Seattle New Years Eve fireworks/Shutterstock

The New Year's Eve fireworks display at Seattle Center has a soundtrack, because visuals aren't enough when it comes to celebrating the arrival of another goddamn year. For the second annum in a row, KEXP DJ Kevin Cole is the person providing the music to accompany those psychedelic pyrotechnics. I asked the veteran programmer a few questions about this daunting task. (Note: KEXP will be simulcasting the ceremony at 90.3 FM and kexp.org.)

So, how do you go about selecting songs for an event of this magnitude? What are the qualities you’re looking for in a track? Can you reveal a few things you’ll be airing?
Cole: The New Year’s Eve fireworks was really a collaborative project, between KEXP, firework artist Alberto Navarro, who’s on the front end of innovating and using new technologies in pyrotechnics, and the Space Needle. It’s really an honor for KEXP, as an independent eclectic music station, to be asked to curate the music for Seattle’s biggest New Year’s Eve party. It was also a thrill to be working with Alberto, who is an amazing artist who’s medium happens to be the sky and iconic buildings!

The first thing we did was define the emotional flow of the music and fireworks sequence, from the anticipation leading up to the countdown, followed by a celebratory party segment at midnight, a brief romantic moment where people turn to the one they love and embrace, then back into an ebb and flow of party, awe, and celebration, leading to the crescendo and finale.

The overriding theme I went with for this year’s music was to embrace and celebrate the rich musical heritage of Seattle Center in anticipation of KEXP's upcoming move to Seattle Center. And the history is rich—2014 marked the 50th anniversary of the Beatles playing Seattle Center. Throughout the years there have been so many great bands and artists that have played at the Coliseum, KeyArena, Mercer Arena, McCaw Hall, at Folklife, Bumbershoot, EMP, and in recent years the Vera Project. Seattleites all have fond memories of great shows they’ve seen at Seattle Center. KEXP is excited to be moving to the Seattle Center campus in 2015 and to be a part of creating the future of music at Seattle Center.

With that rich history in mind, along with wanting to create an inclusive celebratory mix for the city to enjoy, I picked some of the bands that have played Seattle Center over the past 50 years, alongside some of the big KEXP artists this past year, heritage KEXP bands, and several local artists. I hope people are surprised, delighted, and excited to start the New Year with a lust for life!

What are the biggest challenges to planning a set like this?
The challenges around a project like this are the same things that make it really exciting as a curator—setting the right tone and mood while telling a story in eight minutes. Doing this with juxtaposing musical styles and genres while making smooth segues and edits that make sense. We used 10 songs in eight minutes. I wanted the soundtrack to become its own song, and KEXP audio producer Jackson Long did a great job creating a seamless mix.

What was your set like last year? Was there any way to gauge if people enjoyed it; did you get any feedback? Are you going to change it up much this year?
We received a ton of great feedback for last year’s mix, which included the Ramones at midnight—“hey ho, let’s go!,” Band of Horses, Empire of the Sun, the XX, Pearl Jam, and ending with the local music story of 2013, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, and their mega hit “Can’t Hold Us.” This year we have the same set of artistic challenges, but it’ll sound and look totally different. And, hopefully, without the fog!