For Immediate Release: 

Naama Kates’ Third Album
Souled
An Ethereal Reflection on Life, Love, Longing, and L.A.
Produced by Cyrus Melchor
Album Release on Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Record Release Party in L.A. also on October 7, 2014

LOS ANGELES, CA – August 27, 2014 – Critically acclaimed singer-composer-actor Naama Kates will release her third album, Souled, on Tuesday, October 7, 2014. On the new album, Kates reunites with award-winning producer Cyrus Melchor, who also produced her first album, The Unexamined Life. The new album, Souled, is an ethereal reflection on life, love, longing, and Los Angeles. Souled’s thoughtful lyrics showcase Kates’ sultry voice and genre-bending arrangements. The album will be released through CD Baby and available digitally via online outlets including iTunes, Amazon, Google Music Store, eMusic, Nokia, Xbox Music, as well as other sites. Physical copies of the CD will be available through CD Baby, Amazon, and Southern California retailers Amoeba Music and Battery Books & Music. For additional information, please visit http://www.naamakates.com.

A record release party for the new album is also scheduled for Tuesday, October 7, 2014, hosted by Mount Cyanide Studio at The Complex in Atwater Village (3015 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles, 90039; 323-665-2777; www.mountcyanide.com). The free, outdoor event will feature an open bar and will start at 8:00pm. Ages 21+ welcome. Kates (vox, keys) will be joined onstage by Melchor (MPC, guitar), Rich West (drums), and Steuart Liebig (bass). Projections will be provided by visual artist/VJ Michael Allen.

“The songs on Souled are about life, seen through both a micro and macro lens, with narrators that range from taunting inner voices to omniscient beings,” says Kates, “The album is a work of soul-searching, culminating with the title song, a play on ‘sold.’”

Souled album cover art and photo by Luis Aguirre, (c) 2014, styling by Lucy Meza.

The album was recorded at Melchor’s Mount Cyanide Studio in Atwater Village as well as engineer Scott Fraser’s studio in Mount Washington, both in Los Angeles. Souled finds Melchor incorporating more electronic elements into Kates’ continually evolving sound. Her smoky vocal stylings draw comparisons to Fiona Apple, Cat Power, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor, and Tori Amos, and yet her sound remains uniquely her own. The subject matter on the album was inspired by everyday life – from frustrations with the City of Los Angeles’ Parking Violations Bureau to the political upheaval in the Ukraine to Kates’ search for her missing cat (who is safely back home!). Additional collaborators on Souled include Joseph Harvey on cello, guitarist GE Stinson, Danny Levin on horns, drummer Rich West, and Alexander DeYoung, who mastered the album. A new video, directed by Luis Aguirre, is also in the works for the track, “Waves,” from the new album. Aguirre also created the album cover art for Souled and directed Kates’ “Airplanes” video, released earlier this year.

With several indie films and TV appearances notched on her belt, Kates continues to be active on the screen as well. Her film Chloe, originally titled The 10 Commandments of Chloe, is set to release in late 2014. The undeniably autobiographical film, which stars Kates, is about a young musician who is new to Nashville, and features songs from Kates’ The Unexamined Life. The film, directed by Princeton Holt, swept up 9 awards on the festival circuit and at jury competitions, including several for Best Lead Actress and Best Narrative Feature. That attention led to the film getting picked up for distribution by a bi-coastal production company. Chloe is currently undergoing revisions before a wider release later this year.

Souled Track List –
01 – Hurricane – 5:15
02 – For Our Friends – 4:09
03 – Wait Until Bright – 4:20
04 – Sunrise – 4:28
05 – Waves – 2:56
06 – Run – 4:24
07 – Growl – 3:13
08 – Windows – 2:56
09 – Chime – 3:49
10 – On My Love – 3:53
11 – Souled – 4:02

Souled Credits –
• Naama Kates – Composing, All Vocals, Piano, Synthesizer
• Cyrus Melchor – Producing, Arrangements, Engineering, Bass, Drum Programming, Guitar, Synthesizer
• Scott Fraser – Engineering
• Alexander DeYoung – Mastering
• Joseph Harvey – Cello
• GE Stinson – Guitars
• Danny Levin – Trumpet, Trombone, French Horn
• Rich West – Drums

Naama Kates –
When Naama Kates, originally from Lorain, Ohio, moved from Connecticut to New York City, she stumbled into a viable acting career while also tending bar and making synth dance demo tapes for anyone who would listen. Her film roles have ranged from a small part in Chris Columbus’ Stepmom (1998), which starred Julia Roberts, Susan Sarandon, and Ed Harris, to more significant roles in indie films like Cookies and Cream (2008) and Eden (2012), the SXSW Jury Award-winner, which starred Jamie Chung and Beau Bridges. She also had a starring role in the supernatural action short Road to Moloch (2009) and landed guest starring roles on the hit television series NCIS on CBS and Law & Order SVU on NBC, which brought her to Hollywood.

On Christmas Eve in 2009, Kates bought herself a small Yamaha keyboard and began writing her own songs, which she soon after performed at open mic nights and small venues around Los Angeles. A chance meeting with Cyrus Melchor, in 2010, led to an important collaboration with the CLIO and AICP award-winning producer/composer, resulting in the release of her first album, The Unexamined Life. She debuted The Unexamined Life in May 2012 to a packed house at the Hotel Café in Hollywood, CA, where Kates played and sang with a six-piece ensemble. The Unexamined Life was a critical success, earning rave reviews from national and international press. The single “Before You Lose It” was featured on the CW drama Ringer, while the album track “Kachmare” was heard on the CBS hit series CSI. Kates’ self-produced sophomore album, King for the Day (2013), mixed and recorded by three-time Grammy Award-nominee Scott Fraser, was another critical success, which helped Kates’ earn a new following in South America and Europe. In 2014, she reunited with Melchor for her upcoming third album, Souled.

Cyrus Melchor –
Cyrus Melchor is a music composer (sometimes referred to as “Mount Cyanide”) whose works have appeared on record releases, television and radio advertisements, as well as film scores. In 2007, he won both a CLIO and an AICP award for his composing work on Coca Cola’s “Parade” commercial. He won another CLIO and AICP award in 2012 for the Johnnie Walker campaign “Step Together.” Melchor was also inducted Original Music Composer by MoMA NYC. He was born and raised in Hollywood, where he continues to reside. As a music producer, his first release was a remix for Massive Attack, on their debut album Blue Lines, at the age of 18. He went on to produce for a variety of 1990s urban music acts ranging from the mainstream R&B Bell Biv Devoe to the underground cult hip hop group Blood of Abraham. He has also worked with The Prodigy, J Dilla, Camarillo Blues Triangle, Naama Kates, and recently released his own first full-length album, The Home For Better Living.

Links –
• Naama Kates’ Site – http://www.naamakates.com
• Name Kates Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/NaamaKates
• Naama Kates (personal FB page) – https://www.facebook.com/naama.kates.9
• Facebook Event Page – https://www.facebook.com/events/643413292423885
• CD Baby – http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/NaamaKates
• ReverbNation – http://www.reverbnation.com/naamakates
• Twitter – @naamakates
• YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/user/delilah11
• IMDb – http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0441809
• Amazon Preorder – http://www.amazon.com/Souled-Naama-Kates/dp/B00MPNBVEY

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For more information, images, advance copies of the album, or to request an interview, please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.

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“Souled is an unaffectedly arty and so accessible pop-with-brains –– or is it new shapes/sounds disguised as mere pop? Whatever the case may be, it’s deep and deeply moving, it’s chillingly beautiful, it’s absorbing, it’s persuasive.”

– John Payne, BlueFat

“Singer/songwriter Naama Kates’ third album, Souled, is a brilliant combination of musical shine and catchy lyrics.”

– Jason Tanamor, Zoiks

“Kates is a sparkling vision of what many aspire to in the art world.”

– Elizabeth Martin, LA Music Examiner

“(Souled) is a smoky beautiful release that has hints of Norah Jones.”

– Alex Teitz, FemMusic

“Souled is an absolutely fantastic album fueled by outstanding arrangements and powered by the artist’s acting, singing, and songwriting chops.”

– Russell W. Elliot, Musical Discoveries