Austin based pop powerhouse, Cotton Mather to release first all-new album in 15 years as part of massive 64-track I Ching inspired project.

“If that isn’t the best record I’ve heard in ten years, then I don’t know what is.” – Noel Gallagher of Oasis in 1997 on Cotton Mather’s “Kontiki”

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Robert Harrison of Cotton Mather as photographed by Valerie Fremin.

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 Hear “Life of The Liar” from Death of The Cool by Cotton Mather at The Big Takeover or via the links below!

  
[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/cotton-mather-life-of-the-liar  

[MP3]: https://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/cottonmather-i-ching/mp3/cottonmather-lifeoftheliar.mp3

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Austin!  See Cotton Mather live at Waterloo Records on Sept. 8^th, 2016

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Stream three songs from Cotton Mather’s Death of The Cool, and a total of 13 songs from the I Ching project now!

Hear “Life of The Liar” via The Big Takeover, “Child Bride” via NPR-affiliate, KUTX, and “The Book of Too Late Changes” via Texas Monthly. Listen and learn more by visiting ichingsongs.com to hear TEN additional tracks not found on Death of The Cool, and to read commentaries on each track by Robert Harrison.

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 “Kontiki gave me something to shoot for.” – Britt Daniel of Spoon on Cotton Mather

It didn’t take 15 years for Cotton Mather’s Austin-based main man, Robert Harrison to write the 64 songs (64 songs!) that comprise his latest musical vision: one song for each hexagram (or reading) of the I Ching.  That’s actually the amount of time that has passed since the last full-length album of new Cotton Mather songs was released.  With so much new material on deck, it seems like Harrison is making up the difference.

Thirteen tracks from this treasure trove of new tunes have already been posted one-by-one in “real time and real weather” as Harrison describes this creative process, and now the first of several albums that will ultimately contain much of the entire song cycle, has been announced. 

Arriving on July 29^th (with a limited white vinyl edition scheduled for Sept. 9^th), the eleven-track Death of The Cool contains another nine of Harrison’s pure pop meditations on Chinese philosophy.

Along with the album’s three currently available tracks – “The Book of Too Late Changes” (based on I Ching hexagram #24: The Return), “Child Bride” (based on #4: Youthful Folly), and “Life of The Liar” (based on #6: Contention), Death of The Cool brings the total number of I Ching songs available to 21, representing approximately one third of what will eventually be released.

21 songs deep into revealing such an ambitious undertaking, Harrison reflects, “These are my reactions in song to illuminations from the I Ching about life unfolding. Some of the songs directly reference the text and others use the readings as a starting point. Until I started this project, it had never before occurred to me to seek counsel with respect to songwriting, but after I turned to the I Ching for artistic guidance on several occasions with nice results, I thought ‘Why not go for the whole cycle?’”

Harrison’s commentaries about each of the songs can be found at the website for the project, ichingsongs.com.

“Each song’s commentary at ichingsongs.com reflects how a translator traditionally shares thoughts on the reading,” Harrison says. “However, I will limit my commentary to the readings themselves, and let the songs enjoy a free-range lifestyle.”

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For anyone thinking that 64 songs written around a single theme can’t possibly maintain a standard of quality, then welcome to the unlikely world of Cotton Mather.

Founded by Robert Harrison in Austin in the early 1990’s, the band initially had an experimental sound, but soon evolved into a guitar-driven pop group defined by accessible melodies, strong vocal harmonies and lyrical wit.  Cotton Mather released its debut album Cotton Is King in 1994, but it was the follow-up album Kontiki, famously recorded on four-track cassette, that drew praise from critics and rock-stars alike.

Uncut Magazine gave Kontiki five stars calling the record “music to smile yourself to death to.” Mojo said the songs were “brought to life with daring vitality,” and in its own five-star review, The Guardian called Kontiki “a bewildering, dizzy thrill.” On our shores, the bounce back of influence from across the pond was finally felt with Britt Daniel of Spoon being just one artist to say “Kontiki gave me something to shoot for.”

Death of The Cool, the first of several anticipated albums comprising Robert Harrison and Cotton Mather’s endeavor to write and record 64 songs for each of the I Ching’s 64 hexagrams is set for release on July 29^th, 2016 (limited edition white vinyl on Sept. 9^th) via The Star Apple Kingdom.  Ten additional non-album tracks can be heard now via ichingsongs.com with additional non-album tracks forthcoming.

Robert Harrison of Cotton Mather is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Cotton Mather

Death of The Cool

(The Star Apple Kingdom)

July 29^th, 2016

  

Track Listing:

01. The Book of Too Late Changes (STREAM | MP3)

02. Close To The Sun

03. The Middle of Nowhere

04. Candy Lilac

05. Life of The Liar (STREAM | MP3)

06. The Land of Flowers

07. Never Be It

08. Queen of Swords

09. Waters Raging

10. Child Bride (STREAM | MP3)

11. The End of DeWitt Finley

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Cotton Mather Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : THE STAR APPLE KINGDOM

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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

Steel Cranes uses Tinder to cast co-star of new “Pretty” music video; Announces six-week tour launching August 4th.

Hear latest single “Today Is The Day” from Oakland-based band’s second album now. “Tango” arrives August 5th.

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Steel Cranes (L-R): Amanda Schukle, Tracy Shapiro. Photo credit: Russ Wright.

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Hear “Pretty” from Tango by Steel Cranes via SF Weekly. See the video at PureVolume or via the links below!

[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/steel-cranes-pretty

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/steelcranes-tango/mp3/steelcranes-pretty.mp3

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[VIDEO]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdkL88CIes4

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“Rollicking drums and bass collide with salacious guitar licks.” – SF Weekly

“The video for ​​’Pretty’ was partially inspired and brought to life courtesy of Tinder,” says Tracy Shapiro (vocals, guitar), one half of the Oakland-based band, Steel Cranes, which also includes Amanda Schukle (drums, bass, guitar, keys.) “We created a profile saying I was in town shooting a music video,” Shapiro continues. “I put a few band photos on it, wrote that I was looking for someone to play my boyfriend in a video, and within a few hours, we found our future guest star. He came over to Amanda’s house the next day and shot every scene in one take.”

See the music video for “Pretty” by Steel Cranes here

Described by MTV as possessing “the slo-mo heaviness of a 2,000-pound pendulum,” Oakland-based band, Steel Cranes is offering up an evolution of that sound on its upcoming new album Tango (August 5^th, Mister White Tights Records.) Steel Cranes will launch a six-week tour in support of Tango in Tucson, AZ on August 4^th. See below for a full itinerary with additional dates to be announced.

Tango is a more dynamic take on the “grit” and “raw, relentless power” that MAGNET and Bitch respectively called out in their 2013 coverage of Ouroboros, the debut Steel Cranes album. With a vision for the sound of Tango that was more expansive, Shapiro and Schukle were initially stalled when considering the logistics of accomplishing these time-consuming sonic refinements in a studio environment. It soon became clear that the best option was to record and mix the record themselves.

“Amanda has been recording her own music for years, and she began obsessively learning more about recording and mixing,” Shapiro remembers.  “As soon as we decided to do everything ourselves, the control freaks in us were unleashed!”

This education ultimately yielded the more passionate and layered version of the Steel Cranes sound that is heard on Tango.  Once freed from the confines of creative deadlines and traditional studio environments, Shapiro and Schukle took full advantage of their new work paradigm.

“We wanted time and space to let ourselves stretch in new ways,” Shapiro says. “In ways that don’t come easy when you’re aware of how much it costs to spend three hours experimenting with the fucked-up tones on your old Casio keyboard.” Most of all, a year (versus five days spent recording Ouroboros) meant more of everything that made the first Steel Cranes album special.

Tango by Steel Cranes arrives on August 5^th, 2016. The latest single from Tango is “Today Is The Day,” recently premiered via Verbicide. Tracy Shapiro and Amanda Schukle are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Steel Cranes – On Tour

08/04 Tucson, AZ @ Flycatcher
08/05 Phoenix, AZ @ Rips Bar
08/06 Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar & Grill
08/07 San Diego, CA @ Tower Bar
08/09 San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Donut Co.
08/10 Fresno, CA @ Dynamite Vinyl
08/12 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Crepe Place
08/13 Oakland, CA @ The Golden Bull
08/14 Pacifica, CA @ Winters Tavern
08/16 Ashland, OR @ Club 66
08/17 Eugene, OR @ The Boreal
08/18 Portland, OR @ World Famous Kenton Club
08/19 Seattle, WA @ Blue Moon Tavern
08/20 Olympia, WA @ McCoy’s Tavern
08/21 Tacoma, WA @ Real Art Tacoma
08/22 Boise, ID @ High Note Cafe
08/24 Salt Lake City, UT @ Kilby Court
08/26 Denver, CO @ Lion’s Lair
08/27 Omaha, NE @ Barley Street Tavern
08/28 Lincoln, NE @ Vega
08/30 Iowa City, IA @ Gabe’s
08/31 Minneapolis, MN @ Amsterdam Bar
09/02 La Crosse, WI @ Root Note
09/03 Madison, WI @ BOS Meadery
09/06 Milwaukee, WI @ Linneman’s
09/07 Chicago, IL @ Township
09/08 Bloomington, IN @ The Back Door
09/09 Evansville, IN @ PG
09/10 St. Louis, MO @ Schlafly’s Tap Room
09/11 Columbia, MO @ Cafe Berlin
09/12 Lawrence, KS @ Jackpot Saloon
09/14 Wichita, KS @ Kirby’s Beer Store
09/15 Norman, OK @ Red Brick Bar
09/16 Albuquerque, NM @ Burt’s Tiki Lounge
09/17 Santa Fe, NM @ Boxcar

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Steel Cranes

Tango

(Mister White Tights Records)

August 5^th, 2016

  

Track Listing:

1. Ebb

2. Pretty (STREAM | MP3 | VIDEO)

3. Today Is The Day (STREAM | MP3)

4. Her

5. Sandglass

6. Happy

7. Take Me Down

8. What Am I Doing Here

9. The Poet

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Steel Cranes Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : SOUNDCLOUD : BANDCAMP

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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

Straight outta Rahway: J Hacha De Zola enlists Tom Waits collaborators Ralph Carney, David Coulter for inspired new album, arriving Aug. 12th

For his second full-length of 2016, artist travels with “Fat Kat” band to boiler room in Portland, OR to create Beefheart, Barrett, Zappa-inspired freak-out.

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J Hacha De Zola as photographed by Miguel Peralta

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Hear “Bubble Gum” from the upcoming new album (the second of 2016!) by J Hacha De Zola, out Aug. 12^th

[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/j-hacha-de-zola-bubble-gum

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/jhachadezola-picaroobscuro/mp3/jhachadezola-bubblegum.mp3

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“The kind of alluring character found in old children’s books.” – UTNE

J Hacha De Zola has managed to actually “escape from Fat Kat City,” (the title of his early 2016 debut album), leaving Rahway, New Jersey and the shadow of the maximum security prison that literally loomed over him while recording that record, and venturing across the country to a tiny studio built in an old boiler room in Portland, Oregon.

It’s here that he was joined by the rest of the “Fat Kat” band, as well as some legendary players in the form of Ralph Carney and David Coulter, to record Hacha De Zola’s second full-length album of 2016, Picaro Obscuro, arriving on August 12^th. The single “Bubble Gum” can be heard now via Northern Transmissions here.

Influences on the sound of Picaro Obscuro according to Hacha De Zola include: Perez Prado, Captain Beefheart, Screaming Jay Hawkins, Danil Kharms, Arthur Rimbaud, Frank Zappa, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, and Syd Barrett.

“He’s like a codeine cough syrup dream on the train to Zurich,” is how legendary sax man Carney describes Hacha De Zola. Carney, who made his bones with Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, The B-52s, They Might Be Giants, and Frank Black (and who is also the uncle of The Black Keys co-founder, Patrick Carney), makes his tenor and baritone horns an omnipresent force on Picaro Obscuro.

Multi-instrumentalist Coulter is everywhere, as well.  Coulter, who has recorded, performed and toured with artists as diverse as Damon Albarn, Jarvis Cocker, Laurie Anderson, Kronos Quartet, Yoko Ono, and Beck among many other notables, shares a common compatriot with Carney in Waits.

Carney performed on the Waits album The Black Rider, a collection of the songs from the theater piece of the same name for which Coulter served as Associate Musical Director.

T​he first single from Picaro Obscuro is “Bubble Gum,” which Hacha De Zola describes as “a song about distractions, escapism, confusion, and detaching from reality in pursuit of confections. The world might be burning while we’re caught up in our trivialities. Ultimately, it’s not a criticism; it’s just an observation, as I’m right in it, too.”

Picaro Obscuro, the second album (and second of 2016) by J Hacha De Zola arrives on August 12^th, 2016. Hacha De Zola is available for interviews. Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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J Hacha De Zola

Picaro Obscuro

Aug. 12^th, 2016

Track Listing:

01. A Curious Thing

02. Bad Fiction

03. Bubble Gum (STREAM | MP3)

04. In Curtains

05. Falling Out of Chairs

06. Picaro Obscuro

07. Black Water

08. Taking Names

09. On Your Own

10. Dead End Street

11. Tears of Summer

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J Hacha De Zola Links

ASSETS : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : SOUNDCLOUD : BANDCAMP : TUMBLR

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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

From ashes of L.A. indie-pop favorites Fonda comes People and Stars, a new collaboration from songwriter David Klotz, vocalist Amanda Tate.

“Lovingly shaped from pop’s past, equal parts Motown and British Invasion,” says Buzzbands.LA of lead single “You’re Not Alone,” streaming now.

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People and Stars (L-R): David Klotz, Amanda Tate. Photo credit: Theo & Juliet.

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Hear “You’re Not Alone” from the upcoming debut EP by People and Stars, arriving July 15^th via Minty Fresh

[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/peopleandstars/youre-not-alone

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/peopleandstars/mp3/peopleandstars-yourenotalone.mp3

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“Lovingly shaped from pop’s past, equal parts Motown and British Invasion.” – Buzzbands.LA

“Our name was also the title of a Fonda song,” explains David Klotz, one half of People and Stars, the Los Angeles-based duo comprised of the former Fonda front man and vocalist Amanda Tate.

Long a favorite in the L.A. indie pop scene spanning nearly 20 years, when Klotz’s marriage to Fonda front woman Emily Cook came to an end in 2013, so did Fonda.

“We were 95% done with another album which still sits unreleased,” says Klotz, who immediately decided he would carry on with solo work.

“‘People and Stars’ was one of my favorite songs I wrote when I was in Fonda, and it was one of the first songs I recorded, engineered and mixed completely on my own.  It was a symbol of creative independence for me and I thought it would be a good name for my solo project.”

As it turns out, when Klotz began hearing the results of his collaborations with Tate, he quickly abandoned thinking of the project as a solo outing, and has now amassed nearly two albums worth of material, including the three songs that will be released as the debut People and Stars EP, arriving July 15^th via Minty Fresh.

The recently premiered single “You’re Not Alone” is a perfect example of the band’s brand of breezy pop that blends with a brash Motown beat and a sweeping string section, exceeded only by an intertwining vocal and trumpet melody. People and Stars is currently working on a music video for the track to debut later this summer.

Another of the three new tunes is “Your Future Is Right Here Today,” which plays an important part in the People and Stars story in that it pushed Klotz to bring the project to its full potential.

“When we licensed that song to a television show in 2015, it helped push us to start finishing songs properly,” Klotz explains. “It was nice to hear that people were responding to our music, so a month later we were back in the studio replacing drum samples with a live drummer and trumpet samples with a live trumpet player.”

When they’re not busy recording tracks for their debut album, Klotz works as an Emmy award-winning music editor, lending his skills to many critically acclaimed television shows including HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” FX’s “American Horror Story,” and Netflix’s “Stranger Things.”

Tate, born and raised in Beverly Hills, is a comedic improviser and actress in addition to her talents as a singer. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree, as both of Tate’s parents are also actors. Her father has notched over 100 guest appearances on television, and her mother can claim a classic movie line, having played the barmaid in “The Blues Brothers” who, when asked what kind of music they usually have, memorably exclaims, “Oh, we got both kinds! Country and Western!”

While the music Tate makes with Klotz in People and Stars won’t likely be mistaken for Country or Western by anyone, it’s a sure bet that her mother is going to be pretty enthusiastic about it.

The debut EP by People and Stars arrives on July 15^th, 2016.  David Klotz and Amanda Tate are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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People and Stars

EP

(Minty Fresh)

July 15^th, 2016

  

Track Listing:

01. You’re Not Alone (STREAM | MP3)

02. The Future Is Right Here Today

03. Hold Me Forever

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People and Stars Links

ASSETS : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : INSTAGRAM : YOUTUBE : MINTY FRESH

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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