James Blake - photo by Christopher Meister
- British post-dubstep sensation James Blake recently came through Seattle, where he played a set at, of all places, the Tractor Tavern, a venue known for its proclivity to host more western, country, and folk-themed musical acts. Despite the cowboy boots strung up overhead, Blake made the Tractor his for the night and wow-ed the sold out crowd (read a review here). Not a week after the show, Blake has announced a fall tour which will see him back through Seattle, but this time playing at the Showbox at the Market on September 24. That’s more like it!
- Fresh off their performance at the Sunset Tavern as part of KEXP’s Hood To Hood day in Ballard, local hip hop duo Shabazz Palaces have made the closing track from their forthcoming release available for download. Listen via Pitchfork here. Black Up will be released on June 28 via Sub Pop. Following the release, Shabazz Palaces will be playing two shows at Neumos on June 30 and July 1.
- Georgia garage rockers Black Lips will be releasing Arabia Mountain, their new, Mark Ronson-produced album, on June 7. You’ve probably already heard the album’s first single “Modern Art,” a recent KEXP Song of the Day, and now you can stream the entire album via Groovshark.
Black Lips - Arabia Mountain
- The Dodos have released an amazing new video for “Companions” from their recently-released album No Color. Watch here. Also from No Color, the song “Black Night” was KEXP’s Song of the Day earlier this month.
- A band knows they’ve made it when they get a chance to perform on Jools Holland. KEXP’s favorite 90s indie rock revivalists Yuck recently did so. Here’s a video of their performance of “Get Away”:
