San Francisco-based foursome Yassou Benedict releases dreamy pop single, video from debut EP.

Black Book Magazine premieres “The Cloisters,” band to play Bottom of The Hill this weekend.

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Yassou Benedict (L-R): Patrick Aguirre, A.J. Krumholz, Lilie Bytheway-Hoy, James Jackson. Photo credit: Gary Yost.

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See Yassou Benedict live in San Francisco headlining Bottom of The Hill this Saturday.  More info here.

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 “The Cloisters” is the first single and video from “In Fits In Dreams” by Yassou Benedict

[STREAM] https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/yassou-benedict-the-cloisters

[DOWNLOAD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/yassou-benedict-the-cloisters/download

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/yassoubenedict/mp3/yassoubenedict-thecloisters.mp3

[VIDEO]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrEejzbeYbI

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Check out the exclusive premiere of “The Cloisters” by Yassou Benedict via Black Book Magazine

Yassou Benedict’s new single “The Cloisters,” and its accompanying video, have premiered exclusively via Black Book Magazine.  Formed when the members of this San Francisco-based band were attending high school in Hudson, New York, Yassou Benedict conveys a surreal longing in its music via unconventional structures and shifting time signatures that are bold, emotional, and immediate.

“We all flew back to Hudson to record,” says the band’s James Jackson (Guitar, Drums, Vocals) of Yassou Benedict’s debut EP “In Fits In Dreams,” out July 2^nd.  While they were there, the band’s producer Steve Durand, (also the director of “The Cloisters” video), introduced Yassou Benedict’s music to his friend and collaborator, former Hole and Smashing Pumpkins member, Melissa Auf Der Mauer.

“Melissa is also a resident of Hudson,” explains Jackson. “Steve played her some of our tracks, she really liked them, and offered to sing on them.”  Auf Der Mauer can be heard on two “In Fits In Dreams” tracks, including “The Cloisters”.

With lyrics both personal and political, Yassou Benedict’s songs are inspired by coming of age in these turbulent times of progress and destruction, and they reflect the minds of a group of young individuals working to create music that is disconnected from any trends or revivals.

Each of the band members – the group also includes Lilie Bytheway-Hoy (Lead Vocals, Bass), Patrick Aguirre (Drums), and A.J. Krumholz (Guitar, Keys, Vocals) – brings wildly different tastes in music to the table.

“We dislike each other’s tastes for the most part,” jokes Jackson. “But, when we make music together, the differences lend themselves to this genre defying sound that we create.  All of these influences come through in our music at different times.”

Yassou Benedict’s debut EP “In Fits In Dreams” will be released on the band’s own Be Easy Baby label on July 2^nd, 2013.  Its first single “The Cloisters” (featuring vocal contributions from Melissa Auf Der Mauer) is streaming now.  Members of Yassou Benedict are is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Yassou Benedict

“In Fits In Dreams” EP

(Be Easy Baby – July 2^nd, 2013)

Track Listing:

01. Enter

02. The Cloisters (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)

03. Back Roads That Dead End

04. In Fits In Dreams

05. Last Cicada

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Yassou Benedict Links

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : TUMBLR : INSTAGRAM

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : TUMBLR : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : LAST.FM : BLOG : E-MAIL

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One man, one band: Faris McReynolds shutters ExDetectives to focus exclusively on One Finger Riot.

Under The Gun premieres “Freedom Song,” described as “an anthem that’s saying something ...else.”

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Faris McReynolds of One Finger Riot as photographed by Max Chapman Sweeney

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Check out “Freedom Song,” the latest single by One Finger Riot

[STREAM] https://soundcloud.com/postplanetary/one-finger-riot-freedom-song

[DOWNLOAD]: https://soundcloud.com/postplanetary/one-finger-riot-freedom-song/download

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“Like Air? Yah, me too. Cool. So you'll probably love One Finger Riot’s ‘Freedom Song’” – MTV Buzzworthy

Los Angeles-based visual artist Faris McReynolds (see here for some of his gallery work) is also a prolific songwriter and musician, touring in a punk band in his mid-teens and releasing a total of four albums in 2012; two under his One Finger Riot moniker, and two as ExDetectives (the latter was the subject of a profile by Performer Magazine in early 2013.)  Recently, McReynolds decided to focus his musical energies on One Finger Riot exclusively.

“ExDetectives was originally a four-piece band that I started in 2007 and disbanded in 2011,” McReynolds explains. “The songs on Take My Forever (released in early 2012) were written to be played live by the band, and Farthest Star (released late 2012) was made up of songs the band never learned.”

McReynolds recorded these songs posthumously just to clear the decks, but admits that “it was always an old way of working.”  He says, “I started One Finger Riot in 2009 as a solo project, just me being me, and working however I wanted. As I started work on the third One Finger Riot record, I didn't know which songs should be used for which project.”

Faced with putting limits on new ideas to make form fit function, McReynolds decided to end the ExDetectives project, or face redundancy, explaining that “The me of now just sounds like both put together.”

McReynolds is celebrating this consolidation by offering up a brand-new One Finger Riot song, the aptly titled “Freedom Song,” for free download.  The track has premiered exclusively via Under The Gun and is also available now from Diffuser.fm.

“The lyrics are about letting go of expectations,” McReynolds says of the tune. “I always loved the title of Dinosaur, Jr.’s ‘Whatever's Cool With Me’ because it wasn’t really clear what the statement really was. I really like the idea of an anthem that’s saying something... else.”

Faris McReynolds is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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One Finger Riot Links

WEBSITE: FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : TUMBLR : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : LAST.FM : BLOG : E-MAIL

Mortar & Pestle releases debut EP, streaming now. Kraddy remix of “Lighthouse” premieres via Mass Appeal.

Oakland-based trio scheduled to play San Francisco Magazine’s “Best of The Bay” event later this month.

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Mortar & Pestle (L-R): Sean Paul Duke, Janaysa Lambert, Paul Shinichi. Photo Credit: Sequoia Emmanuelle.

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“Pristine Dream” is the latest single from the self-titled debut EP by Mortar & Pestle

 [STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/mortar-pestle-pristine-dream

[DOWNLOAD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/mortar-pestle-pristine-dream/download

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/mortarandpestle/mp3/mortarandpestle-pristinedream.mp3

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Listen to Mortar & Pestle

Hear the Kraddy remix of “Lighthouse” via Mass Appeal

Hear the Antler remix of “Pristine Dream” via Earmilk

Hear the album version of “Pristine Dream” via BlackBook

Hear the album version of “U.V.” via SPIN

Hear the “Mortar & Pestle” EP via East Bay Express

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Mortar & Pestle Live

06/27 San Francisco, CA @ City View @ Metreon (101 4th St., 4th Fl.) San Francisco Magazine's "Best of The Bay" Party

06/30 Santa Cruz, CA @ Moe's Alley w/ Sorne, Metal Mother

07/20 Oakland, CA @ The Uptown w/ Stripmall Architecture, Teenage Sweater

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The Los Angeles-based electronic-music Don known as Kraddy has always brought the undiluted sound of the underground to new audiences. From his work as a founding member of the infamous Glitch Mob to his groundbreaking solo work, Kraddy (born Matthew Kratz) has always been known for shattering genre conventions while moving crowds everywhere from Red Rocks to L.A.’s famed Low End Theory club.

Kraddy has now lent his considerable talents to the work of Oakland-based avant pop trio Mortar & Pestle on his remix of “Lighthouse” from the band’s debut self-titled EP.  The Kraddy remix of “Lighthouse” can be heard via a premiere of the track courtesy of pop culture website Mass Appeal here: http://massappeal.com/mortar-pestle-lighthouse-kraddy-remix.

Mortar & Pestle is a new band, but has deep roots.  The sounds of a pinball machine at the opening of the band’s debut EP might say fun, but give way to a darkness that is real.  Born on the kitchen piano of a studio apartment, days after singer Janaysa Lambert and keyboardist Paul Shinichi first met at a mutual friend’s party, the two were joined within the year by drummer Sean Paul Duke.

Tragically, the friend who brought them together met with an untimely death shortly after she gave the band its name.  “She wanted to be the one to name us,” says Shinichi. “We were struggling with a name for months, and then she came up with Mortar & Pestle. I think honoring her life is one reason why we are together. This record is really about her.”

Mortar & Pestle’s debut has already gained significant attention for its melding of avant-garde electronic sounds with pure soul singing.  In addition to notices from SPIN, BlackBook, Earmilk, and more, the entire new EP is streaming now via hometown paper East Bay Express, and another hometown publication, San Francisco Magazine, will host a live set by the band at its upcoming “Best of The Bay” event on June 27^th.  Visit this link for more info: http://bestofbay.modernluxury.com/music.

Members of Mortar & Pestle are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Mortar & Pestle

S/T

(Post Primal – Out Now)

Track Listing:

01. U.V. (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)

02. Pristine Dream (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | REMIX)

03. Lady 7

04. Lighthouse (REMIX)

05. Switchblade Bandita

06. Electric Angel

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Mortar & Pestle Links

INFO : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : YOUTUBE : POST PRIMAL

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : TUMBLR : SOUNDCLOUD : SPOTIFY : LAST.FM : BLOG : E-MAIL