The Key: At South By Southwest this year, you were playing a lot of More Parts Per Million because it got reissued on Sub Pop, right?

Kathy Foster: Right, it was its ten-year anniversary in March. We thought about doing the album in its entirety, but we had just decided to do sets that were a mix of that record of the new record. We re-learned all the songs from More Parts. I don’t know that there were any shows where we played every single song from that record, but we played a lot of it.

TK: Has that kept up into this tour?

KF: No, now we’re just mixing them all up. But there are a lot of songs from that first record.

TK: When I read that you were doing that, it took me a little bit by surprise. It’s like wow, ten years ago. I kind of still think of The Thermals as that cool band that I just saw at Macrock…in 2003.

KF: Yeah! [laughs] Oh my god…

TK: How has it been for you, does it feel like ten years?

KF: It doesn’t feel like ten years. It’s gone by quick. But then when I think about all the things we’ve done, it’s about ten years’ worth of stuff. But we certainly don’t feel ten years older.

TK: Is it different for you revisiting the material that you wrote earlier on in your bandhood?

KF: Well our new record has kind of the same energy to us, similar to the first few records. So we just noticed how ass-kicking it was playing the first record and the newest record together, it was a really tiring set. Especially for Hutch, ‘cause all the songs on the first record, there’s not a lot of rests in his singing. He’s kind of just shouting the whole time. And the new one, the songs are really fast and energetic, so he’s just like wooaah. He was out of breath a lot.

TK: Desperate Ground does have that feeling, though, it feels more raw. Not Fuckin A raw, but compared to how Now We Can See or Personal Life were polished, this one feels really in the moment and kind of hearkens back to that earlier sound. Is that something you were going for when you recorded it?

KF: Yeah! Its’ funny because they were both done in studios of kind of the same caliber with people who are really good at what they do – Chris Walla and John Agnello. Both are recorded so we can play them live and feel like nothing’s missing, so we don’t do a lot of overdubs or anything. I think it was kind of the nature of the songs on Personal Life that makes them sound more polished. They’re a little more spacious, we purposely wrote some songs where Hutch wasn’t strumming the whole time; he wanted to he wanted to play guitar lines. So I think the space in those songs makes them polished, we didn’t do anything to them to make them fancy. These songs are back to a lot of the simple strumming chords, loud and faster songs. We gave John demos of the songs that we made on four-track, and we feel like he just made a better-sounding lo-fi recording.

TK: That’s a really good way of describing it!

KF: And we were really into that. And kind of the same, he records very simply, not a lot of fancy stuff, and we got to work really quickly. We actually tracked two songs and Hutch sang on them on the first day, which never happens. Usually it takes a while to get set up and get sounds.

TK: Lyrics and themes are a very important part of The Thermals – they feel like they come from a very specific perspective, but they’re also written to be loose and open for interpretation. Are the lyrics a collaborative effort, or is it all Hutch?

KF: Yeah, that’s all Hutch. And we’re such close friends, we work together and have been friends for a long time that I feel comfortable giving him my input on it, and he’s comfortable accepting that. I feel like that helps him, not write the lyrics, but I’ll tell him “I don’t know how I feel about this line,” or “maybe there’s a better way to say this” and he kind of takes that and works harder on it. But also on his own, he works harder on the lyrics, typically he’ll write them over and over. On this record he wrote a whole song’s worth of lyrics and threw them away and started over. He works really hard on getting it down and I’ve always really loved his writing, and I’m always really excited to see what happens. It’s an exciting process.

TK: There’s also the music , which is such a strong compliment to the lyrics. Is there a part of the process where he sits you guys down and is like “Okay, Kathy, Westin, this is what I’m writing a lyrics about, let’s make music that goes to it.” Or do you not need to know exactly what it’s about?

KF: It actually doesn’t even start that way. It starts with us jamming and writing music. And then as we’re shaping up a song or two, he’ll start getting lyrical ideas. Sometimes he’ll start singing as we’re jamming it or practicing it, and then right away we’ll start getting a sense of the melody at least, or the singing. But it’s not like “What are you singing about?” right away; he’ll start getting an idea, start writing lyrics for one song, and he’ll like where that’s going and make it a theme, or he’ll write something else. And as it’s shaping up for first new songs, that’s when we start talking about it. It’s kind of this fun organic process.

TK: You’ve got some great music videos for this new record, most recently “The Sunset” – which, being from Philly, I love because it’s got the whole Rocky homage. In addition to a few other films. Are you fans of Rocky?

KF: Hutch and I had an idea to make a boxing video several years ago. And I had never seen Rocky, so we watched it. So there’s definitely inspiration from the frist Rocky, and Raging Bull, and the opening credits of Do the Right Thing where Rosie Perez is dancing and boxing. So all the training part of it, for sure, was Rocky…and in the ring.

TK: Did you film it just around Portland?

KF: Yeah, Hutch was researching what boxing rings were in Portland. And he found one that just opened a few months ago by this woman Molly McConnell, who’s a professional boxer. She opened her own gym a few months ago, so I got a private lesson from her, like a two-hour lesson. And that’s the first time I ever boxed or anything. And that was super fun, and tiring, and she showed me all the different punches and all the different and blocks. And we went over combos of punching and blocking, and we sparred at the end of it.

TK: Wow.

KF: Yeah, it was awesome. I was so sore for four days at the end of it. And then we talked to her about filming there. She and her wife run the place, and they were super nice. And they had the boxing ring that’s in the video, it was filmed in there for the training part. And the boxing stuff.

TK: Did any of it wear off between the lesson and the shoot? Or did you pretty much retain it?

KF: I feel like I remembered a lot of it. I wanted to do more -she gave fitness classes too, and there was a couple weeks between the lesson and the training – but I didn’t end up getting to train as much as I wanted to. I feel like I retained a lot of it, and I feel like I’m pretty athletic. I kind of get it.

TK: The “Born to Kill” video was also cinematic – it has the Reservoir Dogs thing going on. Do you guys have an interest in film on the side that you decided to bring to these videos?

KF: As we were writing this record, it started feeling very cinematic to us. The imagery we get from Hutch’s lyrics as we started talking about it, it seemed like an action movie as an album. It’s entertaining, it’s violent, it’s about war, but it’s not a statement about anything. It’s like if you watch Die Hard or Predator or something. It’s just kind of this violent entertainment. So we were thinking about that, it’s an action movie and stuff, and we thought we’d do that with the videos too – make little movies for the songs, since we were getting all this imagery in our head as we were writing. We’ve wanted to do that for a long time – we have ideas for videos, we joke around, but we never had the means to make it. If you want to work with a director, they usually want to just do their idea, and if they do your idea, it never turns out the way you pictured. We wanted to do our idea, and we had a friend in Portland who’s making his own film, he’s just getting into film, and we asked him since we knew he’d be willing to just do our idea. So he directed it, shot it with our other friends, and it worked out really well – there’s three of us, three of them, this small little team running around in Portland. We didn’t need to plan anything; “Born to Kill” is in this outdoor hiking park, we went off the trail and into the trees. No one was around, we didn’t ask anyone’s permission or anything, no one bothered us. “Born to Kill” was loose, we had some shots we wanted to get and a loose idea of a plot. That helped us plan more for “The Sunset,” which was more planned out.

TK: At the very end of “The Sunset” you’re running up steps. In Rocky, he runs up the steps to the Philadelphia Museum of Art – what are you running up to? It looks like a subway station or an el train station, there’s a sign that says Burnside?

KF: Burnside is a bridge. Portland doesn’t have a subway, but it has five bridges. There’s a river that runs down the center of it that separates east and west. West Side is downtown, East Side is kind of where everybody lives. And Burnside is the center, it separates north and south. So when you come up the stairs, and you’re kind of in the middle of that bridge…so that’s actually the center point of Portland right there. We wanted to find a cool building like in Rocky, but we couldn’t find a place that had that many steps. [laughs] So there’s this esplanade, this long path that goes along the river where people jog and ride their bikes and walk. So where I’m running and doing situps and stuff, that’s right there. And then we went up the stairs, and it’s this straight, steep staircase, and then it’s cool that you can see the Burnside sign. It’s a very Portland thing.

TK: You’ve played drums in another Portland band I like a lot, All Girl Summer Fun Band. Is that band still active?

KF: We’re not super active. I don’t know if we’ll do anything else. When we made the last record, we became a three-piece – Ari [Douangpanya] had a baby, had left the band. The other two girls also had the kids. So everyone’s really busy and can’t really tour. Also, Kim [Baxter] started her own solo band, which also self-released an album that’s great. And I do a lot with The Thermals, so everyone’s busy. But I also started another band in Portland called Hurry Up, and that’s me and Westin who plays drums in the Thermals, and Maggie Vail, who used to work at Kill Rock Stars and used to be in Bangs. She plays bass and sings, Westin plays guitar and sing, and I play drums and sing a bit. It’s fun, super punk.

TK: What’s it like playing drums versus bass? Not only switching between rhythm section instruments, but different types of rhythm section instruments.

KF: It’s fun, drums are my first instrument. They’re the first I started learning when I was 16 until I got a guitar. I also got a four-track early on, so I’d record my own songs – which is where I kind of started playing bass, on the low e string of the guitar. And I’m not left handed, but I play left handed guitar and bass. In All Girl Summer Fun Band, we’d switch instruments around on some songs, and I’d take the bass and just play it upside down. I’d play it here and there, but it was never my main instrument. When The Thermals started up – that first record, Hutch played everything on it, a four-track recording where he made CDs for friends. That’s how it made its way to Sub Pop – our friend Ben is friends with Ben Gibbard, who was doing The Postal Service at the time, so he passed it to the label and they got in touch with us: “What’s up with this band The Thermals?” And it wasn’t a band, it was just Hutch’s recording. So we were like “Uh, yeah, we’re a band!” We made the band because Sub Pop asked about it. I initially thought about playing drums, but didn’t know if I’d have the stamina for it. So our friend Jordan played drums, and I played bass. At first I didn’t want to, because I didn’t want to be the quote-unquote girl bassist. [laughs] And then I decided okay, I’ll get really good at it. But I like the variety of playing multiple instruments, and I missed playing drums often, so I wanted to start another band where I played drums.

TK: One of my favorite Philly bands, Hop Along, is opening for you in Philly and New York. How did you connect?

KF: We didn’t know them, but since we weren’t touring with anyone, we wanted to be involved in who was going to play with us. Cause sometimes we get bands that don’t fit. Sometimes we get paired with these super mellow bands, and it’s like “Why??” [laughs] We want people to get excited about the show, not be put to sleep right before we’re going to play. So Hop Along came highly recommended by multiple people, so we’re excited to play with them and check them out!

TK: Any thing else you’d like to say?

KF: I’m excited to come back to Philly. We always have super fun shows there and this is the first time in a while that we’re not playing at the Church. So I’m excited to check out a new venue and hopefully people will be excited to come there. We’ve had some pretty crazy shows at the Church so hopefully people will bring their energy, cause we’ll be bringing ours!

TK: Awesome! Can’t wait.

The Thermals play Union Transfer Saturday, May 25 with Hop Along and Cayetana. Tickets and information for the all ages show can be found at the venue’s website.

Major Lazer’s new album, Free The Universe, is out now. They play the Mad Decent Block Party on Saturday, July 27.

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis play the Roots Picnic on Saturday, June 1. Tickets here.

Photo by Terri Loewenthal

Pre-order Nightingale Floors here.

The guys of Market East clearly have a thing for the warmer months of the year. There was “Marielle,” the rhapsody over cherry red lips and beach afternoons that opens their debut EP (check it out performed for Out of Town Films here). There are the languid, easygoing arrangements and breezy Brian Wilson-style vocal harmonies that pepper their songs. And now their is Children of Summer, their new EP and a sonic step forward for the trio of Kurt Cain-Walther (vocals), Max Perla (vocals, drums) and Vincent John (vocals, guitar). The EP gets its official release next month and celebrates on June 8th at MilkBoy with a stacked lineup; Joey Sweeney and the Long Hair Arkestra, Night Panther, Mohican and Former Belle. Last week, while the Non-COMMvention was raging at WXPN HQ, we took the Key Studio Sessions on location to Studio A in South Philly to record a few live tracks with Market East. Two of the performances you hear below are new tracks from the forthcoming EP – you’ll recognize “Evergreen” from our premiere the other week – and one is a cover that needs no introduction. Listen to the tunes below, and get the details on Market East’s album release show here.

Photo from BBC Radio 6

Tomorrow brings the official release of the album the internet has been eagerly anticipating since a 16-second ad aired without fanfare during a March episode of SNL. Random Access Memories, the latest from French discotronic duo Daft Punk, has been streaming on iTunes since last Wednesday, and its lead single – the pop earworm “Get Lucky,” sung by the ever-charismatic Pharrell – has been bumping the XPN airwaves since last month.

But what about the album beyond that? There’s a lot of hype and excitement in the air for it, but hype doesn’t always equate to quality. Sure, the duo of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter released the trend-setting 1997 album Homework and the irresistible Discovery in 2001. And yeah, James Murphy name-checked them in that song title that one time. But less discussed is the uneven 2005 effort Human After All, or the Tron soundtrack.

Does Random Access Memories hold up? Is it a new chapter in dance music and a return to glory for these mysteriously helmet-clad techno-heads? Or is it a bunch of bluster that will breeze away with the next album-of-the-minute? We asked a handful of Philly’s own electronic music heads – from Chris Powell of Spaceship Aloha and Man Man to DJ Apt One- for their thoughts on Random Access Memories, and got a variety of responses. Check them out below.

Les Professionnels

Drew Kramer, Les Professionnels: So we sat around and listened to Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories like 4 times while drinking two pots of coffee.We couldn’t agree on anything except for the fact that the coffee was amazing but here’s our gut reactions…
Dan: “It’s pretty amazing and then there is Pharrell.”
Drew: “This is a great live album from a group who has already mastered sampling.”
Chris: “I think I heard this track at the end of a Dawson’s Creek episode or when I was casually browsing Boscovs.”
Allthough this is not the album we we were expecting, we are excited and curious to see how it will be received by the masses and what effect, if any, it will have on the current state of electronic music.

Chris Powell performs with Man Man | Photo by Laura Jane Brubaker

Chris Powell, Spaceship Aloha / Man Man: “Doin’ It Right” is a rad track and the only other memorable one for me along with the single “Get Lucky.” “Doin’ It Right” has been on repeat here all night.
The rest? Hmmmmmm…..
WAY too much noodling throughout. Drum solo? No thanks. Yikes!
Not feeling the acoustic drum sounds on it at all. Some of the other synths and production stuff sound great though!
The Steely Dan-sounding track was a nice surprise.
I really appreciate what they’re going for though I think it could have been presented less as a Daft Punk record and more of a ‘Daft Punk presents’ or some ish.
Maybe it’s just all the hype around it that put an uneasy pressure on it totally delivering.
I like the band’s previous records a lot. This one just didn’t sit right overall for me on first listen.
Oh well! Hoping that the new Arrested Development season makes it all better!

Thomas Crystal of Work Drugs

Thomas Crystal, Work Drugs: We can definitely hear some of the AM Gold tendencies on the record – what with the Paul Williams cut – “Touch”, and “The Game of Love.” Giorgio did what he does best, and I’m happy to see that it wasn’t too much of a departure from his classic songwriting and production work. All of the Nile Rodgers tracks are great – and its so cool that Daft Punk unabashedly went after their influences. The fact is, these guys are the current tastemakers, and they are tapping a lot of old hats as an homage/ tribute or whatever you want to call it, I’m all for it. If there is a chance that groove-based music can slip back into the mainstream, I’m all for it. If anybody can do it, its gotta be Daft Punk.

City Rain

DJ Dave P: I’m not very into it. Especially with all the hype and excessive promo around it. Also…they couldn’t be more wrong in their opinions of dance music and electronic music at the moment. I like the Panda Bear track though.

Ben Runyan, City Rain: A complete snoozefest bordering on easy-listening lets up with a gem of a Daft Punk tune in “Doin’ It Right.” This album feels more like an ambient B-Side album ala Moby than a full throttle effort from the French. They are surviving on legend alone.

DJ Apt One: I am pretty sympathetic to the philosophy behind this album – the idea of bringing craftsmanship back to dance music in the digital age.  I have been trying to work instrumentation back into digitally produced music for a few years now.  I think it’s good that they are using their pulpit to express their ideas about music and it’s a relief that they didn’t try to deliver Discovery 2.0, which is what most people wanted. However, I’m not sure this record doesn’t come off as self-indulgent or simply contrary. Time is going to dictate that.

DJ Apt One

Obviously, a guy like me who will put on Gregg Diamond Bionic Boogie (look it up) in his spare time is not going to complain when somebody makes a jazz-disco-funk record that will get radio play in 2013.  I think there are some really good tunes on there (“Lose Yourself to Dance”, “Instant Crush”), but there are also some really schmaltzy tunes on there that really show their French-ness (jangly disco cabaret anybody?).  Also, the production sensibility is kind of boring – lots of plodding drums and uninspired instrumentation.
I honestly think that these guys got a bit out of their depth by trying to produce a fully instrumental record – you can hear what this could have been on the tracks with Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder – when there is a really seasoned old-school producer/composer and some ridiculous musicians in the room this thing really works.  When you’re listening to five minutes of AM Gold with no drum fills, it’s shaky – half of the value in that school of music was the virtuosity of the musicians, and these guys don’t have the chops.

Bonus Material: when that sixteen-second snipped aired back in March, Apt One got super hype and tried to imagine / predict what the finished song would sound like. Listen to his crystal ball take on “Get Lucky” below.

Purchase Shruggy Ji here.

Photo by Mathiew Zazzo

Singer, actress and model Lou Doillon is the half-sister of Charlotte Gainsbourg; her father being director Jacques Doillon and her mother actress and singer Jane Birkin. Doillon will release her debut album, Places, on June 18 on Verve Records. Doillon’s album showcases her frank, honest and warm voice. The songs on her debut are stunning and striking, and recall the work of Karen Ann and Cat Power. Below, download “ICU,” and watch the video for another song on the album, “Devil or Angel.”

Lou Doillon “Devil or Angel” from Verve Music Group on Vimeo.

If you haven’t been listening to Milwaukee’s Field Report by now, here’s your chance to make it up with no hard feelings from me (but do it quick). There are only a handful of musicians and bands that I nebulously define as having “that Folkadelphia sound,” meaning that our radio show was created to support and share music exactly like this, like Field Report is making. These “Folkadelphia sounding” bands bridge the gaps not only between various folk music traditions, past and present, but also between other genres, technologies, and artistic disciplines. The end result is an inventive amalagamation of ideas that push at the boundaries of what we think of as being a songwriter and being a folk musician.

I first met Christopher Porterfield, Field Report’s singer and writer, about two years ago when his previous musical outfit, Conrad Plymouth, was visiting Philadelphia. Even in their stripped down band configuration and playing a different repertoire of songs, it was apparent that Porterfield was on a path to becoming a singular songwriter. In Field Report’s debut eponymous album, intricate and striking narratives, full of rich characterization, literary allusions, and philosophical musings are balanced by a fairly hook-laden approach to keep the listeners’ attention without getting too heavy-handed. Painted over with a nostalgic brush, Porterfield’s singing and the band’s music hit all of the right emotional points- seething loneliness, uncertain introspection, all which often builds to an impassioned head. Listening to the band, you get the sense that you’re living through Porterfield and his characters’ memories, faded at the edges by the passage of time, imbued with imagination’s coloring. Porterfield tells the stories as he remembers them, not how they really happened.

Since our session with Porterfield’s previous band, we have seen the advent of Field Report, the release of their debut record, and a handful of stops in the city for live shows (including last year’s XPoNential Music Festival). Here for our latest Folkadelphia Session, we welcomed Field Report, who were playing as a trio (with Ben Lester on steel guitar, Shane Leonard on drums, banjo, and vocals, and Porterfield) to the XPN Performance Studio before their concert on March 29th at the Tin Angel with Sara Watkins (who will be featured as our next week’s Folkadelphia Session). The session consists of two tracks from the band’s debut and two new tracks – a taste of what’s to come from them.

Photo by Abi Reimold

Recent Philly transplants Literature previewed four new tracks in this week’s Key Studio Session. With a sound made for indie dance club nights, Literature are a surf-y, high energy bunch of polished musicians with well-coiffed songs. Stream and download “Court Date” below and check out the full session here.

• Court Dateby Literature from The Key Studio Sessions, May 15, 2013Download

In anticipation of their upcoming Children of Summer LP, local pop group Market East shared a new song called “Evergreen” this week.  Market East will celebrate the album’s release at MilkBoy on June 8th with a great support line-up including Joey Sweeney and the Long Hair Arkestra, Night Panther, Mohican and Former Belle.  Tickets and information can be found here.

Folkadelphia rolled out two new sessions this week: last Sunday featured Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers‘ delightful rootsy pop while Thursday highlighted the new release from Morning River Band called To Suzie.  Listen to a pair of tracks from the sessions below and get the full sessions here.

Local psych pop / shoegaze outfit Weekender is the latest incarnation of The Tweeds, with brothers Derek and Nic Sheehan rejoining drummer Tom Anthony and calling in bassist Emily Cahill for their new Spanish Peaks EP.  They’ll be opening for breaking UK band PEACE at Johnny Brenda’s on  June 10th.  Get a name-you-own-price download of the EP on Weekender’s Bandcamp.

Folk / bluegrass band Trampled By Turtles teamed up with Noisetrade for a free sampler that includes songs from their recent Stars and Satellites release.  The Minnesota group will be in town for the XPoNential Music Festival on July 26-28 at Wiggins Park in Camden, NJ.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Get the free sampler below in exchange for your email address.

I always thought Philly to be more of a bluegrass town, what, with its West Philly front porch jam sessions and train terminal busking, but that sweet-and-sour country style is alive and well in our fair city and giving us cause to celebrate. We have here a session from local twang connoisseurs Morning River Band, who came to us on the verge of releasing their brand new LP To Suzie.

For me, Morning River Band serve up just what the doctor told you not to order, but goddamn, you’re gonna order it anyway — songs of hard luck, hard times, and harder liquor. You may be sent goin’ down the road feelin’ bad, but you’ll have some fine tunes to whistle courtesy of the Morning River Band.

Head over to Milkboy Philly tomorrow, Friday, May 17th for the Morning River Band’s record release show for their new album To Suzie. The bill features fellow homebodies The Miners and John Train. Don’t forget to tip your bartender.

All photos by Abi Reimold | Abireimold.22slides.com

About a year ago, the snappy and warped psych-pop band Literature relocated to Philadelphia from Austin, Texas with an awesome LP called Arab Spring in tow. Hard tourers, sharp dressers and a buzzing name on the indiepop circuit, they specialize in a sound that’s a bit more direct than the washed-out hazy dazy Pain of Being Pure At Heart aesthetic of a few years back. There’s a lift to their sound (though still a reverb’d surface) and a galloping-out-the-gate energy (with some oddball lyrical diversions).  For their Key Studio Session, Literature recorded four new “barn burners” in the words of guitarist Kevin Attics, including their latest 7″ a-side “Tie Dye” and a couple unreleased numbers. “Grifted” slowed down the pace and dipped back to their LP, but kept the momentum going enough that it may as well just plow straight into the Johnny Brenda’s show they’re playing (and KDU is hosting) next week. They’re opening the night on May 22nd, with Key Session alums Pet Milk headlining; tickets and information can be found here, while the session is available for your streaming and downloading (and bopping around the room) pleasure below.

• Court Dateby Literature from The Key Studio Sessions, May 15, 2013Download

• Jimmyby Literature from The Key Studio Sessions, May 15, 2013Download

• Tie Dyeby Literature from The Key Studio Sessions, May 15, 2013Download

• English Soft Heartsby Literature from The Key Studio Sessions, May 15, 2013Download

• Griftedby Literature from The Key Studio Sessions, May 15, 2013Download

Fifth In Line To The Throne” is a song about someone in a seemingly perfect relationship but there is a dark underside to it. We wanted to sound menacing and give folk the creeps. I believe Princess Beatrice is fifth in line by the way.

Desire Lines is out June 4th on 4AD; Camera Obscura will be in Philadelphia on July 7th opening for She and Him and the Mann Center. You can stream and download “Fifth in Line to the Throne” below.

• Fifth in Line to the Throneby Camera Obscura from Desire LinesDownload

Photo by Taryn Kent

We can’t be murder ballads and introspective fingerstyle guitar playing all of the time. Sometimes we just need to let our hair down, grab a cold one, mosey on over to that dancefloor, and enjoy ourselves. This is even more poignant as we venture further into the days of warm weather and extended hours of sunlight (and am I smelling BBQ right now?!)

We were looking for fun and then we found fun, and heaven knows we’re thankful for Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers. Nicki and her music fulfill all of the qualifications for having a good time – energetic playing (✓), rock swagger (✓), makes you want to sing along (✓), killer vocals (✓), a good helping of soul and passion (✓).

Nicki first grabbed our attention with her rootsy 2011 album ‘Driftwood,’ which showcased her knack for singing and songwriting. With her latest digital single and, I’m sure with her forthcoming LP, Nicki (now billed with her Gramblers) amps up the full band element and, with it, the fun factor.

We snagged Nicki Bluhm and the Gramblers for our latest Folkadelphia Session before they played on World Cafe Live on March 26th, 2013. While the band appears here in a stripped-down , acoustic configuration, there is no lack of passion, energy, soul, or delight; they still make me want to blast it out of a convertible.

XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week comes from San Francisco’s John Murry.  ”Southern Sky” comes from the World Cafe: Next artist’s new and incredibly intimate album The Graceless Age.  Listen to the song below and download it here.

Noisetrade is offering up a free sampler from Randall Bramblett in anticipation of his upcoming album album The Bright Spots.  In exchange for your email you can download a few songs from the new record along with his version of “Use to Rule the World,” which Bonnie Raitt covered on her latest LP.

Local Brazilian mega-group Alo Brasil stopped by for this week’s Key Studio Session.  Exploring the depths of traditional Brazilian sounds and rhythms, the eleven-piece ensemble recorded four compositions that you can listen to here.  Stream and download “Capoeria Medley” below.

Folkadelphia dug into their archives this week and pulled out a session from 2011 with local musician Jesse Sparhawk.  He has a show at The Rotunda on May 22nd with a pair of drummers – more information can be found here – and will appear at this week’s edition of Yvynyl’s Tuesday Tune-Out at PhilaMOCA.  Download Sparhawk’s session below.

Singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist Carter Tanton has a new project called Luxury Liners and a new album called They’re Flowers. With an appearance by Nightlands / War on Drugs member Dave Hartley,  They’re Flowers was recently released via Western Vinyl.  Stream and download “Broad Daylight” here.

Photo by Ally Newbold, http://www.allynewbold.com/

Since their inception about a year and a half ago, Marietta has played countless shows – including some with prominent local punk names like Kite Party – and their super-likeable tunes have spread like wildfire, both via the internet and the local scene. Their new track, titled “O.K., Mom” has all of what has previously made this band great, but with a bunch of tasty new tricks. Perhaps most noticeable is the ease with which they pass the role of vocalist around to each member of the band, whereas in the past it was exclusively guitarists Evan Lescallette and Ethan Willard (a Key intern) whose back-and-forth vocal style gave the band a distinct sound.

The new track is on bandcamp for a low fee (due to a shortage of free downloads) but you can find a free mediafire download here. Also, like the band on Facebook so you can keep an eye out for their new record, which will be released within the next two months or so.

Go to Ark’s soundcloud here for more beats.

photo by French photographer Richard Dumas http://www.agencevu.com/photographers/photographer.php?id=32

One of the album’s highlights is “She Will.” The song is featured on the latest edition of NPR Music’s Heavy Rotation, chosen by Dave P, the host of XPN’s Making Time Is RAD. Dave writes:

Although Making Time RADio plays predominantly electronic and dance music, I’m always searching for dance-friendly rock bands to play on the show. Savages’ music exhibits energy, emotion, passion and purpose, and “She Will” has it all: a driving rhythm section, passionate vocals, dark guitar tones and cymbal crashes, all culminating in a 30-second frenzy that keeps building and building. “She Will” recalls ’80s post-punk bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees while still sounding fresh, new and relevant.

Below, download “She Will,” via NPR Music

• She Willby Savages from Silence YourselfDownload

Savages play Union Transfer on July 14th. Tickets go on sale today at Noon.

Purchase the record here

Bonnie Raitt with Randall Bramblett

Randall Bramblett releases his new CD, The Bright Spots, next Tuesday, May 14th on New West Records. Bramblett’s music incorporates rock, blues and R&B and he’s a prolific musician. The Georgia born multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter has had a solo career and has performed and recorded with The Allman Brothers, Traffic, Gov’t Mule, Widespread Panic, and Levon Helm. When The Allman Brothers initially disbanded in the mid 70′s, Bramblett formed the fusion leaning rock band Sea Level with Allman’s keyboardist Chuck Leavell, bassist Lamar Williams and drummer Jaimoe. As a songwriter, one of Bramblett’s biggest fans is Bonnie Raitt, who recorded several of his songs including “Use To Rule The World” from her most recent album, Slipstream. Below, in exchange for your e-mail you can download a free sampler featuring several songs from his new album, and his own version of “Used To Rule The World.”

Market East shared a new song called “To Walk With You” ahead of the release of Children of Summer, out May 27th [link]

The 52nd annual Philadelphia Folk Festival line-up is jam packed with sets by Richard Thompson, Toy Soldiers, Black Prairie and more [link]

Alo Brasil brought tropical sounds and rhythms to their Key Studio Session earlier this week [link]

The National debuted the first video for their upcoming LP with the song “Sea of Love” [link]

XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week featured San Francisco’s John Murry and his deeply personal song “Southern Sky” [link]

Get ready for tonight’s Peter Murphy show at The Trocadero with a video-playlist of five songs we hope he plays [link]

The Swollen Fox and WXPN have announced a show with The Districts, Goodnight, Texas and Satellite Hearts on 7/19 [link]

Sunday morning marked Keith Brand’s final Sleepy Hollow show on XPN; listen back to the full broadcast [link] and check out the song he chose to close out his 27-year run [link]

In a special Folkadelphia Session, we meet Nadia Sirota and Valgeir Sigurdsson and a mix of reinterpretations and original material [link]

Download a 44-track mixtape from 100 Years of Solid Dudes featuring samples of Elvis Costello, Bowie and more [link]

Get a glimpse inside The Breeders‘ Sunday night show at The Trocadero with a photo recap and set list [link]

Local electro dream / pop duo Lockets are at it again, this time with a new release and a show at Johnny Brenda’s coming up soon.  “Surrender” is Dani Mari and Todd Mendelsohn’s first offering of new material since their 2012 debut LP Camera Shy and will be included on a 7″ being released this summer via London’s Beautiful Strange.  Vibe-ing on some galactic synth sounds and vocals that hint at Dido or Natalie Merchant, “Surrender” is a dreamy, hazy song that could turn any environment into a luxurious rooftop lounge on a warm summer’s night.  Lockets will open for Twin Sister at Johnny Brenda’s on May 12th alongside Acres of Diamonds.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Stream “Surrender” below and buy it at Bandcamp.

Painting by Jay Eisenberg

With the Folkadelphia Sessions, it has been quite thrilling to be able to share some of the recent in-studio performances that we have recorded with a diverse set of musicians. But it’s not like this is a new thing for us; Folkadelphia has been recording and airing our sessions via our weekly radio program (now on Singer-Songwriter Radio Sundays 3-5 PM and Mondays 9-11 PM) since our inception.

Every so often, we will dig into the vaults, dust off a few WAV files, and present to you a new (old) session that you may have missed hearing the first time around.

Today we give you a session that was recorded live on the air on September 25th, 2011 with Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist and man about town Jesse Sparhawk. He appeared on the Folkadelphia program to play a few of his guitar compositions and guest DJ. This month, Sparhawk makes two local appearances to be aware of. On May 10th, he performs a solo acoustic show (not unlike what you’ll hear in these recordings) at Fishtown’s Highwire Gallery with Trevor Healy and Travis Woodson; on May 22, he plays a trio show with two drummers at The Rotunda.

Photo by John Vettese

In terms of personnel, instrumentation and sheer sound, Philadelphia-based traditional Brazilian ensemble Alô Brasil might be the biggest band we’ve recorded for The Key Studio Sessions. The photo above gives you a sense of just some the stuff they brought to WXPN the other night: multiple percussion instruments, including the conga, the timbau, the pandeiro and the quinto. Melodic accompaniment including guitars, cavaquinho, keys and horns. Eleven players – including band leader Alex Shaw – weaving in between the instruments to create a massive, emotional eruption of body-moving sound. The opening song below is a medley of songs in the Brazilian capoeira tradition – a mix of music and martial arts that evolved under the era of colonial slavery, and employs the sonically singular berimbau (a musical bow). Other moments dipped into samba, reggae, batucada and even carried a hint of jazzy looseness and improvisation. Listening to their set is like a cultural education, especially when Shaw explains each song’s background and significance – as he does with children in the Live Connections series at World Cafe Live. Seeing the band live is even more of a multi-sensory experience, with dancers and much pagentry. Which is to say you’ll love seeing them when they kick off the City Hall Presents series on May 29th, and you’ll love them even more at this summer’s XPoNential Music Festival. Below, download “Capoeira Medley” below, and stream the other songs – new arrangements of contemporary and classic 20th century Brazilian songs.

Photo by B+ for Mochilla.com

• Specialby Shuggie Otis from Inspiration Information/Wings Of LoveDownload

Purchase Inspiration Information/Wings of Love here.

Photo by Rachel Del Sordo

Talk about an ideal match-up. Philly proto-punk aficionados Pissed Jeans, who released the hard-hitting Honeys earlier this year on Sub Pop Records, will tour with their labelmates and sonic ancestors Mudhoney. If you’ve spent any time with Honeys – particularly “Cathouse” or “Teenage Adult” – you know the bands will play totally well off one another. There might even be some possibility of Pissed Jeans, with their well-earned reputation for live ragers, upstaging the headliners. But don’t be so sure on that last count – Mark Arm remains a wily and charismatic frontman in his own right. The tour sadly doesn’t stop in Philadelphia (it’s a handful of dates in the UK and midwest, per Brooklyn Vegan) but it nonetheless gives us an excuse to turn up this live performance of Pissed Jeans’ “Bathroom Laughter” from The Key Studio Sessions Vol. 7.

• Never Wanted Your Loveby She & Him from Volume 3Download

Purchase the She & Him’s Volume 3 here.