Before we get deeper into another summer of uncertainty mixed with just enough hope to get by, we’re going to take a moment of appreciation for the albums that have carried us through this year so far. As you can expect from KALW Music, this list contains an eclectic mix of artists, spanning continents and genres to reflect our collective tastes. Dive in to discover your new favorite album and tag @kalwmusic on Instagram to tell us what you’ve been loving this year.
Patrick King Most - Tuesdays 10 pm - midnight
Adrian Quesada – “Boleros Psicodelicos”
As Latin music reaches more and more listeners across the U.S., thanks in part to artists like Bad Bunny, those who perform outside of the Reggaeton-meets-pop framework are starting to benefit from the momentum. Case in point: Adrian Quesada and his latest genre-defying album “Boleros Psicodelicos.” Quesada, known for his work with the Black Pumas and Grupo Fantasma, delivers a brooding and hallucinogenic masterclass in psychedelic balladry featuring Latinx vocalists Girl Ultra, Gabriel Garzón-Montano, and others. The album’s macabre organ riffs and fuzz guitar paint vivid pictures of either soul-splitting heartbreak or the Wu-Tang's RZA riding off into the sunset. The trip is your choice.
Emmanuel Nado - Africa Mix, Saturday 6 pm - 8pm
Angelique Kidjo and Ibrahim Maalouf – “Queen of Sheba”
After winning her fifth Grammy Award this April for her album “Mother Nature,” Angélique Kidjo returns with a collaboration with Franco-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf. Titled “Queen of Sheba,” the album revisits the legend of the Nubian queen who, according to legend, ruled Egypt and Ethiopia around 3,000 years ago. She is particularly known for having tested the wisdom of King Solomon by submitting seven riddles to him, riddles that the two artists have transformed into music. Thus, there are seven tracks that make up this opus, each with the answer to the enigmas. The queen constitutes a cultural link between Africa and the Middle East, and the fusion of the two worlds in this album takes us on a journey transcending eras and highlighting the cyclical aspect of life which, despite evolution, still operates according to the same codes. I love this album especially because it is a historical body of work and I love history. The two brilliant artists sparkled on this release.
Oliver Nayoka – “Oka Mmadu”
Nigerian singer and guitarist Oliver Nayoka is a renaissance man who rose to prominence within the country and its diaspora with his resonating vocal and rare heavy guitar expertise. For Nigerian highlife music aficionados, he is a godsend, as the style has almost disappeared from the local scene over the years. After the success of his album “Aja Welewele” (which was on heavy rotation on Africa Mix last year), he recently released a follow-up titled “Oka Mmadu.” The new album is rich in African sounds and highlife reminiscent of the heyday of one of Africa’s most popular ballroom dance music. What I love most is that the album is played with real instruments and not with computed-generated sound. For highlife, it is important to stay true to the music.
JBoogie - Fridays, 10 pm - midnight
Darius – “Oasis”
French beat maestro Darius (aka Terence N’guyen) combines his uniquely chilled beats with guest features from Benny Sings, Wayne Snow, and Duñe. “Oasis” is the fourth EP released via his label Roche Musique, whose outputs have been compared to French touch icons like Cassius and Daft Punk.
Toro Y Moi – “Mahal”
Bay Area beatnik Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi reconnects IRL with real live instrumentation on his expertly crafted seventh album “Mahal” (a Tagalog word that translates to “love”). Featuring collaborations with the likes of Unknown Mortal Orchestra and Salami Rose Joe Louis, this psychedelic offering feels as expansive as its title suggests. We feel the love.
Tshego Letsoalo - Music Content and Digital Manager
Aldous Harding – “Warm Chris”
In a fantastic write-up for NPR Music, Sasha Geffen talks about the multitude of voices that Aldous Harding brings to her latest album “Warm Chris,” showing how vulnerability and authenticity can still exist in these different presentations of oneself because we’re always changing and acting in relation to each other. “Warm Chris” is a journey propelled by piano and fun horns and quirky percussives, taking us into the worlds of the different characters she’s painting with her voice: For “Lawn” her voice is a light and breathy element, then it dips low with wisdom in the lead single “Fever,” before it’s the tone of the wise crone warning about life in album closer “Leathery Whip.” The depth of Geffen’s essay made me appreciate the album even more for its sonic reminder that being true to yourself can mean being true to the multitudes within.
Wet Leg – “Wet Leg”
Every time I hear that rock music is dead, I assume the person making this declaration has lost the ability to hear the sounds of women playing guitar because from where I’m listening, it’s very much alive and well. Wet Leg, for one, is a duo out of the Isle of Wight delivering riffs and licks that call back to when “indie” was interchangeable with punk and bring an energy suited for bodies thrashing about together in a small, sweaty venue. The band’s dynamite self-titled album is also great because of the songwriting. Some of the gems you’ll hear include excellent insults (“When I think about what you’ve become I feel sorry for your mum”); the right amount of tongue-in-cheek (in their viral hit “Chaise Longue” they call an academic degree “the Big D”); and truths about the perils of being a young woman who has to turn down a guy (delivered in a sweetly sung, bass-driven number called “Piece of Sh*t” that ends with a melancholy line about enthusiastic consent).