ORLANDO WEEKS 

SHARES NEW SINGLE ‘BIG SKIES SILLY FACES’

EXCLUSIVE FIRST SPIN FROM BBC 6MUSIC

LISTEN HERE 

FIRST SINGLE FROM FORTHCOMING SECOND ALBUM PRODUCED BY BULLION

WATCH THE VIDEO HERE FEATURING KATY J PEARSON DIRECTED BY RIK BURNELL

HEADLINE TOUR ANNOUNCED FOR MARCH 2022 – INCLUDING THE BARBICAN, LONDON

Orlando Weeks today shares his brand new single ‘Big Skies Silly Faces’. It’s the first song to preview his forthcoming second solo album, which follows his 2020 debut ‘A Quickening’. Heralded by critical acclaim from The Independent, Sunday Times Culture, Clash, DIY, SUN SFTW, NME, The Line of Best Fit, andLoud and Quiet, it extended the praise that he generated with both The Maccabees and his inspirational book/companion album project ‘The Gritterman’.

‘A Quickening’ catalogued the emotions and expectations that accompany imminent parenthood: anxieties and anticipation, hopes and fears, a monumentally personal yet also an undeniably universal experience. On reflection, however, its focus was on expectancy: the small wonders of new life were left largely unspoken. That was something Weeks wanted to rectify as he turned his attention to new music. In practice, his writing process instead became an exercise in focusing on ideas that would be joyous, uplifting and satisfying.

Those traits all shimmer throughout ‘Big Skies Silly Faces’ with its choral, dream-like production courtesy ofDeek Recordings founder Bullion, otherworldly vocal harmonies from critically acclaimed artist Katy J Pearsonand Ben Reed’s bass growing from a supporting texture to the forefront of the sound.

‘Big Skies Silly Faces’ echoes Weeks’ original idea of poetically examining the rewarding and exhausting facets of fatherhood. But as a writer with an instinct for duality, it’s part of a wider idea inspired, in part, by the early Mike Leigh film ‘Nuts in May’.

“There’s something about that that’s always stayed with me,” ponders Weeks, “the very English absurdity of making the most of a situation. The desperation for any potential silver lining. Really though I think Big Skies Silly Faces is about how I can be my own worst enemy – “No stopping that sky high as its wide … my mind against my better thinking. know the feeling but wonder why…”

In addition to his latest solo project, Weeks has also crafted the score for a new theatrical adaptation of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s 1998 film ‘After Life’. Running at London’s National Theatre from June 2nd to July 24th, it poses a simple yet daunting question: “If you could spend eternity with just one precious memory, what would it be?” It was written by Jack Thorne (‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’) from a concept he developed alongside Bunny Christie (‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’) and  Jeremy Herrin (‘People, Places and Things’).

Orlando Weeks will embark upon his highly anticipated headline tour in March 2022. NME’s five-star review of his EartH show in March 2020 noted a “beguiling show of restrained energy, a deeply felt performance… The singer has made music to hold someone close to, a live experience urging you to reach out and squeeze their hand.”

MARCH 2022—ORLANDO WEEKS LIVE

10 – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds

11 – The Mash House, Edinburgh

12 – Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester

15 – The 02 Institute, Birmingham

16 – Cambridge Junction, Cambridge

17 – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth

19 – Concorde 2, Brighton

20 – The Barbican Centre, London