A Deeper Listen

Los Angeles-based DJ and producer, TOKiMONSTA is out with a new album called Eternal Reverie. The album was written while TOKiMONSTA’s best friend was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately passed away a few months later. TOKiMONSTA talks about how her friend informed this latest record, why it was important to delay this record and cancel her initial tour to be with her friend in her final months of life, and TOKiMONSTA shares the story of her own health crisis she faced 10 years that resulted in two brain surgeries. “My career, these things can come back,” TOKiMONSTA says. “There’s always a possibility that if I made a poor decision in that regard, I could figure out a way. But I was never going to get my friend back. At the point that I had made that decision to cancel my tour, I already knew we weren’t going to have her for much longer.”Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Montreal-based electronic artist Marie Davidson is concerned about the rise of big tech and intrusion of privacy. In this episode, host Emily Fox talks with Davidson about her latest album City of Clowns, how these themes show up on the record, and the inspiration it took from Shoshana Zuboff’s book The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. “I would say that I don't believe yet that we are doomed,” Davidson says. “I believe we're in a very tricky position right now, and that there's a lot of uncertainty, and there's still a lot of ignorance around everything that's happening with technology and and information privacy. But we all have a choice… to keep nurturing critical thinking.”Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trevor Powers of Youth Lagoon talks about how rediscovering home videos inspired his latest album, Rarely Do I Dream. He also discusses songwriting, meditation, and about a health crisis that gave him new life.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Neko Case recently put out a memoir called “The Harder I Fight the More I Love You.” It’s a story largely about neglect and abandonment. KEXP's Emily Fox reviews the book and shares her personal connection to Neko Case. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Bartees Strange talks with Emily Fox about his album, Horror. He talks about how his parents raised him on scary stories to showcase the fear and issues of being black in America, what his opera singing mother taught him about being a black performer in mostly white spaces, and how he’s feeling more comfortable, more empowered and more himself than ever through the process of making this record.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Flung is the moniker of Seattle-raised and Oakland-based multi-instrumentalist Kashika Kollaikal. Her 2024 album, 'All Heartbeat,' is the result of listening deeply to her surroundings, tuning into what she calls the “hum of the world.”Kollaikal joins KEXP’s Isabel Khalili to talk about her approach to the record and how she finds inspiration in her physical environment. They also discuss the field recordings that made it onto the record, the making of her own music box, and how her mother's harmonium became the central hum of the record.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This year’s Superbowl halftime show features Kendrick Lamar, who is in a long running beef with Drake. Seattle hip hop historian Daudi Abe talks with contributor Hans Anderson about the history of hip-hop beefs and how Kendrick Lamar’s beef made its way into the biggest music event of the year. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The English electronic duo Maribou State released a new album, Hallucinating Love on January 31st. KEXP's Tia Ho talked with the band about the hardships they faced during the recording process, including getting diagnosed with a rare brain condition, and how it's all reflected in their most personal album to date. Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt Cameron is the drummer for Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Before then he played in the influential Seattle bands Bam Bam, Skin Yard, and Temple of the Dog. Cameron talks about his career and how he’s been able to keep at it for more than 40 years. Learn more about Bam Bam: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/3/2/tina-bell-unsung-goddess-grunge/Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Twin sisters Kehinde and Yeye Taiwo Lijadu performed as The Lijadu Sisters from the 1960s to the 1980s in Nigeria, but their influence is still felt globally today. Their hits include songs like "Come On Home" and "Life's Gone Down Low."  The surviving sister of the duo, Yeye Taiwo Lijadu, joins A Deeper Listen to talk about being one of the only female groups making music in Nigeria in the late 1960s and into the 1970s, and how they addressed issues of government corruption in their music. She also shares how, despite being on a major label, she has never seen profits from her recordings, and how meaningful it is that Numero Group is now reissuing the entire Lijadu Sisters catalog.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

OMBIIGIZI is a collaboration between Daniel Monkman (of the band Zoon) and Adam Sturgeon (of the band Status/Non-Status). They are Anishinaabe artists who explore their cultural histories through sound. Kevin Sur, co-host of KEXP's Sounds of Survivance, talks with OMBIIGIZI about their new album, 'SHAME,' which explores Indigenous shame and healing, and how they tap into ancestral traditions through music. We also get a history lesson on how Native American musicians helped form the genre of rock.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Artificial Intelligence is making its way into the music industry — not just through production tools, but also on streaming platforms like Spotify. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour tells us the story of a former Seattle band that was listed as a collaborator on an album they didn’t write. They claim it was A.I.-generated. Read the story here: https://www.kexp.org/read/2024/11/27/ai-generated-music-is-siphoning-streams-from-artists-in-seattle-and-beyond/Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Larry Crane is a recording engineer, founder of Tape Op magazine, and official archivist for the Elliott Smith estate. In late 2024, Crane gave a new remaster to Smith’s final album, 'From a Basement on the Hill.' Smith died during the making of the album and the record was finished by his friends and released posthumously. In conversation with KEXP's Dusty Henry, Crane reflects on his friendship with Smith coming up together in Portland, the songwriter’s prowess, and the process of revisiting and remastering this heavy but monumental album.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As we wrap up the year, we highlight our interviews with some of the artists who have topped the KEXP charts in 2024. The top played songs on KEXP in 2024 were: "Starburster" by Fontaines D.C. "Like I Say (I runaway)" by Nilüfer Yanya "My Fun" by Suki Waterhouse "Favourite" by Fontaines D.C. "Sepricon" by Brittany Davis Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We hear from L’Rain, Hand Habits, Perfume Genius and Ahya Simone on their contributions to the compilation album called TRANSA that celebrates trans and LGBTQ lives. The compilation also features songs from Sade, Sam Smith, Adrianne Lenker, Jeff Tweedy, Julien Baker, Sharon Van Etten, Fleet Foxes and more.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Gits were an early 90s Seattle band. Seattle’s Sub Pop records has recently launched a campaign to rerelease remastered versions of The Gits’ catalogue. So much of the band’s story has been wrapped around the 1993 rape and murder of The Gits frontwoman Mia Zapata. In a conversation at KEXP’s Gathering Space, Emily Fox speaks with The Gits guitarist Andy Kessler and bassist Matt Dresdner about the band’s story, legacy and the life of Mia.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Deep Sea Diver is a beloved band in Seattle and at KEXP. Deep Sea Diver’s most recent album, Impossible Weight was voted best album of 2020 by KEXP listeners. In a live event at KEXP, Emily Fox spoke with frontwoman Jessica Dobson about the fun and innovative things she and her band did during the COVID-19 pandemic to create and engage a loyal fanbase and put out an album without the help of a label. Dobson also shared wisdom on how to make it as an indie band in Seattle and make a name for yourself on a national level.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Teresa Suydam was adopted by a white family at birth. It wasn’t until college that they were able to begin a journey to better understand their Filipino and Native American lineage. In an interview with Stephanie Wolf, Suydam shares how their upcoming album, 'Lost Bird,' is what helped them find their way back to these communities.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nilüfer Yanya released her latest album, 'My Method Actor,' this fall. Emily Fox speaks with Yanya about the new record, her family’s story, including the organization she and her sister started to bring art to refugee communities, and her thoughts around identity while creating these songs.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Merce Lemon is a singer-songwriter based in Pittsburgh. In an interview with Emily Fox, we get to know her and her musical background and hear how stepping away from music and immersing herself in nature allowed her to make her latest record.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.