Live on KEXP

“If the book you want to read doesn't exist, write it.” Quoting the inimitable Toni Morrison, Jamila Woods crafts a story worth diving into on her debut album HEAVN. Joining DJ Morgan in the KEXP Live Room, the Chicago poet and songwriter tells the tale of how she went from singing in her church choir as a child to releasing her solo debut project alongside four HEAVN tracks. Recorded 6/6/2017 - 4 songs: Heavn, LSD, Way Up, Blk Girl Soldier

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The dusty desert-damaged rock of All Them Witches made its debut in the KEXP studios earlier this year, and it only underscores how the wait was too long. The long-evolving Nashville outfit's latest album. Sleeping Through The War, is a fiery, gritty LP that's highlighted in this session with Cheryl Waters, where the band discuss the roots of the project, the benefits of all the band's members not living in the same town, and playing a Rhodes strictly because they'd already paid for it. Recorded 5/5/2017 - 5 songs: Am I Going Up?, 3-5-7, Alabaster, Talisman, The Death Of Coyote Woman

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Close Eyes to Exit is the title of the Klangstof's debut album, and listening to their debut session in KEXP's Live Room, it's easy to be inclined to close your eyes and dive into the Amsterdam group's expansive sound. Alternating between echoing post-punk and crashing guitars, the quartet join Larry Rose in the studio to tell their origin story and perform four Close Eyes tracks. Recorded 5/16/2017 - 4 songs: Hostage, Sleaze, Ignore Me, Island

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There are moments during Valerie June's return to KEXP where she steps away from the mic and simply begins dancing to the rhythm, regardless if the song in question is a blues rocker or a sparse, country crawl. Performing four varied tracks from The Order of Time, the Tennessee songwriter and her band bring her astral Americana into the KEXP Live Room with Cheryl Waters and discuss the process of unlocking her “bubble” to get the songs out into the universe.  Recorded 6/2/2017 - 4 songs: Astral Plane, Two Hearts, Shakedown, Got Soul

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The jazz-inflicted, inspirational dub of Jah9 fills the KEXP Live Room with positive energy in this session. The Jamaican singer leads her band, The Dub Treatment, through songs on her new album, 9, and discusses doing improvisational dub soundtracks to yoga class and linking up with Mad Professor to do a dub version of the record in this session with DJ Miss Ashley. Recorded 6/12/2017 - 4 songs: In The Midst, Greatest Threat to the Status Quo, Unafraid, Steamers A Bubble

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Vieux Farka Touré's latest record, Samba, may mean “second boy” in Songhai, but the dazzling guitar work he displays in this session on Wo' Pop is second to none. Playing songs from Samba and paying tribute to his family with his music, Touré brings a snapshot of Mali's rich musical history into the KEXP Live Room.  Recorded 5/2/2017 - 4 songs: Ni Negaba, Missing, Samba Si Kairi, Ba Kaitere

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During her latest session in the KEXP Live Room, Laura Marling speaks of her music in film metaphors when describing her new record, Semper Femina, to Cheryl Waters. The London songwriter's sixth LP has all the touches of a classic film, filed in with rich scenery (a tight, expansive band) and a thick plot (some of her best songs to date) in this exquisite session. Recorded 4/28/2017 - 4 songs: Nothing, Not Nearly, Wild Fire, Next Time, Daisy

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One of the most gorgeous and sweeping sessions recorded in the KEXP Live Room to date, Jóhann Jóhannsson - best known as the soundtrack composer for Arrival, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, among others - leads the American Contemporary Music Ensemble through songs from his latest album, Orphée, and discusses the value of music as a communicative tool in film with Kevin Cole on the Afternoon Show. Recorded 4/20/2017 - 4 songs: A Song for Europa, De Luce Et Umbra, A Sparrow Alighted Upon Our Shoulder, The Drowned World

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“That's all I got,” chuckles Marty Stuart after gliding through a gorgeous, breakneck rendition of “Mississippi Railroad Blues” with His Fabulous Superlatives. Notably affable and even more instrumentally impressive, Stuart runs through cuts from his latest album, Way Out West, and trades stories with Don Slack on a relaxed and dazzling set on Swingin' Doors. Recorded 5/22/2017 - 4 songs: Mississippi Railroad Blues, Whole Lotta Highway (With a Million Miles To Go), Old Mexico, Time Don't Wait

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Twenty two years after its release, Jeremy Enigk's Return of the Frog Queen continues to enrapture with its baroque arrangements and Enigk's inimitable songwriting. Performing four cuts from the album alongside a new song on KEXP's broadcast from the Upstream Music Festival with a full band (including a string quartet), the return of Jeremy Enigk sounds as vibrant as ever. Recorded 5/11/2017 - 4 songs: Abigail Anne, Return Of The Frog Queen, Carnival, Fallen Heart, Ancient Road

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