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PODCAST

A Deeper Listen

On A Deeper Listen, host Emily Fox and other storytellers from KEXP talk with artists about the stories behind their songs and the experiences that inform their work. Through each conversation, we uncover the humanity behind the music, allowing us to hear it in a whole new way.

music music interviews

All Episodes

18:59

Car Seat Headrest Delivers the Next Big Rock Opera

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/08/26

Will Toledo, vocalist for Seattle-based Car Seat Headrest, wanted the band’s latest release to be a concept album in the tradition of a rock opera. The Scholars delivers just that: strong storytelling within each of its nine tracks, inventing characters in a “fictional America,” attesting to the human search for meaning inside and outside of ourselves. Toledo stopped by KEXP earlier this year to speak with Midday Host Cheryl Waters. He opens up about going back on tour after

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36:17

Seiji Oda's "Lo-Fi Hyphy" Tribute to the Bay Area

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/08/19

Seiji Oda pays respect to his Oakland roots in his 2025 album HUMAN + NATURE. He not only samples Bay Area titans like Mac Dre and Trunk Boiz — the record also features numerous collaborations with local artists making waves in the scene today, like the producer ClayDough. KEXP’s Dusty Henry spoke with Oda about his signature “lofi hyphy” sound, blending raw nature sounds with party-ready beats. “Starting with the natural environment first, I’m like,

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42:20

Open Mike Eagle on Divorce, Sears Catalogues, and...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/08/12

Open Mike Eagle’s tenth studio album,Neighborhood Gods Unlimited, continues the rap legacy that he started in the late 2000s when he cofounded the trio Thirsty Fish. From there, he made a bigger name for himself as a solo artist, starting with his 2010 debut,Unapologetic Art Rap. Along the way, he even appeared in the cartoonAdventure Timeas a rapping gingerbread cookie. On top of his music career, Open Mike Eagle has also started multiple multimedia endeavors, like the artist collective

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45:14

Den Tapes Celebrates 10 Years of Seattle Music with...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/08/05

When Kay Redden moved to Seattle from Garland, Texas, she made it her mission to connect with her newly adopted home through music. So, in searching for meaning after mother’s death in April 2015, she launched Den Tapes, spending countless hours hand-dubbing cassettes. It wasn’t long before local bands gravitated toward her down-to-earth, community-oriented approach to music distribution. This year, she’s marking the label’s tenth birthday with a compilation titled What Else

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16:15

White Lotus Actor Michael Imperioli on Lou Reed,...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/29

Michael Imperioli, the actor known for his roles in The Sopranos and The White Lotus, is also the guitarist of a three-piece indie band called Zopa. Their latest album, Diamond Vehicle, came out in early 2025. KEXP’s Martin Douglas spoke with Imperioli about how he started playing music, the influence of Buddhism in his songwriting, and his fondness of The Beatles, Lou Reed, and The Smiths. “When you play with people for a long time, hopefully something gels,” Imperioli says of

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29:44

Bonus: Wu-Tang’s Final Chamber

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/24

July 18, 2025 was the last day of Wu-Tang Clan’s farewell concert tour, The Final Chamber. One of their stops was at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, where KEXP’s Dusty Henry, Martin Douglas, and Larry Mizell, Jr. rapped alongside thousands of fans. We recap the concert and pay tribute to the group’s decades-long legacy. “Wu-Tang Clan is our generation’s equivalent of the Beatles — it’s not even close,” Martin asserts in the conversation

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30:59

Marlon Williams Amplifies Te Reo Maori in Dynamic New...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/22

Marlon Williams, singer-songwriter from New Zealand, uses his deep vibrato on more than a dozen new original songs written entirely in the Indigenous language Te Reo Maori. It was a years-long endeavor, with songs featuring collaborators like KOMMI and Lorde. KEXP contributor Celine Teo-Blockey spoke with Williams in Sydney, Australia last month. He was attending the premiere of the album’s accompanying documentary, Marlon Williams: Ngā Ao E Rua – Two Worlds. “A big goal for the

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19:35

Artificial Go Answers a Toddler’s Burning Questions

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/15

Cincinnati-based trio Artificial Go released their sophomore album,Musical Chairs, in May 2025. Their blend of post-punk riffs, danceable rhythms, and faux British accents has made them one of the most exciting groups on the scene. During their live shows, singer Angie Willcut wears a marching band uniform and literally marches around the audience. Their patently unserious attitude is exactly what we need right now. KEXP’s Dusty Henry teams up with his 3-year-old daughter to drill down on the

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22:54

Bonus: “Waiting for Britney Spears” and Jeff Weiss’...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/10

Music journalist Jeff Weiss recently wrote a book titled Waiting for Britney Spears, documenting the pop stars rise and fall from the public eye. But the book isn’t a historical account, it’s an “allegedly true” story that blurs fact and fiction, putting Weiss himself in the middle of the action. His writing takes a playful tabloid-style tone — a commentary on the tabloid-style news that moved her story along and his own experience working in that industry. KEXP’s

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31:06

Sea Lemon’s Shoegaze Captivates Ben Gibbard, Seattle,...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/08

Natalie Lew, also known as Sea Lemon, released her debut albumDiving for a Prizein June 2025 on Luminelle Recordings. Across 12 songs, reverb-heavy guitars wash underneath vocals that allude to made-up stories and unhealthy obsessions. For example, “Stay” draws inspiration from the real-life antics of an elderly security guard at a thrift store while “Rear View” pulls from Lew’s original fiction about a naive baseball player’s failing career. She proudly likens

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40:00

Meet Carl the Collector, the PBS Kids Show with...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/07/01

Max Perla and Vincent John make up Eraserhood Sound, the duo that scores the animated PBS Kids series Carl the Collector. In the spirit of Vince Guaraldi’s signature sound in Peanuts cartoons, show creator Zach Ohora says that Eraserhood’s “synth and soul” formula provides the perfect soundscape for the everyday happenings of an autistic raccoon and his neurodiverse friend group in Fuzzytown. KEXP’s Roddy Nikpour spoke with Perla, John, and Ohora to learn more about the

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27:44

“Youth Revolution Now”: Sharp Pins on Chicago’s DIY...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/06/24

Sharp Pins is the solo project of 20-year-old Kai Slater, who also runs a zine called Hallogallo. Based in Chicago, he started the zine during the height of the coronavirus pandemic as a teenager, overwhelmed and frustrated with a life dominated by screens. So, both his music and zine are analog, made with tape recorders, photo copiers, and type writers. KEXP’s Dusty Henry talks with Slater about his music and the thriving DIY scene in Chicago. “The way that you remain young is by

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25:52

Outer Spaceways Incorporated Honors Sun Ra’s Cosmic...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/06/17

The Kronos Quartet — founded in Seattle, now based in San Francisco — has shaped modern classical music for more than 50 years. Their 2024 album Outer Spaceways Incorporatedreimagines the work of the trailblazing American jazz pianist, Sun Ra, featuring covers and collaborations with artists like Jlin, Armand Hammer, and others. In addition to recorded testimonials from Laraaji, Georgia Anne Muldrow, and longtime Arkestra leader Marshall Allen, KEXP’s Larry Mizell, Jr. spoke with

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28:45

The Revival of Panchiko, a '90s “Lostwave” Band

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/06/10

Owain Davies received a message from a stranger in 2020 asking if he might have been the singer of a band called Panchiko more than two decades ago. As it turns out, he was — but they never put their music online. They just had seven demo tracks on CDs, but Panchiko never really broke out of their scene in central England at the time. Fast forward to 2025: Panchiko is back in action with their second album since the band’s revival, Ginkgo, out on Nettwerk Music Group. Now, thanks to a

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40:15

Tune-Yards: “I don't need hope. I need wonder and a...

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/06/03

Merrill Garbus says the lyrics simply poured out of her mouth on several tracks for the new Tune-Yards album,Better Dreaming. This time, she and her partner Nate Brenner trusted their gut more in the writing process. The record is heavily inspired by current events domestically and abroad, the ongoing fight for LGBTQ+ rights, and unexpected lessons from unexpectedly becoming a parent. “I'm not a maker of sad music generally,” Garbus says in the interview. “My general take on music

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18:07

Hiro Ama Creates Peace with a 1980s Japanese Synthesizer

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/05/27

Hiro Ama, born in Japan and based in London, plays drums in the indie pop band Teleman. In late 2024, he released his debut solo album,Music for Peace and Harmony,which leans heavily into the sounds of a 1980s Japanese synthesizer called Waraku, which literally means “peace and harmony” in Japanese. KEXP's Dusty Henry spoke with him shortly after the release. “I used to be quite a perfectionist,” Ama says in the interview. “Then again, when you listen to old jazz

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20:00

World Goth Day Cofounder: “Anyone Is Welcome”

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/05/22

In this bonus episode, we hear from Martin Oldgoth, cofounder ofWorld Goth Day, in conversation with Sharlese, host of Mechanical Breakdown, about the holiday’s origin in 2009. What started as a sort of joke on BBC Radio 6 Music rapidly spread across the world as a celebration of goth culture, which is constantly evolving. And, no, you don’t have to wear black. “The goth scene is very inclusive,” Oldgoth says in the interview. “There are no rules. If someone tells you,

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40:00

Suzzallo’s Loud Grief on The Quiet Year

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/05/20

Seattle-based musician Rocky Votolato has formed a new band called Suzzallo, who put out their debut albumThe Quiet Yearearlier this year on Thirty Something Records. Through loud guitars and cathartic screaming, Suzzallo offers an outlet to help him grieve the loss of his child, Kienan, who died in a car accident in 2021. “Without a way to express this pain, it probably would have killed me,” Votolato says in the interview. “Being able to turn it into this rock band and all this

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39:30

Dead Pioneers Confront the American Dream

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/05/13

Denver-based punk group Dead Pioneers recently released their second album,PO$T AMERICAN, on Hassle Records. They’ve been opening for Pearl Jam on their U.S. tour this spring. KEXP’s Dusty Henry caught up with lead vocalist Gregg Deal to discuss the band’s rapid success, how their new album portrays disillusionment with modern America, and how the band reclaims and recontextualizes Indigenous representation seen in media – from Dances with WolvesthroughOne Flew Over the

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8:58

Vegas Sober & 8 Months Pregnant for Pitbull

A Deeper Listen ·

2025/05/06

Emily Fox, host of A Deeper Listen and Sound & Vision, is taking maternity leave form now until the fall. Before she left, shared an essay about why she went to Las Vegas sober and 8 months pregnant to see Pitbull in concert and why she thinks Pitbull deserves “a deeper listen.” Best wishes to Emily and her family! In the meantime, the A Deeper Listen feed will continue to stay active with stories from the editorial team and guest host Roddy Nikpour. Keep it tuned in here and thanks

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