New Track Release
Hayden Thorpe has unveiled a fresh track titled “Fatal Orchid”, following the release of his third studio album, Ness, last year. The song delves deeper into themes related to Orford Ness in Suffolk and the history of atomic weapons research.
Artist’s Reflection
“Performing the album in Orford Ness next to a nuclear missile had a profound impact on me. I started to see the rocket as a bizarre phallic totem, not a symbol of fertility, but rather its opposite—a ludicrous hypermasculine amulet of death. “Fatal Orchid” investigates our inherent dark urges and how our destructive impulses and lustful desires must awkwardly coexist. It’s a love letter to Ness, yet perhaps it reveals too much,” Thorpe explains.
In conjunction with the new track, Thorpe released “Listen to Ness: A Conversation with Robert MacFarlane”, a lengthy post that discusses the origins and evolution of the project alongside its co-writer.
The album Ness draws inspiration from Orford Ness, a ten-mile-long shingle spit located on the Suffolk coast. This former Ministry of Defense site, which was operational during both World Wars and the Cold War, was acquired by the National Trust in 1993. The album features tracks crafted through an editing process that utilizes lyrics from MacFarlane’s book of the same name.
Upcoming Tour Dates
His upcoming dates include:
JANUARY
25 Brewing Arts Centre, Kendal
26 Celtic Connections at City Halls, Glasgow
28 Music Room, Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool
29 National Center for Early Music, York
30 Sage 2, Glasshouse International Music Centre, Gateshead
31 Gate, Cardiff
FEBRUARY
1 Lantern, Bristol Beacon, Bristol
2 Blackwell Performance Space, Birmingham Symphony Hall, Birmingham
4 Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich
5 Comedy, Brighton
6-storey field centre, Cambridge
7 Kings Place, London
APRIL
12 L’Archipel, Paris
13 Effenaar, Eindhoven
15 Haldern Pop Bar, Rice
16 Jaki, Cologne
17 Bucktown, Berlin
18 Trafo, Jena
19 Feincoast Lampe, Hannover
MAY
7 Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival at The Deer’s Head, Belfast
8 The Grand Social, Dublin
9 St Michael’s Church, Manchester
