A Deeper Listen

Mike Park is the only person behind Asian Man records. The label has helped break ska and punk bands including Alkaline Trio and Less Than Jake. Park recently turned down an offer to have Asian Man Records be bought out by a larger label for $3 million. He’ll instead continue running it out of his mom’s garage, like he has been for nearly 30 years.

KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Park to learn more about the label’s history, the ethos that’s kept it alive and the bands it’s worked with along the way.  

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The band Draag talks with Emily Fox about how their experiences being in a religious cult and dealing with substance abuse come up on their latest record, 'Dark Fire Heresy.' They also discuss representation in the music industry and their perspective as a POC-fronted band. 

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Karl Blau has been a staple in the Northwest Music scene. He started the Anacortes Music Channel, a live music venue and a 24/7 streaming station of exclusively Anacortes music. He launched a monthly music publication titled Show Chime, and founded the Anacortes Music Project, a non-profit with goals of preserving Anacortes history, and boosting local shows and local artist profiles. He was recently priced out of Anacortes. He now lives in Philadelphia with his family and has just released a debut EP featuring members of The War on Drugs. KEXP’s Janice Headley talks with Karl about the move and new musical project called Opal Eskar.  

Read the story here: https://www.kexp.org/read/2023/5/19/karl-blau-continues-to-shine-with-new-project-opal-eskar-featuring-members-of-the-war-on-drugs/ 

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On her debut solo album, ‘Flowers At Your Feet,’ Rahill Jamalifard of Habibi continues to embrace the sounds and stories of her Iranian heritage, this time evoking memories of her loved ones through sonic artifacts like field recordings, audio from home movies, and references to Persian film and poetry.

Rahill joins KEXP’s Isabel Khalili to discuss the vulnerability of the new album and how it helped her arrive at the place of self-love she embodied as a child. They also discuss the origins of surf rock, the sampling of Middle Eastern music in hip-hop, the process of grief, and how Rahill’s childhood encouraged her to celebrate diversity and individuality.

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Seattle’s Kassa Overall is about to drop a new record later this month. Back in April DJ Miss Ashley sat down with Kassa to talk about his new album, the ending of Washington Middle School’s band program in Seattle, of which Kassa attended, and mental health. 

Listen to an interview with Kassa and his Washington Middle School band teacher: https://www.kexp.org/podcasts/sound-vision/2021/6/22/kassa-overall-and-his-middle-school-band-teacher-discuss-lasting-lessons/  

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Durand Jones of Durand Jones and the Indications talks about his debut solo album, 'Wait Til I Get Over.' It’s an homage to his hometown in the rural south and a love letter to his 17-year-old self. The album also features the first love song Jones has ever written for another man, a process he says was “freeing.” 

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Y La Bamba has just released their sixth studio album, 'Lucha.' The project is fronted by Luz Elena Mendoza, whose dreamy vocals weave between Spanish and English.

Mendoza speaks with KEXP’s Albina Cabrera about family, Mexican American identity, queerness, and mental health, and how these themes show up in their music. They also discuss Mendoza's recent move from Portland to Mexico and their production work on the new record.

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Blondshell reflects on the ways she's grown from toxic relationships, the different ways addiction manifests in her life, and how these themes come up on her self-titled debut album. She also shares her views on the importance of boundaries, both personal and within the music industry, and embracing the emotions of being a rising 25-year-old musician.

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More and more people are discovering the power of artificial intelligence through services like ChatGPT. So, tech companies are getting more and more into art spaces — including music discovery. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour brings us this review of RadioGPT and Spotify DJ. 

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Lonnie Holley has lived a storied life. He was taken from his family by a burlesque dancer who performed in carnivals when he was a baby, suffered head injuries from getting hit by a car as a kid, then put in the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, also known as Mount Meigs. He went on to become a visual artist whose works have been on display at The White House and The Smithsonian.

Holley started releasing music about a decade ago when he was in his 60s. He’s now out with his seventh album. It’s called 'Oh Me Oh My' and features collaborations with Bon Iver, Michael Stipe of R.E.M., Sharon Van Etten, and more. Lonnie Holley shares his life story and how his experiences have informed his new record.

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