Warning: swearing

Three free, local EPs of note. Click the links to download the music.

"Lake Crescent" by Trails (download Trails' EPs here)

Trails is Kyle Hargus from Seattle chillwave unit USF and Bellingham beatmaker ICUH8N. Together they make instrumental electronic music with a nice forward momentum, perfect for headphones, with songs named after scenic regional locales. Ride the light rail to it and see the sweeping views of south Seattle in a whole new way.

"Sinner's Prayer" by Fatal Lucciauno (download "The Message" EP here)

Who's the rapper you listen to when you want some of Seattle's best hardcore gangsta styles, but also something to activate your mind and soul? Fatal Lucciauno. He hasn't put out an album since 2007 but his name still rings from the Central District outward, based on local classics like "Black Hearted" and "I'm Here." His sturdy new EP "The Message," produced entirely by local heavyweight Jake One, functions as a prelude to his upcoming album "Respect," which he'll celebrate with a concert Feb. 17 at Chop Suey.

"C.O.T.S." by Key Nyata (download "Children of the Stars" here)

Sixteen-year-old Seattle rapper/producer Key Nyata reps hard for RVDXR KLVN, the movement emanating from Florida and tentacled all over the U.S. that takes stream of consciousness hip-hop, washes it with smoke and acid, and transports it to the '90s. It's fairly socially negative and wasted-sounding, harkening to old rap from Memphis, Houston and southern/northern California while being digitally damaged in its own special way. Key Nyata's EP/short album "Children of the Stars" precedes his upcoming, excellently titled album "Two Phonkey."

Art via the artists