An album launch, an old friend, and room to experiment. On November 5, Stray Lights Showcase brings ORKID to Control to celebrate their new record, with Sașa-Liviu Stoianovici of Balkan Taksim joining for a set of ambient, drone and improvisation. A friendship going back 30 years finds its way onto the stage, with a few pieces played together, too.
Orkid are releasing their EP “Mult mai bun” (“Much Better”), a record that closes the band’s most prolific year yet. Its three tracks blend calm, reverb-drenched harmonies with moments of darkgaze wall of sound and even noise. A triptych about the mad hope for a better future, an unwavering belief in a merciless miracle and in a future generation that will repair the world we live in.
Orkid, Bucharest’s trio of restless shoegazers, describe their style as post-traumatic blues.
Drawing on a wide range of influences, from punk and garage to post-metal, and from indie and blues to math rock, prog and even classical music, Orkid have released eight albums so far: “Standing Still in the Dark” (2016), “Suruaika” (2018), “Deraiat” (2020), “In the Light We Are Safe” (2022), “Noi contra Noi” (2023), “Eclipsa / În altă parte” (2026), “Ängelholm” (2026) and “Mult mai bun” (2026).
Over their 11 years together, they have played more than 350 shows and opened for bands such as Mogwai (Scotland), Death in Vegas (England), Mono (Japan), Madrugada (Norway), The Underground Youth (England), Lucy Kruger & the Lost Boys (Germany) and It It Anita (Belgium), as well as some of Romania’s most popular acts, including Vița de Vie, Șuie Paparude, Coma, Subcarpați, The Mono Jacks, E.M.I.L. and Implant pentru Refuz. They have also appeared on TVR1’s “Starea Nației” in 2019 and on dozens of radio shows, including Radio Guerrilla, Tananana, Gold FM and Rock FM.
With two of its members coming from visual-production backgrounds—Vlad is trained as a screenwriter and film director, while Radu is an animator and graphic artist—Orkid is a cinematic project that places strong emphasis on animated visuals, illustration and design. Urban artist Pisica Pătrată, aka Alexandru Ciubotariu—an illustrator, graphic artist, comic-book creator and graffiti artist—joins them for live drawing during their shows.
In 2022, Orkid’s track “Cad” was featured on the soundtrack of the HBO series “Ruxx”. Two other tracks, “Stargaze” and “Beasts Apart”, were later included on the soundtrack of the feature film “Băieții buni merg în Rai”, directed by Radu Potcoavă. Since 2018, the band have also composed three soundtracks for animated short films: “Suruaika”, “Nephilim” and “Eclipsa”.
Orkid are:
Vlad Ilicevici: guitars, synths, vocals
Radu Pop: percussion, synths
Mihnea Dumitrescu: bass
Pisica Pătrată: live drawing
