17-Year-Old Lola Bates Debut Single, Video and 3/29 RED HOT Album Release

17-year-old singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Lola Bates debut album Red Hot is set for release March 29 on Human Made Records. The single "Red Hot" was released last Friday on all digital platforms and the video release is set for wide release on February 12. Classically trained pianist since age 5, Bates may still be in high school but on her 8-song debut LP, she brings a wealth of professional experience and passion to her album.

Working entirely on her own, Bates wrote the music, lyrics and recorded demos for her debut album which evolved into the album Red Hot via a collaboration with her father, composer/producer Tyler Bates and Grammy-winning engineer/producer/mixer Robert Carranza. It was a familiar experience in this setting as the young Bates was tasked at age 12 to record piano work on the Marvel franchise film Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.1 and again in 2017 recorded her piano work for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 at Abbey Road Studios in London with the London Symphony Orchestra. It was during these sessions that she expanded her knowledge and artistic expression to the point where she began applying her own musical ideas for her own music. This led to her vision to pursue life as an artist, musician and songwriter. The result is Red Hot.

Tracks from the album include:

1. Still A Mess

2. Hey Hey Hey

3. Lost in the City

4. I'm Gonna Lose You

5. Red Hot

6. The f You Song

7. That's Life

8. The Day That I Walked

On Red Hot, Lola has an eclectic take on the traditional singer-songwriter motif as she switches between piano on the song "I'm Gonna Lose You", bass on "Red Hot" and guitar on "Hey Hey Hey". Recording and performing with orchestras inspired Lola to write string arrangements to broaden the emotional depth of her debut album. It's this eclecticism that is fed by her lyrical and thematic adaptability. Although she wavers between rock, pop, and jazz, the sound is uniquely her own. Sometimes sad, sometimes angry, sometimes nostalgic, Red Hot is as expansive and genuine as Bates herself. Complimenting Lola on the album is drummer and producer, Scott Seiver, of Tenacious D and John Carpenter, and several soloists including saxophonist, David Ralicke, of Beck and Dengue Fever.

Lola's songs, "Still a Mess" and "Hey Hey Hey", are featured in the pilot episode of USA network's The Purge TV series, and are currently available on streaming platforms. What's more, she's played bass live on The Howard Stern Show with David Hasselhoff and performed live playing piano with the Malaga Orchestra and bass with Tyler Bates Band at MOSMA in Spain. Her work as a musician and artist led to an endorsement with Schecter Guitars, where she is a featured artist on their international website and catalogue. In the fall of 2019, Lola will be attending the Mike Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business at Belmont University in Nashville, TN on both academic and music scholarships.

In the meantime, she is performing regularly with her band at L.A. music venues.

photo credit: Piero F Giunti

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