A Deeper Listen

Australia’s Miss Kaninna (Yorta Yorta, Dja Dja Wurrung, Kalkadoon, and Yirendali) talks about the themes of colonialism in her song Blak Britney, about Aboriginal history and life in Australia, how her family has played a role in Indigenous activism and policy, and how she uses her platform as a musician to speak about Indigenous issues.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

KEXP’s Albina Cabrera sits down with Christine Gutierrez, the mastermind behind Dark Chisme. Gutierrez blends darkwave, post-punk, and synthpop to tell powerful stories of identity, resilience, and growing up in a bicultural space. With her self-titled debut album, she channels her personal journey through music, exploring painful episodes like her father’s deportation and the feeling of not fully belonging anywhere, transforming these experiences into musical strength and fire on stage.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tomu DJ is an electronic artist from the Bay Area. She’s out with a new album called I Want To Be. Tomu DJ speaks with Emily Fox about her new album, her experience in the music industry as a trans woman and how a near death car accident impacted her sense of rhythm and inspired her to become a solo artist.“I had this renewed or newfound motivation to explore myself and kind of my own mental landscape and the things that I've experienced through music,” she says.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MIKE is a rapper who’s gained a following in part because of his vulnerable writing. He lost his mother just as his rap career was taking off. Throughout his career, he has used voice notes from her in his songs. In an interview with KEXP’s Martin Douglas, MIKE speaks about losing his mother, working through the loss, and eventually getting to the other side of grief.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suki Waterhouse talks with Emily Fox about how starring in the Amazon Prime series 'Daisy Jones and the Six' inspired her to make her new record, 'Memoir of a Sparklemuffin,' and how she finished the record in the final weeks of her pregnancy and played Coachella a few weeks after birth.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aramis Johnson of Enumclaw talks about the band’s recent move to L.A. because they needed to get out of their hometown of Tacoma, about the joys of going off social media and reading more and the themes of loss on the band’s new album.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Memphis-based soul label Stax Records is home to The Staples Singers, Otis Redding and many soul hitmakers. David Porter, writer of the hit songs “Soul Man” and “Hold On I’m Comin’,” joins this episode to share the story portrayed in the Emmy-nominated documentary, 'Stax: Soulsville U.S.A.' Porter talks about how Stax was first a country label and switched to soul music after allowing him and other youth from the neighborhood to audition. He talks about how music unified both Black and white musicians at the label, in a town that was segregated at the time. He also discusses the trials and tribulations of getting acquired by larger labels, how the deaths of both Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Otis Redding impacted the label, and the successes and legacy of Stax.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sunny Day Real Estate came out of the hardcore scene in Seattle in the 90s and eventually became a major influence on “emo” music. KEXP’s Dusty Henry talks with guitarist Dan Hoerner and drummer William Goldsmith about the band’s history, their take on "emo," their recent reunion tour, and the re-release of their 1994 debut album, 'Diary.'Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Canadian hardcore band, F*cked Up is out with a new record, called Another Day. The band’s last three records were all written and recorded in a total of 24 hours. Emily Fox speaks with F*cked Up’s frontman Damian Abraham about these 24-hour projects, how Toronto marijuana politics comes up on Another Day and how medical marijuana has helped his panic attacks.  Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Aoife O’Donovan of the bluegrass bands Crooked Still and I’m With Her released a solo album this year about the suffrage movement. To honor the 104th anniversary of women’s right to vote in the U.S., Emily Fox caught up with O’Donovan to get a history lesson on the movement and discuss where we’ve come and the work that still needs to be done.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alisa Amador grew up touring the US and singing in her parents' Latin folk band, Sol y Canto. She then went on to start a solo career and in 2022 she won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest. But when she got the call from NPR that she had won, she almost told them to give the award to another contestant. Amador had stopped writing music in 2020 following the death of a close friend. In the end, she did accept the award and is now out with her first album since winning the Tiny Desk Contest. It’s called 'Multitudes.' Emily Fox caught up with Amador to talk about grief, struggles with mental health, and how winning the contest allowed her to start a new, refreshed chapter of her music career.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Alex Henry Foster of the band Your Favorite Enemies talks about how his new ambient record, 'Kimiyo,' was formed after a health crisis that left him unable to speak for months. The album also shares the stories of people he met in Japan during his travels, finding connection between their struggles and his own, and gaining a renewed outlook on life.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Emel Mathlouthi is a Tunisian musician whose song “Kelmti Horra” went viral in 2011 and became an anthem for the Tunisian Revolution during the Arab Spring. Her new album, ‘MRA,’ calls for the continued fight for freedom on a global scale, but through an explicitly feminist lens. It was made by an all-women cast, from producers to musicians to engineers, and includes features from Malian rapper Ami Yerewolo, Brazilian producer Lyzza, Swedish-Iraqi rapper Nayomi, and more. Emel talks with KEXP’s Isabel Khalili about why she chose to work exclusively with women on this album, what it was like being called “the voice of the Tunisian Revolution,” and the role of artists in social movements.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Seattle indie rock band Pedro the Lion gained a cult following in their early days, making Christian-adjacent music that saw lead singer David Bazan’s reckoning with his faith and politics. After putting the project on hiatus for more than a decade, Bazan returned to the Pedro name in 2018 with the announcement that he’d be recording a five-album series with each record dedicated to a place he lived. Recently, Pedro the Lion put out the third record in the series, 'Santa Cruz.' Bazan talks with KEXP’s Dusty Henry about making the record, learning to “re-parent” himself, and what he’s learned about himself through the process of making these albums.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Natasha El-Sergany of the Seattle band somesurprises talks about the cosmic, political. and social inspirations behind their new album, 'Perseids.' She also discusses her journey coming to the US with immigrant parents, her day job as an immigration lawyer, and how all of this fuels her music.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.