A Deeper Listen

2020 brought a national conversation around race in America. It’s a subject musician and KEXP Audioasis host Eva Walker has been talking about with her friend and fellow musician Rani Weatherby of the band Champagne Honeybee. Weatherby was adopted as a child from India by a white single mother who lived in the largely white Seattle suburb of Snohomish. Walker says this year’s conversation around race has been largely black and white, justifiably so, but she wanted to hear the perspective from a brown, female adoptee. Weatherby talks with Walker about how her race, background and upbringing has impacted her music.   

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Calexico released a Christmas album for 2020 called 'Seasonal Shift.' But rather than the typical holiday songs about good tidings and cheer, Calexico paints a more realistic picture of dysfunctional families, crying over a drink of Mezcal, and holiday meals ruined. 

Vocalist and guitarist Joey Burns talks about the record and how it came together through collaborations with musicians from around the world.  

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Bartees Cox Jr., AKA Bartees Strange, released his debut album this year, entitled 'Live Forever.' His sound traverses art-rock, emo, folk, R&B and even trap rap. Though many are surprised by the effortlessness with which Bartees Strange synthesizes these genres, to him it’s all at its root Black music, and as such, he wants more kids of color to see themselves on that same stage.  

“I want to reclaim that space,” Strange says. “That's kind of what the record's all about. People think it's weird to see me do this, but it's not.”

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Iceland’s Sigur Rós recently released their first album in seven years, titled 'Odin’s Raven Magic.' It’s an orchestral album featuring a Paris-based orchestra and an Icelandic chamber choir. While you can hear glimmers of Sigur Rós’ signature ambient rock style and distinct vocals, much of this project sounds like something out of Medieval times.  

“It sounds completely different from anything that we have done, [or] anything we will ever do again. At the same time it’s also completely different from anything I’ve heard before,” says Sigur Rós bassist Georg Holm.

Holm talks about the apocalyptic story behind the Norse Mythology poem, “Odin’s Raven Magic,” that inspired the project, and how it resonates today.

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Seattle independent artist Mark Diamond was surprised when he was able to pay his rent through song streams on Spotify. By persistence in reaching out to individual playlisters on the platform, he eventually gained a million streams per month. He later got picked up by a subsidiary label of Universal Music, only to realize he was making less money with the support of a label. He tells this story in his latest (independently released) single, “The Ride.” 

Diamond discusses his life before streaming success, coming up in the scene while self-promoting and holding a day job, his emphasis on connecting directly with fans, and his illuminating journey through the music industry during his time in LA.

Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/sound/

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