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 has further flourished with the release of his new album ‘LOJA’ which is available on all digital platforms and physical formats via Fiction Records. Orlando first kicked off the album’s new creative era by sharing it’s lead single ‘Dig’, featuring Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg – Watch the video HERE.
In celebration of the album, Orlando is now set to embark on a UK tour across the country throughout September and October, starting at Newcastle’s The Cluny on the 24th September and concluding at Brighton’s St George’s Church on the 4th October.
‘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 accompanies the album. The album release coincided with a special residence at The Copeland Gallery, London which ran from 6th-9th June, where by day Orlando exhibited the paintings, sketches and prints he created there before it was transformed into a gig venue by evening, where he performed tracks from the album for the very first time.
Tickets for his UK tour are on sale HERE. Plus tickets for the Brighton gig, which is being put on by JOY. concerts are also available HERE.
Prior to heading on up to St. George’s Church in Kemp Town, Orlando will be making an appearance at Resident Music in Kensington Gardens, where he will be signing copies of his latest album ‘LOJA’ in the shop, which will come with a very limited edition exclusive art print related to the instore itself, made and customised unique to each customer by Orlando in-store. More information on this earlier event can be found HERE.
UK TOUR DATES:
24th Sep – The Cluny, Newcastle
25th Sep – Band on The Wall, Manchester
26th Sep – Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich
27th Sep – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
28th Sep – Thekla, Bristol
2nd Oct – Papillon, Southampton
3rd Oct – Islington Assembly Hall, London
4th Oct – St George’s Church, Brighton
