Get to know KEXP: the indie radio station putting out sweet in-studio sessions
- Text by Joshua Gabert-Doyon
From under-the-radar college bands to more mainstream festival hoppers, KEXP’s cramped studio is a music mecca. The independent radio station out of Seattle has perfected the art of in-studio sessions: high-quality videos of artists playing intimate, no-bullshit sets. Started by students at the University of Washington in 1972, the station showcases some of the best acts playing today.
KEXP’s speciality, as you might have guessed from a station in the Pacific Northwest, is alt rock and punk. But the station covers a variety of genres and has consistently solid performances from a mind-boggling number of artists. The sessions are well mixed, well filmed, and released almost every day.
Bands frequently use KEXP as a testing ground for new material. College radio stations offer a space for smaller bands to gain exposure even in an informal setting. The videos are stripped down: mostly just black studio walls and minimal banter, KEXP steps aside to let the bands do what they do. The West Coast station has become a pillar in independent music in the U.S. Supporting local acts and bands passing through Seattle, spinning them on the radio and releasing the videos online. Their Youtube channel has become an index of underground music in the States.
Bands frequently use KEXP as a testing ground for new material. College radio stations offer a space for smaller bands to gain exposure in an informal setting. The videos are stripped down: mostly just black studio walls and minimal banter, KEXP steps aside to let the bands do what they do.
The West Coast station has become a pillar of independent music in the States, supporting local acts and bands passing through Seattle, spinning them on the radio and releasing the videos online. Their YouTube channel has become an index of underground music in the States.
Here are some of our favourite performances from KEXP’s live in-studio sessions:
The Internet
Parquet Courts
Chastity Belt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkQomq_rgK4
FIDLAR
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0X4U96OnpA
DARKSIDE
Savages
Enjoyed this article? Like Huck on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
Latest on Huck
An unnerving portrait of the USA’s fractured society
A new photobook explores America’s increasing inequality, division and toxic culture wars in a historic election year.
Written by: Isaac Muk
“Music can save you for a day”: Touché Amoré on social media and subcultures
To celebrate a new album and reflect on a decade and a half of being themselves, frontman Jeremy Bolm chats about opening up via lyrics, subcultures in the internet age, and the hardcore re-revival.
Written by: Isaac Muk
Meet the Paratriathlete who cheated death twice
A near fatal training crash ruined British Paralympian George Peasgood’s Paris 2024 plans. As he recovers, his life and outlook are changing – will LA 2028 be part of his future?
Written by: Sheridan Wilbur
A glimpse of life for women in Afghanistan under Taliban rule
‘NO WOMAN’S LAND’ has been awarded the prestigious 14th Carmignac Photojournalism Award and will be exhibited at the Réfectoire des Cordelieres in Paris this autumn.
Written by: Isaac Muk
In Photos: A decade growing up in pre-gentrification Lower East Side
A new photobook provides an up-close-and-personal look at the life of a Puerto Rican family, documenting them growing up as the world changed around them.
Written by: Isaac Muk
This summer taught us everything is... marketing
Months of historic political violence, memes, auras, and, of course, ‘brat’ has newsletter columnist Emma Garland asking if anything is real anymore?
Written by: Emma Garland