LA Priest

LA Priest (pronounced Lah Preest) is the solo project of British electronic musician Samuel Eastgate, who has also worked under the name Sam Dust. Although he initially launched the LA Priest project in 2007 with a 12” release on Erol Alkan’s Phantasy label, he’s best known as the frontman for Castle Donington-based electronic art rockers Late of the Pier, who released one highly acclaimed LP, Fantasy Black Channel, in 2008, and a handful of singles before going on hiatus in 2010. Over the next several years, the reclusive Eastgate moved around, spending time in Greenland making sonic experiments and studying electromagnetic phenomena and apparently producing a number of secret, uncredited projects. He eventually settled down in a small village outside of Welshpool, Wales where he re-emerged publicly in early 2015 announcing a deal with Domino Records under the LA Priest name. Citing the influence of pop mavericks like David Byrne, Prince, and Arthur Russell, Eastgate released the singles “Oino” and “Party Zute/Learning to Love,” which reflected his ambitious new direction. Both of those singles appeared on the full-length Inji, which arrived in June 2015. ~ Timothy Monger