LA PRIEST

Variously known as Sam Dust, LA Priest and L.A. Priest, Eastgate has built a reputation as a subversive, unpredictable musician, consistently innovating over the course of his work with his now defunct breakout band Late Of The Pier, his cherished Soft Hair collaboration with Connan Mockasin as well as his solo work under LA Priest.

Following the release of GENE, Sam received requests to build drum machines around the world, with one correspondent from Belize eventually inviting him over to work at their studio. And so, at the beginning of 2021, Sam upped sticks to swap the Welsh borders for central America, only to find upon arrival in Mexico that he would be unable to actually get into Belize due to travel restrictions. In that instant, what would become the third LA Priest album changed completely. Marooned by the beach in Puerto Morelos, Sam found inspiration from the sea.

From the gently warped guitars on super-chilled opener “On”, through to the slow and tender closing track “No More”, each song on Fase Luna weaves and undulates into the next, creating an immersive whole. Recording in Mexico and the rainforests of Costa Rica, Sam was struck by each area’s mythical history and ancient connections to the ocean, drawing heavily on both to pack Fase Luna with stories of spirits and imaginations of life on the ocean bed.