Studio Sessions – Bandwidth

Remembering A Country Legend: Merle Haggard On World Cafe

WXPN-FM Staff — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 20:32:21 +0000

The world of country music has lost a man who has influenced practically every country artist making music today. The legendary Merle Haggard, born in 1937, died Wednesday morning on his 79th birthday.

In this 2003 session, Haggard and his guitar (gifted to him by Randy Travis) join David Dye in the World Cafe studio. Haggard reminisces about his childhood and about playing gigs all over Bakersfield, Calif., where he was born: he says he performed “bar room music” by day and rock ‘n’ roll in the clubs at night. The music coming out of his hometown at the time challenged a musician so much more, he says, than did the music of Nashville. In another interview highlight, Haggard talks about his belief that politicians need to stop dancing around real problems and just come out with the truth — a feeling that still resonates for so many Americans.

Join us in remembering the great Merle Haggard. Listen back to the complete 30-minute interview in the player above.

Sunflower Bean On World Cafe

WXPN-FM Staff — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 16:33:53 +0000

The psychedelic Brooklyn band Sunflower Bean is the trio of Jacob Faber on drums, Julia Cumming on vocals and bass, and Nick Kivlen on vocals and guitar. By the summer of 2013, high-school classmates Faber and Kivlen had been playing together as Sunflower Bean for a while. But things really jelled with the addition of Cumming, who’d been looking for the right band all her teenage life. The band then set out to play every New York City gig it could, and that dedication to playing live lies at the foundation of its sound on its first full-length album, Human Ceremony.

Hear the session at the audio link above, and watch the trio play “Easier Said” live in the World Cafe studio below.

The Current Presents: Laura Marling

Leah Garaas — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 10:36:00 +0000

Laura Marling‘s latest album, this year’s Short Movie, features a fuller, more plugged-in sound. But when she came to visit The Current’s studio, Marling returned to her roots and performed an acoustic set. Inspired by the time the English singer spent in Los Angeles during a songwriting hiatus, Short Movie encourages listeners to embrace spontaneity, as you can hear in this performance of “How Can I.”

SET LIST

“How Can I”

KCRW Presents: Mac DeMarco

Jason Bentley — Thu, 01 Oct 2015 15:03:17 +0000

Laid-back crooner Mac DeMarco is known for his outsize, quirky personality as much as for his poppy songs. Both were on full display when he visited KCRW’s studio, fresh off a performance at FYF Fest. The prolific artist shared songs from his latest album, including this one, called “No Other Heart.”

SET LIST

“No Other Heart”

Watch Mac DeMarco’s full performance at KCRW.com.

KEXP Presents: The Mynabirds

Jim Beckmann — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 12:48:03 +0000

After the release of The Mynabirds‘ 2012 album Generals, principal songwriter Laura Burhenn accompanied The Postal Service on a world reunion tour — and then spent another year making The Mynabirds’ latest album, Lovers Know, while zig-zagging all over the place.

Though spurred by heartbreak, Burhenn’s new songs still convey hope. Here, she and her band visit the KEXP studio to perform “Wildfire” and other songs from Lovers Know.

SET LIST

“Wildfire”

Watch The Mynabirds’ full performance on KEXP’s YouTube channel.

KCRW Presents: TV On The Radio

Jason Bentley — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 16:43:12 +0000

TV On The Radio waited a few years between album releases, and with their last record, Seeds, it’s clear that the group has returned energized and inspired. At an intimate show in Santa Monica, Calif. for KCRW’s Apogee Sessions, the Brooklyn-based band rolled through new songs with influences from punk to dance, all with precise harmonies and intricately layered production. Check out the album’s first single, “Happy Idiot,” live from KCRW.

SET LIST

“Happy Idiot”

Watch TV On The Radio’s full Morning Becomes Eclectic session at KCRW.com.

Haerts On World Cafe

WXPN-FM Staff — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 13:27:00 +0000

Haerts, which stylizes its name with the a and e reversed, joins World Cafe in the studio today. Eccentric spelling is just one element that makes the electro-pop band stand out.

Led by friends Nini Fabi and Ben Gebert, the band formed in Brooklyn in 2010, but the two friends actually met in Munich, Germany, where they grew up together. Haerts’ self-titled debut came out this year after a well-received EP, Hemiplegia, in 2013. The duo explains what that means, literally and metaphorically, and performs some of its songs on this episode.

KEXP Presents: Thurston Moore

Jim Beckmann — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 11:47:40 +0000

He’s never lived so far away, yet he’s never sounded so much like himself. After a move to London, former Sonic Youth singer-guitarist Thurston Moore recently reclaimed his place as a ranking don of noise-rock while reassembling his band with some true ringers: former SY bandmate Steve Shelley on drums and Debbie Googe of My Bloody Valentine on bass.

Guitarist James Sedwards may be the new one in the group, but he’d already made his own name in an assortment of U.K. bands. It was his proximity as a neighbor — and then a collaborator — that sent Moore careening back to the gloriously dissonant sounds that characterized his earlier work.

Together, they perform as Thurston Moore Band on The Best Day, Moore’s most confidently composed album in recent memory. What’s even better, the four of them nailed a set of new songs while performing live in the studio at KEXP. Here, they perform “The Best Day” from the new record.

SET LIST

“The Best Day”

Watch Thurston Moore’s full performance on KEXP’s YouTube channel.

KCRW Presents: M. Ward

Jason Bentley — Sun, 21 Dec 2014 08:03:14 +0000

It’s been a big month for M. Ward. He just released a new album with Zooey Deschanel (as She & Him), and he’s reissuing his much-loved 2005 solo breakthrough Transistor Radio on vinyl with a few bonus tracks.

Ward’s fourth studio album, Transistor Radio, solidified his reputation as a major talent, so it was a thrill to host a live performance of its songs. From his recent visit to KCRW, M. Ward performs “Hi-Fi” here.

SET LIST

“Hi-Fi”

Watch M. Ward’s entire Morning Becomes Eclectic session on KCRW.com.

Parquet Courts On World Cafe

WXPN-FM Staff — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 17:33:00 +0000

It has been a prolific year for our guests today, the punk band Parquet Courts. They have released two albums this year: Sunbathing Animal under their own name and Content Nausea as Parkay Quarts. We will talk with two founders of the band, Andrew Savage and Austin Brown, and hear performances from the stage of World Cafe Live. We also find out that the new songs are inspired by influences as diverse as Russian history and Louisiana prison songs.