LA-native songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Kowloon will soon deliver his sophomore album. His latest track finds him stepping into a sound that plucks from 80’s new wave, to African Highlife — intertwining his dulcet tones into a bopping beat on “Heart Begins With You.” 

Mexican band Karen y Los Remedios stir cumbia and downtempo sound together into their own heady blend. Their 2023 album Silencio — an exploration of epiphanies that come from sitting with silence — caught the ear of fans and critics alike, and now has a remix issue that includes “Las Muchachas,” reworked here by Mexican Institute of Sound. 

It’s been seven years since we last got new music from Benjamin Booker, but don’t despair — a new album is on the way! Lower is out January 24, with the first taste being “Same Kind Of Lonely,” a track full of fuzzy guitars and whispered singing. Benjamin says: “I was thinking a lot about existence and the natural world — how things that start off so beautiful are often twisted into something unsettling or sinister. Maybe the disconnect between the natural state of things and the modified state of things is the source of a lot of pain, suffering, and loneliness in the world.”

Amayo, the Nigerian-born former frontman for Afrobeat collective Antibalas, strikes out on his own with his debut solo album, Lion Awakes, out January 17. The record is dedicated to his grandmother, a shamamic medicine woman, and Amayo’s Kung Fu practice. “Black Magic Sister” offers up a chorus of voices which Amayo says is, “about offering blessings for an abundant mindset. It’s also a prayer for twins and a wish for those who lost close ones.” 

It’s the last day of the year, and what better way to celebrate the end of 2o24 and the rise of 2025 than with LA-based artist Declan McKenna, who started his own new chapter this year by taking control of his music by self-releasing his recordings. Let’s pop the cork on “Champagne.” 

One of our favorite musicians and producers, Tom Misch, has recently unveiled his new EP, Six Songs. A master at R&B-infused, smooth, soulful melodies, we share “Colourblind” featuring Loyle Carner.

Brazilian native Rogê has been referred to as LA’s samba king, shedding new light on a classic sound. Joyous and sunny, “A Força,” or “strength” in english, is off his new Latin Grammy-nominated album Curyman II. 

KCRW shared a copious amount of new music with you in 2024. One of the bands that we fell in love with and might still be just a tinge under the radar is the Chicago-based indie rock trio Dehd. After a banner year, including their debut on Morning Becomes Eclectic and their HQ courtyard performance at Summer Nights, we’re spotlighting “Magician,” a track they will be sure to perform throughout the world as they tour in 2025. 

Brooklyn electronic artist bad tuner enjoys blurring the lines between genres and shifting gears unexpectedly. On this Christmas day, we share the joyful, infectious, retro sound of “make you love” to get you and Santa dancing. 

Tank & The Bangas are up for Best Spoken Word Poetry at the Grammys this year for their album The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, with each song a chapter chronicling the powerful journey of Black womanhood. 

“I want for poetry to get that much more respect and for even more young people to get into the expression of poetry,” Tank expresses. “I want it to be seen as even more cool again. Poetry has always been my first love because it loved me back, it loved me before music even.” We’ll let the words flow on “Ghetto Earth.”