On the show this time, it’s the Guembri driven Moroccan rock of Bab L’ Bluz.

Bab L’ Bluz is at its core a duo: singer/guitarist Yousra Mansour and producer/guitarist Brice Bottin. A shared love for Moroccan Gnawa music led them to learn how to play the Guembri – a kind of 3 stringed bass instrument – and its smaller relative the Awisha. They started a rock band, using those instruments to take the roles respectively of bass and guitar. They released their first album Nayda! in 2020. Their latest is called Swaken and it is available on Real World Records.

Recorded May 5, 2025

1. Ila Mata
2. Imazighen
3. IWAIWA FUNK
4. AmmA
5. Hezalli 

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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On the show this time, it’s the hook-laden, R&B chill-groove of English electronica producers Maribou State. 

Chris Davids and Liam Ivory have been releasing music as Maribou State since 2011. They grew up just north of London, and started making music together when they met in school. In addition to creating their own music, they have had success as remixers for artists like Lana Del Ray and Fatboy Slim. They’ve built a community of musicians and collaboration is a large part of their process. Their latest offering is their third full-length album, Hallucinating Love, out now via Ninja Tune.

Recorded April 4, 2025

1. Otherside
2. Bloom
3. All I Need
4. Blackoak

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s the hook-laden, R&B chill-groove of English electronica producers Maribou State. 

Chris Davids and Liam Ivory have been releasing music as Maribou State since 2011. They grew up just north of London, and started making music together when they met in school. In addition to creating their own music, they have had success as remixers for artists like Lana Del Ray and Fatboy Slim. They’ve built a community of musicians and collaboration is a large part of their process. Their latest offering is their third full-length album, Hallucinating Love, out now via Ninja Tune.

Recorded April 4, 2025

1. Otherside
2. Bloom
3. All I Need
4. Blackoak

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s motorik psych-rock from a Japanese beach, with maya ongaku.

They hail from the island of Enoshima, famed for a shrine to Buddhist deity Benzaiten. They play long-form psych rock, sometimes meditative, sometimes folky, sometimes jazzy. Their debut Approach to Anima features quiet singing, fingerstyle guitars, ambient recordings of bird calls, acoustic percussion, flute and saxophone, and spoken word. Their latest EP Electronic Phantoms leans more towards drum machines for the rhythm samples, and rich synth-tronica to balance the guitars. Both are available on Guruguru Brain.

Recorded April 8, 2025

1. Anoyo Drive
2. Melting
3. Iyo no Hito 

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s motorik psych-rock from a Japanese beach, with maya ongaku.

They hail from the island of Enoshima, famed for a shrine to Buddhist deity Benzaiten. They play long-form psych rock, sometimes meditative, sometimes folky, sometimes jazzy. Their debut Approach to Anima features quiet singing, fingerstyle guitars, ambient recordings of bird calls, acoustic percussion, flute and saxophone, and spoken word. Their latest EP Electronic Phantoms leans more towards drum machines for the rhythm samples, and rich synth-tronica to balance the guitars. Both are available on Guruguru Brain.

Recorded April 8, 2025

1. Anoyo Drive
2. Melting
3. Iyo no Hito 

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s the northern African desert-blues of Etran de l’Aïr.

The group is a family band from the city of Agadez in Niger, who got their start playing weddings. They play guitar-driven desert blues - made for dancing. They sing in chorus, in Tamasheq, filling the air with glorious celebratory Saharan music. Their latest album is 100% Sahara Guitar available on Sahel Sounds out of Portland Oregon.

Recorded April 7, 2025

1. Ighre Massina
2. Imouwizla
3. Amidinine 
4. Agrim Agadez

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s the northern African desert-blues of Etran de l’Aïr.

The group is a family band from the city of Agadez in Niger, who got their start playing weddings. They play guitar-driven desert blues - made for dancing. They sing in chorus, in Tamasheq, filling the air with glorious celebratory Saharan music. Their latest album is 100% Sahara Guitar available on Sahel Sounds out of Portland Oregon.

Recorded April 7, 2025

1. Ighre Massina
2. Imouwizla
3. Amidinine 
4. Agrim Agadez

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s the danceable singalong punk-rock of Scottish band Franz Ferdinand.

They released their debut single in 2003. They followed it up with “Take Me Out” in early 2004. After a slow start, the song caught on, partly thanks to heavy rotation on MTV. They were awarded the Mercury Prize, and their debut album sold millions of copies. They’ve been on a steady roll since, recently releasing their 6th studio album The Human Fear available through the Domino Recording Company.

Recorded March 23rd, 2025

1. Jacqueline Song
2. No You Girls
3. Black Eyelashes
4. Hooked

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it’s the danceable singalong punk-rock of Scottish band Franz Ferdinand.

They released their debut single in 2003. They followed it up with “Take Me Out” in early 2004. After a slow start, the song caught on, partly thanks to heavy rotation on MTV. They were awarded the Mercury Prize, and their debut album sold millions of copies. They’ve been on a steady roll since, recently releasing their 6th studio album The Human Fear available through the Domino Recording Company.

Recorded March 23rd, 2025

1. Jacqueline Song
2. No You Girls
3. Black Eyelashes
4. Hooked

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it's the heavy-rock of alt-metal pioneers, Helmet.

Helmet was formed in 1989, in New York City. Guitarist Page Hamilton was there to study Jazz at the Manhattan School of Music. He auditioned for and then joined Band of Susans. He brought a few of his own songs to the band, but even though they liked the songs, they were not a fit for the Susans. There was nothing to do but form his own band. We don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that rock music was changed forever. Helmet’s tunings, rhythms, and chord voicings are startlingly original, and easily as heavy as anything that came before or after them. Their most recent album is 2023’s LEFT, released through earMUSIC, and their 2024 covers and live tracks compilation Move On.

Recorded March 5, 2025

1. Wilma's Rainbow
2. Repetition
3. Dislocated
4. Milquetoast

Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.