Song of the Day: Joseph Arthur - Morning Cup

photo by Leo Mui

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s featured selection, chosen by Afternoon Show host Kevin Cole, is Morning Cup by Joseph Arthur from the 2008 Could We Survive EP on Lonely Astronaut.

Pretty much every working musician these days is busier than hell trying to keep up with the speed of the digital age. It appears Joseph Arthur is trying to lead the pack in 2008. His recent EP, Could We Survive, is just the first of four to be released this year and they’re all to be followed by a proper full length. But you’d be wrong to think Arthur focuses on music 24/7. Last year saw the opening in Brooklyn of his new art gallery, the Museum of Modern Arthur. Ever since being handpicked by Peter Gabriel and his Real World label in the mid-90s, Arthur has flourished as a musician, producer, and artist. It wasn’t until 2006 that he started working and traveling with a full band, the Lonely Astronauts, bearing the same name as the record label he started around the same time. Most artists creating at such an Arthur-ian pace create absolute garbage on a regular basis, but somehow Joseph Arthur defies the odds with each new release. See for yourself by visiting his website and sampling tracks spanning the last four years, and don’t pass up this video of Arthur rehearsing Venus in Furs, to later be played for the Lou Reed tribute at SXSW: