Mellowdrone to release "Angry Bear" via Coming Home Records on August 25, 2009!

The story of Mellowdrone started in Venezuela when principal songwriter and founding member Jonathan Bates was born. Fast-forward through a coming of age in Miami where he mastered his skill at guitar shredding, which then lead to a scholarship to Boston’s famed Berklee School of Music. Once there, Bates realized that though he was technically proficient at guitar – mastering it as an instrument, he felt as if he knew nothing of the songwriting craft itself. A lifetime in the making, this is where Mellowdrone was given a name and thus conceived.

Download: Mellowdrone -- "Elephant"

Throughout the ebb and flow of the band's career, Mellowdrone released a series of EPs and finally their debut album on 3E/Columbia, Box. Naturally, sewn throughout these releases the band was hand-selected to tour throughout Europe, Japan and the US with the likes of Johnny Marr, The Killers, Elbow, Phantom Planet, Secret Machines, The Fire Theft, and She Wants Revenge. Meanwhile, Mellowdrone’s songs went on a tour themselves landing in HBO’s Six Feet Under, the adverts for CBS’ Cane, Nissan commercials; movies The Invisible and Driv3r; and also was the theme song for Bravo’s Project Runway among others.

In early 2007, Mellowdrone was freed from their record deal with Columbia, allowing them to start anew. "'07 was rough for me, man. I had to take year just to get my life in order. I spent all of ’06 promoting our record to come home and find my personal life in shambles.” says Jonathan. With no commitments, he and Tony spent the next year writing and cataloging songs. When not working on Mellowdrone, you could find Jonathan playing guitar in the French electronic group M83 or Monsters Are Waiting. After collecting enough songs that they were proud of, Mellowdrone recorded Angry Bear in late 2008. It was recorded predominately live, at friends houses. “Everything I had done up to this point was glossy. What I really wanted was a perfect snapshot of imperfection. If the song is dope, it doesn’t matter how its produced…” When asked about the title, Jonathan simply states: “Angry Bear is the dude who comes out when I forget that the Universe does what she wants. When I forget that i’m her bitch. This record is me submitting to her.”