’ve said everything I can in that incarnation. I gave myself a strange band name back in Philly and it’s been impossible to shake. As much as I love to run, there’s no running from who I am.”

“In the song and video for ‘Imagining Everything,'” he adds, “I can hear the worst thoughts about myself — about all of us. Nevertheless, I want to find a way back to loving this world.”

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Bayonne - "Right Thing" from the 2023 album Temporary Time on Nettwerk

Today's Song of the Day from Bayonne (a solo project from Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Roger Sellers) is extra potent, not just for being a total new wave nostalgic groove, but because it was the last song Roger was able to play for his father before he passed away from cancer. 

“Approaching my mid 30s, I was having a lot of anxiety about life, music and the future – contemplating where I wanted to go creatively, which among other things, caused me to fall into a state of depression. It’s a deeply meaningful song to me, conveying feelings of stagnancy and self-doubt while maintaining a poppy format,” he says in a press statement. “One of the reasons it’s so meaningful to me is because it was the last song I remember showing my Dad before he passed. In the middle percussive section, I added samples from old home VHS tapes, wherein you can faintly hear him and other family members chattering lightly in the background. I’ll never forget showing him how I implemented these old recordings into the song. He was highly amused by this.”

The track appears on Bayonne's third full-length Temporary Time. He adds, "To me the overall narrative of Temporary Time is the events following my Dad’s cancer diagnosis in early 2019. The record explores the emotional journey we went through as a family coming to terms with his declining health. Not every song covers this, but that presentiment is lingering in the back of my mind through it all.”

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Ghoul Talk - I Just Like To Watch from the 2024 album I Want to Consume on Death Certificate Records

Seattle's Ghoul Talk — a solo project of local artist Rachel King — brings an exhilarating ferociousness to today's Song of the Day, a track she declares her "favorite and most polarizing song so far." She describes the single as "a two-and-a-half minute relationship horror story about ignoring your intuition, written in a 100+ degree room."

She tells KEXP, “I re-recorded the vocals many times, and nothing stuck until I was able to get out of my head and lock into the true emotion of the song. I wanted the recording to capture the messiness and desperation of the feeling beneath it all. Towards the end of recording, I found mice in my studio and finished some of the takes standing on a chair. There was something very punk about having them as an audience.”

"I Just Like To Watch" will appear on Ghoul Talk's forthcoming visual horror album I Want to Consume, to be released later this year on Death Certificate Records.

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IDLES - "Dancer (feat. James Murphy & Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem)" from the 2024 album TANGK on Partisan Records

Today's Song of the Day teams up two powerhouse KEXP faves: UK band IDLES and LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang. It's the first single from IDLES' forthcoming fifth full-length, Tangk, due for release on February 16th via Partisan Records. IDLES frontman Joe Talbot says the new album will be full of enchantment. "I needed love. So I made it," he says in a press release. "I gave love out to the world and it feels like magic. This is our album of gratitude and power. All love songs. All is love."

This cross-Atlantic collaboration came to be following some shows the two bands played together. As Talbot told NME, "If you don’t ask, you don’t get. By that point we’d been touring with them for a few weeks and knew they were lovely human beings. They took time out of their day off and took us to their studio. They were really accommodating and lovely, so hard-working, patient and awesome. They’re sick.”

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Stepan i Meduza - "О​с​е​н​ьs," a 2018 self-released single

Ukrainian duo Stepan i Meduza evoke the spirit of early Depeche Mode on this captivating synthwave track. Kiev-based musicians Burkov Aleksandr (vocals, guitar, synth, programming, mixing) and Mashkin Dmitry (bass guitar, vocals, synth, programming) have been releasing music together for over a decade, starting with their 2012 debut LP Bludnitsa. 

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Dharmacide - "Horses/Divorces" a 2023 self-released single

Hailing from Madrid, Spain, shoegaze quintet Dharmacide thrilled with their dreamy debut LP, Cult Band Member, in 2021. 

With today's Song of the Day, they achieve one of the ultimate shoegaze honors of working with Mark Gardener of genre-icons Ride, who mixed, mastered, and produced the track from his OX4 Studios. 

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Bien et Toi - "Haiku" from the 2023 Voici EP on Temple Records

L.A.-based producer Gianluca Buccellati has been racking up accolades, especially for his work on the 2021 Arlo Parks album Collapsed in Sunbeams. He crafts just as much beauty on his own music, which he records under the name Bien et Toi. 

With its warm, sunny vibes, his latest EP — the six-song release Voici — is the perfect antidote to grey winter weather. "This collection of songs was created when I was in a completely carefree state of flow,” Buccellati said in a press statement. “After my last EP [2022's London Safari], I wanted to create a body of work that had less features and felt more personal. This EP is for people to let loose to, a soundtrack for pool parties or warmer nights." 

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Bella Cuts - “Until Everybody Is Free” from the 2023 album Rise Up: BDS Mixtape Vol. 2 on Amplify Palestine

“The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free”
— Dr. Maya Angelou

Berlin-based artist Bella Cuts originally wrote today's Song of the Day as an anthem for the Internationalist Queer Pride Berlin. It has since gone on to become the theme song for The Solidarity Index, a podcast "exploring cultural power for collective liberation." The track was built around a vocal sample taken from an interview with Dr. Maya Angelou, and as such, Bella Cuts is donating all proceeds from the track to the Dr. Maya Angelou Foundation. 

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Bosq & Kaleta - “No Walls" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

Long-time collaborators Bosq & Kaleta team up again for an Afrobeat-inspired disco funk groove. 

Born Benjamin Woods in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Bosq is now based in Colombia where he has dominated dance floors with his blends of Afro-Latin music with Disco, Funk, Reggae, House, and Hip Hop.

Singer/songwriter/producer/musician Leon “Kaleta” Ligan-Majekodunmi was born in Porto Novo, Benin, and was active in the Lagos, Nigeria music scene in the '70s. 

On today's Song of the Day, they convey the message, "TEAR DOWN THE WALLS." As Bosq writes on Instagram, "In Gaza & the West Bank but also all over the world. The vocals in the beginning are spoken in Zulu, a South African language. The South African people also long suffered under a racist apartheid regime that was supported until the very end by Israel and the US. She says 'open the gates here comes the elephant, open the road here comes the elephant.' Palestine will be free."

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Baraari - "Habal (feat. Jurum) (prod. Julmud),” a 2023 self-released single

Based in Ramallah, Palestine, MC/singer Baraari blends Arabic melodies with hip-hop in today's Song of the Day. 

When not recording her own music, she's also active in pre-production of different audio/visual projects with artists Basel Abbas & Ruanne Abu Rahme, and organizes events and private parties in Palestine. 

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Bint il Sham - "Ishtar” from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

A relatively new singer/songwriter, Bint il Sham says her music is "driven by translating the journey of being a Palestinian refugee between Amman and Damascus." Her songs mix minimal electronica with poetry and sociopolitical messages related to her own experiences. 

Today's Song of the Day is the title track from her 2023 EP, inspired by the book Lugz Ashtar (or The Mystery of Ishtar) by author Firas Al-Sawwah. 

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El Waili - “TGLY” from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

Egyptian artist El Waili — a project of rapper/producer Kareem Gaber — takes his name from a neighborhood where he once lived in Cairo. 

"I started to produce music that translates my sonic experience while living in the El Waili neighbourhood," he told Egypt Today. "I wanted to deconstruct the urban noises and present a perspective and a feeling with a distinctive music style and drops."

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Hak Baker - "DOOLALLY" from the 2023 album Worlds End FM on Hak Attack Records / AWAL

Hak Baker has penned a party anthem with today's Song of the Day. (It even garnered him a collaboration with spiced rum brand Sailor Jerry, who released a limited edition "DOOLALLY" bottle back in the summer.) The East London-based artist was born to a Grenadan father and a Jamaican mother, and combines his love of reggae and punk into his lauded debut LP Worlds End FM. 

“We thought we was big, big boys, going to MC at these little clubs in Romford. Don’t forget that Moet cost 30 quid back then so we were having it large,” Baker says in a press release. “Everybody loves a house party. You’re talking to the house party king here. These are all the shenanigans rolled into 3.5 minutes, or all the ones I can talk about anyway — DOOLALLY!!”

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Aphex Twin - "Blackbox Life Recorder 21f" from the 2023 EP Blackbox Life Recorder 21f on Warp

Today’s Song of the Day marks the first new music from electronic music icon Aphex Twin(aka Richard D. James) in five years. (And it's been nearly ten years since his last album, 2014's Syro.) 

His latest EP — titled Blackbox Life Recorder 21f / In a Room7 F760 — is a percussive-heavy delight. with a surprising synth-laden sensitivity. His signature glitchiness is ever-present, but the song also reflects his evolution towards more mellow moments. 

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Afrosideral - "Aggayu El Immenso" a 2023 single on Ocha Records

Under the moniker Afrosideral, multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriter Kumar Sublevao-Beat explores the mystical side of his culture. 

On today's Song of the Day, in particular, he pays tribute to the Aggayú Orisha, which is said to be "an esteemed Yoruba deity of wilderness and change," most associated with powerful flowing forces like volcanic lava and raging rivers. (An "Orisha" is a divine spirit that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa.)

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Troy Kingi - "All Your Ships Have Sailed" from the 2020 album The Ghost of Freddie Cesar on All Good Absolute Alternative Records

When he began his career, New Zealand-based actor/musician Troy Kingi set a goal to release 10 albums in 10 genres across 10 years, which he calls the "10/10/10 project."

Today's Song of the Day comes from his funk-inspired album, which is also his most personal album: it was inspired by a cassette tape owned by his father, who tragically disappeared around Christmas 2005, while driving between Rotorua and Auckland. 

As he explained to Music 101, “It looked pretty old and had this hand-scribbled name, ‘Freddie Cesar’ on it, and on the back was just handwritten names of songs. I recognized some of the songs from my early childhood back when my parents were still together and started writing down the lyrics as a form of therapy." A search for Freddie Cesar turned up fruitless, so Kingi began to recreate the songs himself. "It’s kind of a dedication to my dad and Freddie Cesar, this album. Even though the lyrics aren't fully mine and the music’s not fully mine, I feel him when I’m singing these songs."

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Lord Echo - "Whoa! There's No Limit (feat. Mara TK)(Alternate version)" from the 2023 album Rarities 2010-2020: Japanese Tour Singles on Soundway Records.

New Zealand-based multi-instrumentalist and producer Lord Echo (aka Mike Fabs) digs into the vault for a new compilation from London's Soundway Records, titled Rarities 2010 - 2020: Japanese Tour Singles. The title really does say it all: the eight-track LP shares digital versions of what were vinyl-only singles released only in Japan, at the time. (There's also a vinyl version available with an embossed Japanese printed sleeve and obi strip.)

Today's Song of the Day revisits a 2017 track from his third album, Harmonies, featuring guest vocals from Maori-Scottish artist Mara TK. This alternate version features "influences of soul and early hip-hop amen breaks," as he shares on Bandcamp.

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Freekind. - "Visualize" from the 2023 album Since Always and Forever on Butter92

Croatian duo Freekind. combines the talents of pianist and vocalist Sara Ester Gredelj and drummer Nina Korošak-Serčič. On their debut LP, Since Always And Forever, they craft a soulful sound with nods to pop, hip-hop, and jazz. Today's Song of the Day, in particular, brings a peaceful groove they say is meant to inspire.

As they write on their website, "We were at a period in our lives where we had the possibility to take time for ourselves and formed a nice routine where we got up, meditated, did yoga and spent the rest of our day with a sense of ease. Eventually our schedule started filling, the media was full with news of restriction, fearful threats, the people being polarised and anxious and that sense of ease started fading. So all that naturally brought to a thought – I just wanna live my life in peace. In a stress-inducing fast paced world filled with a lot of music, art and series with dystopian-like depictions of the world we wanted to create our vision of life. A peaceful one. In order for it to ever come to fruition we need to – Visualize."

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Bulgarian Cartrader - "Golden Rope" from the 2022 self-released album Motor Songs.

Berlin-based musician Daniel Stoyanov pays tribute to both his birthplace and his love of cars with his musical project, Bulgarian Cartrader. 

"My name sounds Eastern European, and to be precise I was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and came to Germany when I was 4. I grew up in Germany, but stayed connected to Bulgaria, kept the language, and mingled a lot with friends and family," he explained to Exberliner.com. As for the second part of the name, he adds, "If you look at me, you would never think cartrader, but it’s inside of me." (His debut album is even titled Motor Songs.)

Today's Song of the Day is a warm, laid-back groove, that he describes as "not a song that runs behind to grab your attention. It just stays there, it’s slick and mellow. I have energetic songs, and sometimes I need those, but I know that when I hit the mellow strings on the guitar, these songs are more powerful."

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Pearly Drops - "I Cry While You Sleep (Dream, Ivory version)" from the 2023 EP Haunted Expansion Pack on Cascine

Helsinki-based duo Pearly Dropspull '80s influences through their prismatic synthpop sound. Their latest EP — titled Haunted Expansion Pack — features special remixes of tracks off their sophomore LP, A Little Disaster, which came out earlier this year. 

Today's Song of the Day is a remix of "I Cry While You Sleep," reinvented by Dream, Ivory, a production team of siblings Louie and Christian Baello. Pearly Drops explain to Glam Cult, the track had very different beginnings. 

"This song has actually had a quite long journey. It was originally written for a completely different artist and it was probably even before our debut album. But a few years later we realised that it could actually be our own little ballad and we just had to request it back, hah. It was our attempt to make something warm, wood-y and modern with instruments from the '60s and the '80s. That’s been our favourite palette for some time now."

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Berry Galazka - Leash from the 2023 Leash EP on Climax Records & Sweat Entertainment

Each artist we're featuring this week is a Music Moves Europe Awards nominee. The MME Awards are the EU-funded prize for emerging artists. There are 15 nominees for these prestigious awards and the winners will be announced Thursday, January 18 at the ESNS festival in Groningen, NL.

Listeners/viewers can vote for their favorite artist for the MME Public Choice Award here.

Born in Poland, raised in Florida, and now living in London — Berry Galazka brings a wealth of worldly influences to her music, from My Chemical Romance to polka to Denzel Curry. She reflects her Polish heritage in her clothing, wearing a babushka scarf and the country's flag colors of red and white. 

OnFacebook, she shares that today's Song of the Day is "largely inspired by my family’s virtue of questioning everything." She also notes toPolyester Zine that the new EP is inspired by the Salvador Dali painting Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening. "I still find so many different meanings within this painting,” she toldThe Line of Best Fit. "It always stuck with me how he visualized the sensation of being ripped out of a dream as the subconscious mind protects Gala from the bee sting."

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Ana Lua Caiano - "Mão na Mão" from the 2023 self-released album Se Dançar É Só Depois

Portuguese multi-disciplinary artist Ana Lua Caiano studied classical music for eight years, and then studied jazz for four years at the prestigious Escola De Jazz Luiz Villas-Boas, the oldest jazz club in Europe. In 2017, she joined the acoustic ensemble Os Vertigem, but when the pandemic hit and she couldn't play music with others anymore, she decided to embark on a solo endeavor. 

Caiano combines traditional Portuguese music with modern electronic sounds, using a synthesizer and a loop station in her live performances. Her second EP, Se Dan​ç​ar É Só Depois, was released earlier this year. 

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Panthervision - "Wish You Were Here (Baby it's Christmas)" a 2023 single on Fetish Pop

This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed Songs of the Day, selected by Brian Foss, one of the hosts of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 20th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in on Monday, December 25th from 7 AM - 4 PM PT, for No Standards Christmas. You won't hear a single "holiday standard," but instead get a mix of soul, rock, blues, hip-hop, and more!

Portland power-pop quartet Panthervision first formed in 2019, but its members have been active in the local music scene for fifteen years, playing in bands like Beyond Veronica, Spiral Electric, and Spy Device. Their concept with the new project was "The Muffs meets Sweet, but The Yardbirds are in there somewhere, and some pre-'Walk Like An Egyptian' Bangles … and most of all, their own style and enthusiasm."

It's a goal they achieve on their debut album, Now In 3​-​D, released back in January 2023, and on today's Song of the Day, a rollicking holiday track. 

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Problem Patterns - "Christmas Number One" a 2020 self-released single

This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed Songs of the Day, selected by Brian Foss, one of the hosts of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 20th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in on Monday, December 25th from 7 AM - 4 PM PT, for No Standards Christmas. You won't hear a single "holiday standard," but instead get a mix of soul, rock, blues, hip-hop, and more!

Problem Patterns — self-described as Belfast's pre-eminent DIY feminist queerpunk quartet — released their highly-anticipated debut album back in October, titled Blouse Club. But today's Song of the Day takes us back to 2020, when they released this single during a tumultuous season. As they wrote at the time:

This year, many of us will be spending Christmas alone for the first time ever, and for a few of us, that is the norm. The holiday season can be an incredibly isolating time in general. We wrote this song in an effort to try and look on the bright side of an otherwise tough situation. For the video, we wanted to collaborate and connect with a few friendly faces. We may not be able to be together right now, but stay hopeful. 

Whatever your plans are, we hope that you are safe and sound.
Sending love to anyone who needs it.
Merry Christmas,
Bev, Beth, Ciara and Alanah 
xxxx

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Ricardo Autobahn - "Christmas Isn't Halloween," a 2020 single on Banoffee Sound

Today's Song of the Day isn't Ricardo Autobahn's first Christmas hit, not by a long shot. Under his birth name of John Matthews, he had a smash single with his band Cuban Boys in 1999, with the track "Cognoscenti vs. Intelligentsia" reaching #4 on the UK charts on Christmas week, and topping the infamous John Peel's Festive Fifty that year. 

You may also recognize Autobahn's talents in the projects Barndance Boys and Spray, or in his collaborations with Daz Sampson as Rikki & Daz. 

Today's featured track takes us back to his 2020 Banoffee Sound Singles Club release. Stay tuned for new music from Autobahn in January, including, what he calls, "assorted variations including the hyper hyper Helen Love remix."

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Longboat - "Christmas Socking" from the 2018 self-released album Come and Get Your Christmas

This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed Songs of the Day, selected by Brian Foss, one of the hosts of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 20th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in on Monday, December 25th from 7 AM - 4 PM PT, for No Standards Christmas. You won't hear a single "holiday standard," but instead get a mix of soul, rock, blues, hip-hop, and more!

Self-proclaimed "Seattle's least favorite band" Longboat have been releasing music for over a decade now, with three new albums this year alone, and, as they write on their website, "just as many to be released in 2024. Just try and stop us. You can’t. So don’t try, OK?"

A project of Belltown-based musician Igor Keller, Longboat released an entire Christmas album back in 2018 titled Come and Get Your Christmas. So, if you like this track, check out 11 more here.

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SQUISH! - "SNIFF MY PISS FOR CHRISTMAS," a 2023 self-released single

This week, we are continuing a long-held tradition of featuring Christmas-themed Songs of the Day, selected by Brian Foss, one of the hosts of KEXP’s punk show Sonic Reducer. He will be hosting his 20th annual Punk Rock Xmess on Saturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in on Monday, December 25th from 7 AM - 4 PM PT, for No Standards Christmas. You won't hear a single "holiday standard," but instead get a mix of soul, rock, blues, hip-hop, and more!

After 20 years of the Punk Rock Xmess on KEXP, we have a Song of the Day written exclusively for the occasion by Seattle's own SQUISH!, a supergroup of sorts featuring former members of Dumps, Sir Coyler, Gold Fronts, and many others. 

As they write on Instagram: "We recorded this with @rickrubin at Abbey Road over the course of 9 months with several guest musicians like @daveghrol and @icespice. We hope you like it."

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Zaid Kreshan - "Shadeed" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

Cairo-based Jordanian artist Zaid Kreshan can often be found doing production for Arabic Pop artist Zaid Khaled (and as a content creator for SceneNoise), but he steps to the forefront for today's dreamy, yet frenetic Song of the Day. 

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Oun Jweinat - "Love We Battle" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

DJ/producer Oun Jweinat divides his time between Liverpool, England, and Amman, Jordan, where he's part of the music-collective-turned-record-label House of Afandi, who've released this week's Songs of the Day. 

Jweinat began mixing and DJing at the age of 11, inspired by his older brother. His captivating compositions make him a stand out in the Middle-Eastern electronic music scene.  

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Arabian Panther - "Gaza’s Tears" from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

French/Lebanese DJ/producer Arabian Panther has long used his music as a platform for social justice. He performs on stage obscured behind a black keffiyeh, as a sign of support to the Palestinian cause and to his roots. To him, the "Arabian Panther" is a fictional character, a warrior atop a feline, inspired by Alamut and the Ashashins. 

He has long been a staunch supporter of Palestinian rights, and his first recording was released on the first Palestinian electronic music label, Harara. He's currently working on his third EP and his debut album. 

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Moktar - Free Palestine from the 2023 compilation album By the People, For the People on House of Afandi Records

Egyptian-Australian artist Moktar proudly infuses influences from his Middle-Eastern heritage into his techno, house, and electro compositions. (His father is a famed Egyptian conductor and composer of Arabic and folk music.) 

As he states on Instagram, "I’ve witnessed many talented musicians in Palestine and Europe facing significant challenges, losing opportunities, and being pushed into silence. It’s disheartening to see their voices being suppressed. In response, I am determined not to remain silent. Now, more than ever, I feel a responsibility to occupy space with our voices."

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ODESZA - "In the Rain," a 2023 single on Foreign Family Collective

Beloved Bellingham-based boys ODESZA share a new single, both as a stand-alone track and available on volume two of the Rave.wavs compilation series released via their own Foreign Family Collective label. 

The duo of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight state simply, "'In the Rain' was written on the road while performing our The Last Goodbye Tour. We wanted to make something fun and high energy that would particularly work well in a live environment.” 

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Golden Features - "Flesh" from the 2023 album Sisyphus on Foreign Family Collective

With today's techno-tinged Song of the Day, Australian DJ/producer Golden Features (real name: Thomas Stell) celebrates a city he discovered on tour: Berlin. 

"'Flesh' was one of the earlier demos from the album's writing process," he shared in a press statement. "It was a direct response to my time in Berlin and a song that encapsulated everything I fell in love with on my journeys. I wrote it trying to express feelings of being under the weight of an eight-hour session in the rave. Overstimulated, anxious, and completely terrified of facing the real world outside. Finally gathering the courage to call it a night experiencing the surreal shift that is walking out of a windowless dungeon into a beautiful sunrise."

The track can be found on his second, and most recent, LP Sisyphus, which was released via ODESZA's Foreign Family Collective label.

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Barry Can't Swim - "Dance of the Crab" from the 2023 album When Will We Land? on Ninja Tune

Scottish DJ/producer Barry Can’t Swim found inspiration from '70s-era Brazilian group Trio Ternura for today's Song of the Day. The track can be found on his debut full-length, When Will We Land?, which features a joyous and ambitious blend of jazz, house, and Afrobeat. Today's featured track in particular, found inspiration in the funky poly-rhythms of Trio Ternura, as the artist (real name: Joshua Mannie) explained in a press release:

“The track started over a year ago, I had just started the album and was digging for samples when I found this amazing record ‘A Gira’ (1973) by a Brazilian group called Trio Ternura. Immediately I could hear the track I wanted to build around it: a summery, groovy, not taking too much away from the original but just giving it a bit more energy”.

“Then we had to clear the sample. After some searching, we eventually managed to get in touch with one of the original writers based in Brazil, who is now well into his 70s and doesn’t speak a word of English. Somehow we managed to contact him on FB messenger, and a friend of mine who speaks Portuguese was the middle man. It all came together quite quickly after that, and we’ve now met all the family of the original writers. Quite wholesome really. Thank you to Trio Ternura for letting me sample the record!”

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Middle Kids - "Dramamine" from the 2024 album Faith Crisis Pt 1 on Middle Kids/ AWAL

Sydney, Australia-based trio Middle Kids celebrate love on today's Song of the Day. The track was co-written by bandmates vocalist/guitarist Hannah Joy and bassist Tim Fitz, who also happen to be married. This revelation makes the chorus of: 

"You are the only reason I believe in anything/
I hope you don't take this the wrong way"

even more poignant. 

The single gives a sneak peek at their forthcoming third full-length, Faith Crisis Pt 1. The album was co-produced by Fitz and Jonathan Gilmore (The 1975/Rina Sawayama), and will be released on February 16, 2024, via Lucky Number.

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M83 - "Mirror," a 2023 single on M83 Recording Inc/Mute

It's not déjà vu: if you feel like you've heard this M83 song before, you may have! Today's Song of the Day dates back to the 2011 album Hurry Up, We're Dreaming, and was released as a hidden track found as a secret download in the packaging of the CD. For those who don't own a CD player anymore, the song was then re-released as a Record Store Day exclusive 7-inch single in 2012. And now, the fan-favorite track has been re-re-released as a digital single.

"It’s a track that never came out digitally and we close our shows with that song," M83 mastermind Anthony Gonzalez told Billboard. "The response of the audience has been great so far, and it’s an unknown song that deserves to be properly released in my opinion.”

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Maya Marie & Night Wizards - "The Garden," a 2023 self-released single

Earlier this year, Seattle psych-pop band Night Wizards teamed up with soulful siren Maya Marie for the single "The Garden." Now they've reconvened for this sultry electro-pop jam. Here's hoping for a full-length from this collaboration in 2024. 

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King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - "Theia (Extended Mix)" from the 2023 album The Silver Cord on KGLW

The Australian psych sextet King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard might be making KEXP history with this 20-minute long track, which I'm pretty sure is the longest Song of the Day offering to date! The single comes from their 25th overall LP (and second of 2023), The Silver Cord, which finds the experimental group delving into electronic music.

“We come at electronic music from an amateur angle,” frontman Stu Mackenzie says in a press release. “I play the Juno synthesizer like a guitar, I don’t really know how to play it. But I wanted to be at peace with being the rock band pretending to know how to use modular synthesizers. We’re in uncharted waters, we’re further out to sea, but leaning into it, and we got to a spot where we were really happy with what came out.”

As for today's Song of the Day, Mackenzie declares, "It’s for the Gizz-heads," adding, "I love Donna Summer’s records with Giorgio Moroder, and I’d never listen to the short versions now – I’m one of those people who wants to hear the whole thing. We’re testing the boundaries of people’s attention spans when it comes to listening to music, perhaps – but I’m heavily interested in destroying such concepts."

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Autogramm - "WannaBe," a 2023 single on Stomp Records

Today's Song of the Day comes from mostly-Northwest new wavers Autogramm: drummer/synths/guitarist/vocalist The Silo now lives in Chicago, while vocalist/guitarist Jiffy Marx and vocalist/bassist CC Voltage hail from Vancouver; vocalist/guitarist Lars Von Seattle resides — well, you can guess! On their third full-length — titled Music That Humans Can Play, released earlier this month — the guys continue to flex their '80s power-pop-influenced sound, calling to mind acts like The Cars, Devo, and Gary Numan. 

In a press statement, The Silo shares, “'WannaBe' began as a way to say to the most important person in my life that I will stand beside them no matter what their direction, self-opinion, or physical state of being. Upon further reflection, I thought it could apply more broadly to all of our relationships in life: it’s a declaration of love and support to any friend, child, or lover who is going through a change in their self-perception; the idea that gender, occupation, size, skin, are all merely physical manifestations of being and will never matter as much as the person underneath it all.”

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