New Orlando Weeks album - Loja - out NOW

NEW ALBUM ‘LOJA’ TO BE RELEASED DIGITALLY TODAY ON  PHYSICAL FORMATS TO FOLLOW ON AUGUST 23RD
*LISTEN HERE*
 
FIRST SINGLE ‘DIG’ FEATURING RHIAN TEASDALE OF WET LEG
LISTEN HERE / WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
 
HOSTS AN ART EXHIBITION / ALBUM PERFORMANCE AT THE COPELAND GALLERY ON JUNE 6TH-9TH

From his influential time with The Maccabees to the multi-faceted ‘Gritterman’ story and two highly acclaimed solo albums, Orlando Weeks has carved a niche as one of the UK’s most singular talents. That reputation will further flourish with the news that he will release his new album ‘LOJA’ digitally on all platforms on June 6th; with physical formats to follow on August 23rd via Fiction Records. Available to pre-save HERE across streaming platforms; Orlando previews the album by sharing its lead single ‘Dig’, which features Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg.

‘Dig’ is a driving, motorik groove which captures an “under your breath half-argument, the kind that only ever happens in public.” Orlando and Rhian Teasdale trade lines, the song’s inner tension building as his conspiratorial delivery is countered by her scathing, weary dismissal. Its social realist lyrics are given a fantastical twist with a video from director Matt Harris-Freeth, who previously helmed the ‘Look Who’s Talking Now’ video.
 
Orlando adds, “‘Dig’ is a tit for tat exchange where long worn-out promises are remade and road weary offences retaken. The kind of disagreement that manages to be somewhere between outpouring of emotion and exposed internal monologue.”
 
‘LOJA’ is a record in which place is as vital a characteristic as the emotions and incidents that he explores. The overarching themes are optimism and reflection: the positive mindset that emerged as he left London for a new life in Lisbon together with a new-found awareness about the things that you have left behind. Contentment emanates like a comforting embrace from an old friend. Yet life can never be as linear or as pure as unfiltered unhappiness and so ‘LOJA’ on occasion captures more corrosive moods too, from whispered confrontations to witnessing shocking tragedy in otherwise beautiful serenity.
 
Orlando says, “The great change in our lives was that we left London and moved to Lisbon, and the record definitely has elements of being a love letter to the place that we now call home. But I think the move provided a stirring of the waters. It threw up an awful lot of stuff and it gave us perspective and hindsight because suddenly there was distance. You can re-evaluate the things you were too close to, those things that there was no point spending time thinking about because it was the day-to-day bubble you were in.”
 
‘LOJA’ simmers with an engaging, organic warmth derived primarily from members of Orlando’s live band (Sami El-Enany, William Doyle, Alexander Painter and Luca Caruso), yet it also benefits from an array of nuanced details that, on first listen, hide stealthily in plain sight before revealing themselves with repeated listens. The process started late in 2022, but only gathered pace after he relocated to Lisbon before the bulk of the record was made in thirteen days in Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle of Wight with producer Sergio Maschetzko (Black Country New Road) and his collaborator David Granshaw, before Orlando teamed up with Nathan Jenkins (Bullion) to add the finer final touches.
 
The title ‘’LOJA’ (a shop or a store) references a building that Orlando rented in Lisbon which he used as his first proper art studio, a place where he crafted all of the art that will accompany the album. The album will be released digitally on June 6th to coincide with the start of a special residence at The Copeland Gallery, London running from June 6th-9th, where by day Orlando will exhibit the paintings, sketches and prints he created there before it is transformed into a gig venue by evening, when he will perform tracks from the album for the very first time. The opening day quickly sold-out, resulting in the addition of three further sessions. Tickets are available HERE.
 
‘LOJA’ tracklist:
 
1. ‘Longing’
2. ‘Best Night’
3. ‘Wake Up’
4.  ‘Dig’ featuring Rhian Teasdale
5. ‘You & The Packhorse Blues’
6. ‘Good To See You’
7. ‘My Love Is (Daylight Saving)’
8. ‘Please Hold’
9. ‘Sorry’
10. ‘Tomorrow’
11. ‘Beautiful Place’
 
 
Follow Orlando Weeks:
Website | Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Instagram
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