Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Midday Show with Cheryl Waters, is “All You Have To Say” by Aan from their 2016 sophomore LP, Dada Distractions, out on Party Damage Records.Aan - All You Have To Say (MP3)Just one state below flows some alternative milk and honey in the form of Portland's Aan, the perennial project of Bud Wilson that has organically evolved over the last decade. Having undergone member and sonic iterations, the indelible element of Aan is Wilson and his inseparable intimacy with making music that transcends genre singularity. As stated on their website, Aan has been described as "experimental pop, prog pop, new grunge, [and] freak folk" so it's safe to say Wilson's established a pretty offbeat approach to four major genres (five if you include rock) that have dominated the last thirty years of music. The accessible yet still aberrant sound of Aan in 2016 is once again witnessed in their sophomore LP Dada Distractions, a follow-up to 2014's Amor Ad Nauseum, where we also hear Gabriel Nardin on guitar and keys, Travis Leipzig on bass, and Dana Valatka on drums.
There is a melodically pop lightness and heaviness evinced throughout Aan's catalogue. Exhibit A is an upbeat and hard-hitting jam like "All You Have To Say" that's nourished from synth-distorted swells, harmonious braying and decaying riffs, and sugary vocals set to a Queens of the Stone Age hypnosis. Wilson's lyrics, "I feel nothing the distance persistent / I get so far out of my mind / When I needed you and I wanted you to know it / That's all you have to say / That it gives me something" demonstrate his propensity for prose-based and moody expressions.
Aan is keeping busy with some shows coming up in Portland, California, and Idaho (for Treefort Festival) over the next couple of months. Give them a follow on Facebook or head over to their website to discover more music and videos. In the meantime you can also listen to an example of Aan's diverse sound of the closer to Dada Distractions called "Bleached Out For Nothing" via the video below.
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Af…
Thanks to everyone who joined together as a community in KEXP's Gathering Space this morning for a Bed-In for Peace. KEXP DJs John Richards and Riz hosted an inspiring hour of music featuring local artists Wimps, Tomo Nakayama, DoNormaal, Grace Love, and Gabriel Teodros, and Sean Nelson led the aud…
John Lennon and Yoko Ono were certainly not the only ones singing for peace, and many have and will join them in the decades to come. As KEXP gathers for a Bed-In for Peace in the Gathering Space, starting at 8:00 AM, here on the blog, we've gathered some of our favorite songs about love and unity.…
Dear Friends,
In 1969, John and I were so naïve to think that doing the Bed-In would help change the world.Well, it might have. But at the time, we didn't know.
It was good that we filmed it, though.The film is powerful now.What we said then could have been said now.
In fact, there are things that we …
Born Otis Calvin III, OCnotes is an artist, musician, DJ, author, motivational speaker, and vibrant figure active within Seattle's music scene since the turn of the decade. A chameleonic artist who records as a solo entity, as one-half of Metal Chocolates, and through his countless collaborations, …
Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the M…
