In Our Headphones

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

Under the monikerAfrosideral,multi-instrumentalist/producer/songwriterKumar Sublevao-Beat explores the mystical side of his culture.

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

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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/musicianTroy 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 bya cassette tape owned by his father, who tragically disappeared around Christmas 2005, while driving between Rotorua and Auckland.

As he explained toMusic 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."

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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'sSoundway Records, titledRarities 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 fromMaori-Scottish artist Mara TK. This alternate version features "influences of soul and early hip-hop amen breaks," as he shares on Bandcamp.

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Croatian duoFreekind. combines the talents ofpianist 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 topop, 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."

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 titledMotor 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."

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Helsinki-based duo Pearly Drops pull '80s influences through their prismatic synthpop sound. Their latest EP — titledHaunted 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 byDream, Ivory, a production team of siblingsLouie and Christian Baello. Pearly Drops explainto 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."

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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.

On Facebook, she shares that today's Song of the Day is "largely inspired by my family’s virtue of questioning everything." She also notes to Polyester 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 told The 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."

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Caiano combinestraditional Portuguese music with modernelectronic 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.

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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 onSaturday, December 23rd from 9 PM to midnight PT, and then tune in onMonday, December 25th from7 AM - 4 PM PT, forNo 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 quartetPanthervision first formed in 2019, but its members have been active in the local music scene for fifteen years, playing in bands likeBeyond 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.

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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, titledBlouse 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

Read the full story at KEXP.org

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donate

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.