Andrew St. James reacts to bay area city’s murder rate on track from critically praised new album.

“A Prayer For East Oakland” is latest from 18-year-old singer-songwriter’s “Doldrums” debut.

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“He possesses remarkable lyricism and self-awareness.” – Interview

“We’re seriously looking for proof that St. James is only 18…” – Nylon

“Overflowing with clever lines and lyrical intricacies.” – American Songwriter

“This kid is headed for big things.” – USA Today

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Andrew St James as photographed by Peter Ellenby

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Hear the premiere of the “A Prayer For East Oakland” single via Under The Radar

See the premiere of the video for “A Prayer For East Oakland” via The Bay Bridged

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“A Prayer For East Oakland” is the latest single and video by Andrew St James

[SOUNDCLOUD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/andrew-st-james-a-prayer-for-east-oakland/

[DOWNLOAD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/andrew-st-james-a-prayer-for-east-oakland/download

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/andrewstjames/mp3/andrewstjames-aprayerforeastoakland.mp3

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 [VIDEO]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLSpjDnpu94

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“The lyrics to ‘A Prayer For East Oakland’ are formed around Psalms in the New Testament,” explains 18-year-old singer-songwriter Andrew St. James. “The song was originally a poem I wrote after a childhood friend of mine was murdered during the summer of 2011 outside of his home in East Oakland.  Watching the homicide rate in the city rise almost exponentially during that time made me frustrated with how little people around me knew or cared about the violence in a community so close to our home.”

The song, an epic and beautiful tune that takes a serious look at the rate of gun-related deaths in the bay area, specifically Oakland, is the latest track and video from the debut Andrew St. James album Doldrums.  St. James, and the mature quality of his timeless songwriting have already been noticed by MTV Hive, Interview, SF Weekly, USA Today, American Songwriter, and Performer Magazine among others.  The album, produced by St. James himself along with veteran Bay Area producer Jim Greer (a platinum record recipient for his work with Foster The People), is out now.

St. James continues, “There were 110 reported homicides in Oakland during 2011, rising to 131 in 2012. Almost every night of those two years, the first ten minutes of the nightly news would be attributed to reports of gun violence in Oakland. Reports of toddlers being shot and killed in random acts of violence were forgotten along with the weather report. The memory of those 241 people, the majority of them African-American, has been lost on the outside world, disregarded by people of privilege, and forgotten by people with power.”

St. James goes on to conclude that “The casualties of poverty are widely misunderstood in a land where the struggles of economic opportunity are foolishly attributed to racial culture, and subsequently swept under the rug. In communities like East Oakland, it is easy to see that the African American community has been abused, and is today still abused, by systematic oppression in the highest, most obvious degree.”

Doldrums, the debut album by Andrew St. James, is out now via the Island Jar / Fortune label.  Andrew St. James is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Andrew St James

Doldrums

(Island Jar/Fortune – Out Now)

Track Listing:

01. Cassidy (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)

02. Maybe It’s Time For Me To Go

03. Visions (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)

4. The Lost, The Vain (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)

5. A Prayer For East Oakland (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3 | VIDEO)

6. No Hurry (Subterfuge)

7. Nightmares Pt. 5

8. East of Eden

9. I’m All About You

10. Marigold

11. Before The Flood

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Andrew St James Links

INFO : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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

I Am The Albatross combines American folk mysticism with savage psychedelic noise on new EP.

 Austin-based band’s debut arrives March 4^th.  Hear the first single “Strugglin’” via The Obelisk now.

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I Am The Albatross (L-R): Jesse Berkowitz, Giuseppe Ponti and Marc Henry | Photo by: Danny Borja

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“Strugglin’” is the first single from the debut I Am The Albatross EP

[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/i-am-the-albatross-strugglin

[DOWNLOAD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/i-am-the-albatross-strugglin/download

[MP3]: http://www.fanaticpromotion.com/projects/iamthealbatross/mp3/iamthealbatross-strugglin.mp3

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Check out the premiere of “Strugglin’” by I Am The Albatross at The Obelisk!

“It’s whiskey in the morning, gin and tonic at noon. Pulling down the blinds in a motel room...”

“Strugglin’” is the first single from the debut EP by the trio of Austin-based musical veterans that collectively form I Am The Albatross. The song begins as a stumbling, lost soul’s barroom lament before exploding into a blistering barn-burner, with a protagonist who dejectedly sneers at the hopelessness of the apocalyptic times he has found himself in. “Strugglin’” propels itself forward on a high-speed, borderline polka, gypsy groove and eventually bursts into full on punk-rock fury.

“The song is an exaggerated expression of the feelings of imprisonment and tension that we all experience in times of financial and emotional insecurity. Everyone at some point in their life may find themselves trapped in a dark, windowless room (figuratively, hopefully), just searching for a crack in the wall where a tiny bit of light might be shining through,” explains band leader, Jesse Berkowitz.

I Am The Albatross combines the backwoods mysticism of old-time American folk songs with the savage spirit of rock, punk and psychedelic noise. The band’s brand of storytelling takes listeners through smoky terrain where tranquil rivers bleed out onto the shores of scorching deserts.  It’s a stirring concoction of music that defines an alternate America with a strange dream landscape, forever out of place.

“I was born in a very small town in Virginia and literally grew up in the woods and spent my teenage years in an equally small town in New Mexico,” says Berkowitz.  “The Appalachian landscape and dialects, and the vast deserts of the Southwest and Western American culture, are equally important and influential in my songwriting. I have a great affinity for the types of characters that come from those places.”  The debut self-titled EP from I Am The Albatross arrives on March 4^th, 2014.

Members of I Am The Albatross are available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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I Am The Albatross Live

02/28 Houston, TX @ Mangos

03/01 San Antonio, TX @ 502 Bar

03/02 Austin, TX @ Empire Control Room

04/26 San Marcos, TX @ MR Fest

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I Am The Albatross

S/T EP

(S/R – March 4^th, 2014)

Track Listing:

1. Kingsnake

2. Strugglin’ (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | MP3)

3. Nashville

4. Black Crow

5. Main Line

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I Am The Albatross Links

INFO : FACEBOOK : BANDCAMP

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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

Metal Mother releases new music video ahead of guest appearance on latest Glitch Mob album.

 See “Mind_Off” via Noisey now, Hear Taara Tati on “Love Death Immortality,” out tomorrow.

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Taara Tati of Metal Mother | Photo Credit: Jon Knox | Styling: Eros Mortis

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“Mind_Off” is from the latest Metal Mother album Ionika out now

[STREAM]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/metal-mother-mind_off

[DOWNLOAD]: https://soundcloud.com/fanaticpro/metal-mother-mind_off/download

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

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Taara Tati of Metal Mother on the cover of the San Francisco Bay Guardian.

Read the story by Emily Savage here.  Photo Credit: Leo Volk Matis.

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Read a Q&A with Taara Tati of Metal Mother via The Wild Magazine!

Combining elements of electronic, industrial, pop and goth with a consistent stream of bewitching visual content, Oakland, California’s Taara Tati aka Metal Mother garnered the interest of publications such as Vice, Vogue, Bust, BlackBook, USA Today, MTV since the release of her debut album Bonfire Diaries in 2011 and her sophomore record Ionika in 2013.  Now, following up the attention-grabbing video for the Bonfire Diaries track “Shake” is another epic clip, this one for “Mind_Off” from Ionika.

Of the clip, directed by Elia Vargas and premiered today via Noisey, Tati says, “This story exists in black, dense, empty space. A void. Cult dancers and future-spun techno clans surge in new warriors and new lyfe. We are privileged to this strange moment in this strange space and what we learn is more about what does and does not happen rather than why it is happening. Strange battles, strange visions, strange love.”

In addition to the release of her new video, Tati will also release some new work as part of her contribution to the new album by The Glitch Mob.  Tati’s vocals appear on the song “Becoming Harmonious,” from the Los Angeles-based band’s new album Love Death Immortality, scheduled for release tomorrow.

Tati’s own records have arrived courtesy of her experimental arts collective Post Primal, a multi-media party crew that’s been recognized as a valuable platform for Oakland’s bourgeoning art scene. She has also begun work on a music video for the Ionika track “Omens,” and remixes of “Mind_Off” (by Blvck Jeans) and another album cut “Cardiac Blossom” (by Sweet Anomaly) are coming soon.

With her intricate composition style, enigmatic vocal layering, quirky piano melodies, and distorted synth lines, Metal Mother casts an arcane, provocative, and sometimes deranged sound. Much of her content is inspired by travels to ancient pagan sites and it comes through in many of her lyrics and songs. Mix that with the influences of the industrial surroundings in Oakland, a devout interest in occult relevancy, and a futurist’s knack for not blending in, and you have Metal Mother.

Taara Tati of Metal Mother is available for interviews.  Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic for more information.

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Metal Mother

Ionika

(Post Primal – Out Now)

Track Listing:

01. Mind_Off (STREAM | DOWNLOAD | VIDEO)

02. Windexx’d

03. Prism (STREAM | DOWNLOAD)

04. Tactillium (STREAM | DOWNLOAD)

05. Little Ghost

06. Omens

07. Hungers

08. Doomdome

09. Enetar

10. Cardiac Blossom

11. IONA

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Metal Mother Links

INFO : WEBSITE : FACEBOOK : TWITTER : YOUTUBE : MYSPACE: SOUNDCLOUD : BANDCAMP :  POST PRIMAL

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Contact Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion

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