311’s SA Martinez Has a New Side-Project

311 DJ/Vocalist, SA Martinez and his label, Holy Grailien Records, has just announced Los Stellarians. A new side-project that blends the talents of Martinez and musician/producer Ryan Siegel, Los Stellarians will release their debut album Cholo Soul this August!

This new project now known as Los Stellarians is the soul-funk experience featuring SA Martinez and Ryan Siegel. Originally working together in Martinez’s first side-project, Ghostwholf, the duo have once again joined forces to produce Cholo Soul.

A collection of covering soulful songs from the ‘70s, the record is a tribute to some unheralded masters of classic soul and funk. Martinez explains “In many ways, this has been a dream album, I’ve always wanted to do a covers record of songs that inspire me on a soul-enriching level… There was a definite focus in mind, which was to cover some of the more underplayed sides of the American Soul canon.”

SA-side-project

Featuring 8-tracks in all, this project features Martinez as the lead vocalist while Siegel handled recording and production along with rhythm guitar, bass, keys and backing vocals. Also contributing to the recording’s full sound were Kenny Schwartz on the drums, Rose LaGuana on lead guitar, Mandy Ventrice with background vocals, and a wind section that features Steve Madaio on trumpet David Woodford playing saxophone and flute.

Set to be released via iTunes and Bandcamp on August 26, Cholo Soul is now available to pre-order on iTunes. Also available will be 12″ Gate-fold vinyl copies of Cholo Soul. Limited to 500 numbered copies, all vinyl orders will ship out October 1st.

As part of the pre-order for the full-length album ,the first single, “Didn’t I,” is out now and is available to download. Enjoy the song and video below…

“Didn’t I,” is an inspired cover of late soul singer Darondo’s 1973 classic. A song Martinez says he fell in love with the first time he heard it. “It’s the type of song to cast a spell on a listener to want to hear it over and over again,” he describes. “Mesmerizing is an understatement. I would literally play it non-stop on repeat, night after night. When the idea of Los Stellarians came about, ‘Didn’t I’ was the very first track I thought about taking on.”

As for the other tracks, Martinez shares, “I’ve been an avid vinyl collector for many years and it’s allowed me to discover some hidden gems that never really received the attention they deserved.” He continues on by saying, “all of the artists covered on the album are stars in my eyes and the songs of theirs, which we chose, to me are hits.”

Aside from touring and recently recording with 311, who are currently on a 37-date U.S. summer tour in support of their new album Stereolithic, SA Martinez also has plans to follow up the Los Stellarians covers debut with a collection of soulful originals later this year.

For more information on these artists and their music, check out the details below!

Los-StellariansCholo Soul Track List:
1.) Didn’t I (Darondo)
2.) I Can’t Understand You (Los Vampiros)
3.) Be That Way (Jimmy Gray Hall)
4.) Your Love (Choice of Colour)
5.) Young, Gifted and Brown (Joe Bataan)
6.) Make Love To Me (Carrie Cleveland)
7.) Sleepwalking (The Summits)
8.) Trying to Survive (Harvey Scales)


Related Links:
Los Stellarians Website
Los Stellarians Facebook
Holy Grailien Website
Holy Grailien Facebook

Article By: Aaron Solomon

WATCH: A teaser for Cholo Soul,The Los Stellarians “Didn’t I” promo video

WATCH: The video for Los Stellarians’ single off Cholo Soul, “Didn’t I”