JOHN ORPHEUS SHARES NEW SINGLE AND VIDEO IG FROM FORTHCOMING ALBUM SAGA KING
SET FOR RELEASE JULY 30
VIA THE CONFIDENCE EMPERORS
LISTEN TO IG AND WATCH CELEBRATORY VIDEO
PROJECT CONTINUES THE STORY OF SAGA BOY
MEMOIR OUT NOW ON PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE
Toronto, ON – July 9, 2021 – Toronto artist, author, troubadour and Renaissance man, John Orpheus, is evolving, and does so on the seat of a unique throne. Marked by stories penned from his roots in Trinidad to life in Canada, and touring with rockstars around the world, he continues to blaze his unique path on forthcoming album, Saga King. Set for release July 30 via The Confidence Emperors, the album is a mirror to his highly acclaimed memoir, Saga Boy (Penguin Random House Canada), continuing the story of his life in sonic catharsis through enriching, raw, joy infused songs.
The announcement of Saga King arrives with new single, IG, and exudes that as a testament to self-love and being radically you. Listen to IG here.
“It's about celebrating yourself and not letting anyone tell you how to live,” John says. “We've all been through a rough time full of restrictions. And regardless of how you feel about that, it's time to begin again. What better way to start than to kiss yourself. The title ‘IG’ is a call out to the attention seeking game of social media, but the song itself is about giving yourself all the love you deserve without asking permission. It's FUNKY, SAUCY, CARIBBEAN POP aka it's exactly who I wanna be.”
IG arrives with a fitting video (watch here), directed by Patrick Hodgson (behind John’s visuals since 2018 track, Parachute, notably for recent pieces Fela Awoke (I Will Miss You) and ELECTRIC) and filmed in John’s hometown of Kitchener-Waterloo, at the new location of the legendary Mel's Diner. The cast includes Chlz and Micha, with Fabiola Dieuve at the helm for choreographing the group dance, props, wardrobe, and hyping the cast during takes.
The song was produced and composed by Mike Schlosser aka gawddamnitmichael, who is at the helm for the tracks on Saga King. IG follows John’s previous single, Fela Awoke (I Will Miss You), which has a stunning video.
After John finished the memoir, he felt inspired to create an album, which was written and co-produced with Mike Schlosser in Autumn 2020 within six weeks. John Orpheus quips the Trinidadian saying, “Own Way” (ie. ‘he go his own way’) as a testament of blazing his own path, and being unapologetically himself at all times and all costs. Black resilience weaves its way into Saga King, where John’s musical influences come together around themes of belonging, identity, resilience, and the celebration of sovereignty only self-awareness can bring.
Saga Boy, the memoir, will be released by Milkweed Editions in the US on September 14, 2021. Learn more about John Orpheus and connect with him below.
Saga King Tracklist:
1.IG
2.Damn
3.We Nah Worry About Dat
4.Carnival
5.Fela Awoke (I Will Miss You)
6.Fyah Ting
7.Mango Tree
8.Olurun
9.Indiana
10.U Look Cute When You Smile
DOWNLOAD – Hi Res Album Art
www.johnorpheus.com
Born and raised in South-Central Trinidad, John Orpheus is a multi-cultural musical artist and published author. For the past year and a half, he had been writing his memoir called SAGA BOY which was published by Penguin Random House Canada on January 19, 2021 and will be launched by Milkweed Editions in the US on September 14, 2021. With the book done, John decided to return to music and release a companion album entitled SAGA KING. Both the book and the album are based on similar themes: searching for home, family, love and a fly coat to wear when you get there! SAGA BOY is the journey of the boy. SAGA KING is the celebration of the man. His recently released single FELA AWOKE (I WILL MISS YOU) was the beginning of this new phase and introduced you to his deeply personal story. Second single IG, is about “celebrating yourself and giving yourself all the love you deserve without asking permission”.
John Orpheus’ musical journey has taken him from the Caribbean bush to festivals across Canada and the US to opening for Liam Gallagher on a UK tour as the frontman for a Happy Mondays offshoot band. He combines hip-hop swagger, Afrobeat energy and dancehall charisma to create a sound built on big catchy hooks. John is known for his rabble-rousing live shows filled with audience participation, chanting and impromptu dance-offs that feel more like Caribana road parties than concerts. In September 2019, he released his debut album WEY YA CALL DAT TING, the culmination of a three year, four mixtape project that he used to develop and hone his unique sound. Produced and co-written by Mike Schlosser, the album and the standalone single ELECTRIC released in 2020 fulfilled his early promise with a noticeably more pop and upbeat vibe. “The world is a soulful, sound-splash, dance party. That's the sound I want to create."