Episodes
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Thomas Dybdahl ‘My Soul Is On Fire’
Norwegian singer-songwriter Thomas Dybdahl is a longtime KCRW favorite, and his latest album includes “My Soul Is On Fire,” a song that began life as a score piece for a film project. Inspired by a springtime road trip through Norway’s lush highlands, Today's Top Tune finds beauty in nature, as…
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June McDoom ‘Dream Dub’
Raised on the edge of the Everglades, in a Jamaican household in South Florida, a young Alyssa McDoom adopted the stage name June as a way to honor her grandmother. Her father was a soundman and carpenter who built custom sound systems, filling their home with reggae and bass, and her grandfather...
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Instupendo ‘Chance’
Aidan Penn Peterson is the NYC-based, Grammy-nominated producer known as Instupendo. His richly textured electronic pieces always strike a warm balance between the introspective and the transportive. The Philadelphia native's newest single is called "Chance" and features delicate piano, swelling...
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50/50 ‘Memories Linger’
In the late '70s, British duo Richard Haines and David Cowles had a project called 50/50, but their recordings never really saw the light of day. Seattle-based label Light in the Attic is now releasing the band's debut album: a thoughtfully sequenced collection of 12 songs written over the course...
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Dexter Story ‘Beh Jeh Xi’
On T’som, his sixth album, Eritrean-American composer Dexter Story explores fasting as a path to spiritual renewal, weaving Horn of Africa traditions with Middle Eastern sounds and spiritual jazz. “Beh Jeh Xi” offers a window into this expansive vision, where cultural memory, devotion and musical...
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Michael Blake ‘Anatomy of a Murder’
Montreal-born, Vancouver-raised, New York-based saxophonist Michael Blake gives Halloween spooks and mischievous melodies a distinctly jazzy makeover. Joined by pianist Gary Versace, bassist Ben Allison and drummer Michael Sarin, Blake transforms familiar themes by John Carpenter, Duke Ellington...
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Avis Reese ‘Solace’
Rochester, New York's Avis Reese is a self-taught keyboardist and composer who grew up in the church. Best known as a frequent co-writer of fellow Rochester native Danielle Ponder, Avis recently moved to LA to pursue her goal of becoming a film composer. Just out is “Solace”, a piece that evokes...
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Payfone ‘Pamela’
The UK collective Payfone – Phil Passera and April Pittman – strike gold with “Pamela,” a standout from their new EP Lunch, featuring vocalist Barbara Alcindor. A hypnotic, slow-burning groove with an understated sensuality, it evokes the cool, magnetic allure of early ’80s Grace Jones, while...
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Fontaines D.C. ‘Tongue’
On Fontaines D.C.’s Dopamine Chamber, guitars hop in the backseat, allowing for a more synth-fueled, arena-sized sound. Produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Geese, Beth Gibbons) and powered by Grian Chatten’s singular lyricism, the Dublin boys channel their fierce, poetic post-punkery and...
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Fat Dog ‘Snakes’
South London seven-piece Fat Dog return with Cancel Me (I’m Tired), a wild sophomore release that expands their electro-punk into rave bangers, bombastic strings, psychedelia and country-tinged detours. “Snakes” captures their unpredictable reinvention, swapping their usual club-fueled frenzy for...
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Danielle Ponder ‘Laurel Canyon’
In 2022, at the age of 40, Danielle Ponder left her longtime job as a public defender to pursue a career in music. For her debut album, Some Of Us Are Brave, she poured her passion for social justice into her songs. The album established Danielle as one of the most commanding voices in…
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Ferdi ‘jazz sculpture’
Ferdi is a French saxophonist and music producer now based in Brussels. On his new album, The Sound of Art, he reimagines jazz as a contemporary, free-flowing dialogue between musical traditions and other art forms. Blending jazz and classical training with adventurous collaborators, he pushes...
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DJ_Dave ‘Hard Refresh’
This LA-based experimental artist, producer and DJ redefines electronic music through live coding. DJ_Dave treats code as a creative instrument, bypassing traditional DAWs and MIDI controllers, manipulating musical patterns directly through code to trigger every sound and instrument in real time....
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Silvana Estrada ‘Todo Baila’
Mexico's Silvana Estrada is one of the most celebrated voices in Latin American music. Her song “Todo Baila”, written during the pandemic, is a luminous celebration of dancing through life’s joys and sorrows. Featuring M. Ward on vocals and guitar, the song embraces the beauty of moving forward...
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Andy Shauf ‘eyes of them all (demo)’
Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf is one of the greatest songwriters of his generation. His quietly devastating masterpiece album The Party gets a 10th Anniversary Edition treatment that's out today. An intricate portrait of socially awkward partygoers, the album is now expanded with nine…
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The Kilans ‘Oh, Lucy’
Formed just three years ago, the Salt Lake City band The Kilans close their debut album with a song called “Oh, Lucy,” a haunting meditation on death and the potential of eternal love. The band's lead singer and primary songwriter Jack Ongman sings about a lost love, moving between his younger…
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tickertape ‘Crocodile Song’
Fronted by newcomer Joseph Ritchie, Brisbane, Australia's tickertape just dropped their debut EP, a 6-song collection exploring the highs and lows of navigating young adulthood. Our favorite is "Crocodile Song", a jazzy, sunshine-soaked look at love-in-the-works, inspired by Brooklyn's Big Thief...
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Stef Chura ‘Lovesick’
Idiosyncratic indie rocker Stef Chura is a Detroit native whose new album touts an amazing pedigree, with members of Apples in Stereo, Neutral Milk Hotel and Olivia Tremor Control all showing up in one form or another. Currently on tour, opening for Dinosaur Jr., they make a stop this Friday at…
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Andrea Bejar ‘The Shadow of a Killer’
Originally from Cuernavaca, Mexico and now based in Los Angeles, Andrea Bejar grew up singing in her native language and her adopted language, English. In her late teens, as she began writing her own songs, she drew inspiration from Natalia Lafourcade, Phoebe Bridgers and Fleetwood Mac, among...
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Marina Herlop ‘Heladas’
A classically trained pianist, Catalan artist Marina Herlop was spellbound by the power of music at an early age. But once she started writing lyrics, she fell into the idea of inventing her own vocabulary. While writing and finding the melodies, she filled in the gaps with sounds. From there, it...
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Kazdoura ‘Khayal’
Toronto's Kazdoura fuse Syrian and Lebanese musical traditions with psych rock, funk, soul and jazz. Vocalist Leen Hamo is a Syrian war refugee, which explains why their songs explore cultural migration, memory and the feeling of being caught between two places. Their Juno-winning debut Ghoyoum...
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Jim James ‘Lost Child’
On his fifth solo album, his first in eight years, My Morning Jacket's Jim James builds “Lost Child” around a loop of Maxine Brown’s 1964 take on Gerry Goffin and Carole King’s “Oh No Not My Baby.” Soulful and gently shuffling, the song finds James reflecting on feeling lost in a fractured world...
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Carl Stone ‘Figli’
Orchestrator and arranger Arthur Fischl reimagines Carl Stone's glitchy sonic odyssey as an exuberant orchestral work. Created in close collaboration with the composer and performed by the Fischl Fresser Ensemble, the new "Figli" gives us a playful collision of big-band, classical and avant-garde...
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Haruomi Hosono ‘"M" is for Mandala’
Haruomi Hosono is the last surviving member of the pioneering Japanese ensemble Yellow Magic Orchestra. At 79, his 23rd solo album is out today, his first in seven years. KCRW is proud to present his LA stop at the Greek Theatre on Sunday, September 20th, with support from Toro y Moi.
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Babe Rainbow ‘Mangoes’
Australian psych-surfers Babe Rainbow blend ’60s psychedelia and ’70s surf-pop with folk, funk, dub and global grooves. Formed in Byron Bay in 2015, the trio has built a cult following through their playful, sun-soaked sound. We're loving “Mangoes,” from the new album Acid and Honey, with its…
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Steady Holiday ‘New Generation’
Beloved LA singer-songwriter Dre Babinski, aka Steady Holiday, returns with a breezy meditation on the whiplash of new parenthood. Written after becoming a mother, this new single balances tender hopes for a safe world for her child with the exhaustion and upheaval of letting go of her old self....
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Karate Boogaloo ‘Down Home’
The Melbourne instrumental funk collective Karate Boogaloo draws their inspiration from the timeless tunes of Booker T. & the M.G.'s, The Meters, and the J.B.'s, among others. The quartet's latest single, out today, is Down Home, a sultry mid-tempo, bass-driven excursion and it's Today's Top Tune.
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Telemakus ‘Five Hands Pt. 1’
LA-based Indian-American artist and composer Telemakus turns adversity into invention. After being diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, a rare connective tissue disorder, he learned new ways of creating. The resulting album is a hero's journey called Eight Ring Revival, due Oct. 20, and…
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Angus and Julia Stone ‘Karaoke Bar’
Australian siblings Angus & Julia Stone have spent two decades creating intimate, dreamy folk-pop. Their seventh album, Karaoke Bar, was inspired by a night out on the Greek island of Hydra, not far from Leonard Cohen’s former home. Written between late-night sessions and days by the water, the...
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Gang of Youths ‘Things Take Time’
This new song from Australia's Gang of Youths is currently in heavy rotation at the station. Reassuring from the first note, "Things Take Time" is a dreamy amalgam of timeless production and soaring vocals that give us Todd Rundgren vibes. It's a feel-good piece full of rich, melodic optimism…
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Wishy ‘Sensational’
Indianapolis five-piece Wishy bring welcome Breeders-style '90s grunge to their shimmering latest single, a banger called "Sensational". Shredding guitars, jubilant vocals, and even a cowbell take the front seat on the way to a very satisfying chorus. It's all just a taste of what's to come from...
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Memorial ‘The Lightness’
The Brighton-based folk duo Memorial is Jack Watts and Oliver Spalding. Recorded live in the dead of winter at composer Ólafur Arnalds' studio in the heart of Reykjavík, this gently beautiful piece turns up as the closing track on the band's new album Jera, and is co-written by pianist and KCRW...
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Tiny Habits ‘What Do We Do It For’
Boston folk-pop trio Tiny Habits formed during COVID-19 while in school at Berklee. Cinya Khan, Maya Rae, and Judah Mayowa's lush three-part harmonies have won cross-generational praise online and from musical icons such as David Crosby, Phoebe Bridgers, Gracie Abrams and James Taylor. Today's…
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Wyclef Jean ‘Rocinha’
Wyclef Jean rose to fame in the hip-hop collective Fugees, named for his Haitian refugee background. He's had a wildly successful solo career ever since, and his sound remains forever cool. He's just released his first-ever jazz album, dedicated to Quincy Jones. This track is inspired by the…
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Blossom Hill ‘Dancing With the Unknown’
Berlin-based British producer Blossom Hill’s new mini-LP Growing Pains is a meditation on the inevitability of change. Written with longtime collaborator Wilson Bradbury during a seven-day retreat in the Polish mountains, the infectious track "Dancing With the Unknown" declares there is something...
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Gus Dapperton ‘Take Me Out To The Disco’
Growing up in Warwick, New York, Gus Dapperton turned his childhood obsession with music, characters and self-expression into a singular artistic world. Early excursions into hip-hop gave way to the more dreamy, pop-leaning sound that became his signature. His latest, “Take Me Out To The Disco,”...
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Aisha Vaughan ‘The Water (Sasha Remix)’
Welsh singer Aisha Vaughan grew up in a strict household that banned music. She now writes and records her own songs as a form of catharsis and healing, integrating sounds of nature, ethereal vocals and her love of Celtic harp. Today's Top Tune is a brand new remix of her ambient piece "The…
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Anish Kumar ‘Bounty Hunter’
Anish Kumar grew up in the North of England loving Bollywood hits and the edgy UK club scene. His rise from DIY producer to acclaimed DJ happened while still in school, fueled by his super eclectic dance tunes that blended cool jazz, vintage country and Spaghetti Western cues. His latest, AK CUTS...
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pigs on corn ‘Something to Remember Me By’
Years ago, the band Pigs on Corn covered Steve Wynn's song “Something to Remember Me By”, but it never came out because the masters were thought to be lost - until now. Recovered and restored, the song was just released as a tribute to the late KCRW DJ Deirdre O'Donoghue, who was a big champion…
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Ryan Beatty ‘White Lightning’
California native Ryan Beatty first gained attention from his YouTube covers before reinventing himself with the intimate, genre-blurring sound of 2018’s Boy in Jeans - a powerful exploration of youth and sexual identity. On his latest album, Sweet Fortune, the songs are again brazenly honest and...
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Bodega ‘Weather Me’
NYC quintet Bodega is having a great year, buoyed by the stellar singles we've heard from their upcoming album All Inside Aquarium. Often associated with post-punk, the band, led by Ben Hozie and Nikki Belfiglio, has evolved toward a warmer, more melodic sound that still rocks. "Weather Me" is…
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Phoebe Bridgers ‘I Can't Wait’
Hometown favorite Phoebe Bridgers' much-anticipated third solo album, Lost Weekend, is her first in six years. Dedicated to her late father, the album features stellar guest collaborators including Tony Berg, Blake Mills, Ethan Gruska, Jack Antonoff, members of boygenius and Nickel Creek. One of...
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Andrew Sa ‘Your Whisper’
Chicago's Andrew Sa, aka Lonesome Andrew, blends classic country crooner leanings with sincere queer storytelling. His debut album American Rough takes inspiration from the writings of Walt Whitman and Quentin Crisp. Andrew is on the bill for the next School Night, Thursday, August 20th at The...
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My Precious Bunny ‘I Go Up, You Go Down’
My Precious Bunny is the solo project of Lily Wolter of the brother sister indie rock duo Penelope Isles. Originally from The Isle of Man, an island situated midway between the Irish and English coasts, Wolter delivers a debut album that exhilarates - caught between joy and melancholy. Our…
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Angela Autumn ‘Mountain Stream’
Angela Autumn grew up in the Appalachian hills of Western Pennsylvania. Her distinctive half yodel, half hillbilly growl graces her latest single, a surefooted banjo stomp of goodness. The song heralds the coming of her sophomore release, Believer, due on 9/11. It's called Mountain Stream and…
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Tomo Katsurada & Jonny Nash ‘Anone None’
Tomoyuki Katsurada is a founding member of the now defunct Japanese rock band Kikagaku Moyo His latest is a dreamy collaboration with Scottish guitarist Jonny Nash, founder of Melody as Truth, an Amsterdam based record label that specializes in ambient projects. Today's Top Tune is one from their...
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UCHE YARA ‘BODYSCANNER’
KCRW favorite Uche Yara is Austrian born, and Berlin-based. Her electrifying new single explores the constant tension between control and surrender, between dominance and submissiveness. BODYSCANNER thrives on that duality and it's Today's Top Tune.
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Jordan Patterson ‘Cinderella’
Born in North Carolina, and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Jordan Patterson conjures the emotional intensity and conversational tone of 90s Ani Difranco. Her voice commands an audience, and her song "Cinderella" is Today's Top Tune.
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Chinese American Bear ‘Chant (南无阿弥陀佛)’
The Seattle based duo Chinese American Bear is Lingbo Ann Tong and Bryce Barsten. Lingbo is Chinese by birth, and Bryce grew up on a llama farm. Together, they build Mandarin and English lyrics into their kaleidoscopic brand of alt pop. We're loving this hypnotic piece from their latest album Dim...
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Teilz ‘17’
Allie Teilz' origin story starts in Phoenix, Arizona, where she worked at a record store at 13, and booked local shows with her favorite artists by the age of 15. A celebrated career as a DJ followed, and now, with her own music, she continues to explore her fondness for disco and glam rock. Her...
About this show
A free weekday download of standout songs, including advance releases, exclusive live tracks recorded at KCRW, remixes, and an introduction to new artists on our radar.
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