There's a lot of things we love about our KEXP New Home, like having the space to house a beautiful baby grand piano (on permanent loan), and then hearing the gorgeous playing of artist John Grant down the hallways, with each chord reverberating and filling our in-studio space with the purest of sound. The same has always been true of Grant's lyrics, including his latest Grey Tickles, Black Pressure (Bella Union): there's no filter, no hiding behind distortion -- just (as DJ Cheryl Waters keeps pointing out in this in-studio) a pure, resonating honesty. "I think it's important to be where you are," Grant explains. "I feel like all these things -- the pain, the growing, all that stuff, is part of the deal, so I feel like I'm happy now." Joined by keyboardist Chris Pemberton and guitarist Petur Hallgrimsson, watch Grant bring it all to this KEXP session, featuring songs from the new LP and his 2010 breakthrough debut album Queen of Denmark.
"Why does the world need a Piano Day? For many reasons. But mostly, because it doesn’t hurt to celebrate the piano and everything around it: performers, composers, piano builders, tuners, movers and most important, the listener." -- Nils Frahm
For Bombino, making music is not only a form of expression - it is also a political statement. Born in Agadez, Niger, a small desert town in the Tuareg region of Africa, Omara Moctar creates music under the name Bombino despite the near deadly dangers posed by strict government rule. After having t…
On May 13th, in honor of Stevie Wonder's 66th birthday, KEXP celebrated Soul Day, featuring twelve hours of some of the best rock 'n' soul music ever made. From 6AM to 6PM, KEXP DJs spun soul icons like Curtis Mayfield and Aretha Franklin alongside contemporary greats like Lee Fields and Allen Ston…
