A Deeper Listen

As part of the Cascadia Music Summit in Boise, Idaho, Emily Fox speaks with the rapper, singer, and writer, Dessa, the Denver-based duo N3ptune, and Rusty Steve and Eric Gilbert who run Boise’s Treefort Music Festival and Duck Club. They talk about how to make things work on a shoestring budget, how to work smarter together, and how to create opportunities that didn’t exist before. 

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Rapper, singer, and writer, Dessa, shares a poem about how to live a life in music called “How To Stage Dive.” Also on this episode, jazz musician and Executive Director for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Aaron Myers, shares his personal story about getting access to health care and mental health services as a musician. He also talks about why coming home after touring can be so difficult emotionally.

These stories were shared as part of the Cascadia Music Summit. Audio from the full conference can be found here: https://www.cascadiamusicsummit.org/archive 

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Hozoji Roseanne Mathison-Margolis is a shellfish diver for the Puyallup Tribe by day and by night she plays drums in the nautical inspired rock band, Helms Alee. We revisit this story Sound & Vision first aired in 2019 as part of our series, Day Job, which explores the work musicians do outside of music in order to make a living. The story was written by Rachel Stevens with reporting by Brie Ripley and Ryan Sparks.

https://www.kexp.org/read/2019/10/15/sound-vision-hozoji-mathison-margolis-dives-deep-helms-alee-inspiration/

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Gender equity in the music industry still has a long way to go. The University of Southern California has been studying inclusion in the recording studio for years. In 2018, it found that out of the songs that made it on Billboard’s year end Hot 100 chart, along with the nominees in top Grammy categories, only 2% of those songs were produced by women. That number only increased to 3.4% in 2022.

On this episode, we revisit a story we first aired in 2019. It’s by Contributor Celine Teo-Blockey, who reported on the challenges that Sarah Tudzin of Illuminati Hotties has overcome to become a musician and producer.  

https://www.kexp.org/read/2019/11/5/sound-vision-why-only-2-music-producers-are-women/ 

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Chicago-based artist NNAMDÏ is known for his genre-clashing albums. His songs will often bring together elements of punk, hip-hop, electronic music, and more – all fused together with NNAMDI’s infectious and enthusiastic spirit. He talks with KEXP’s Dusty Henry about his all-time favorite albums so we get a deeper understanding of his musical DNA. 

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There’s a vibrating dance floor in Colorado that translates instruments and notes in songs in real time. It works for both recorded and live music. Stephanie Wolf reports on how the floor is increasing accessibility to music and dance. 

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Emily Fox and KEXP DJs Evie Stokes, Troy Nelson and Kevin Cole break down the top played albums of 2023 on KEXP and share their personal favorite records of the year.  

KEXP’s top played albums: 

1. Jungle - Volcano 
2. Arlo Parks - My Soft Machine 
3. Polyrhythmics - Filter System 
4. Little Dragon - Slugs of Love  
5. Yves Tumor - Praise a Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume; (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds) 

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It was a big year for Latin music and Mexican music in particular. KEXP’s Albina Cabrera is joined by Julyssa Lopez, Senior Music Editor at Rolling Stone and author of “The Grammys Still Don’t Know What to Do With Latin Music,” and Isabela Raygoza, Associate Editor at Billboard Español and co-author of "Mexican Music Isn't Having a Moment, It's a Movement” for this episode. They break down the rise of Mexican music, discuss the Latin Grammys, and share some of their favorite tracks from Latin America in 2023.

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KEXP’s Martin Douglas reflects on travel, mortality, and life through his favorite rap album of the year, 'Maps' by billy woods.  

Listen to billy woods talk about fatherhood and making a children’s book: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2023/6/18/apparently-billy-woods-on-his-a-is-for-anarchist-childrens-book/ 

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The Portland-based experimental band Grails is back with their latest album, 'Anches en Maat.' It's the first record that the group wrote together in the studio since 2008, featuring some of their most avant garde Western psych-rock instrumentals to date. KEXP's Roddy Nikpour has this review.  

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