Or:la - Trusting Theta (2024)

The dynamic and genre-spanning Irish producer and DJ Or:la, today announces her debut album, Trusting Theta, to be released on 20th September.

The album is imbued with both Irish and ancient Greek mythology and captures moments of sapphic love, friendship, and defiance against the still-never-ending injustices against the feminine. Alongside the announcement, she shares the second track from the album, following her dance-focussed single “Fired Up” which released in June. This energetic single “Chant” incorporates Or:la's own vocals and lyrics, inspired by Or:la’s time living in London and the socialites of the capital's nightlife.

On the artwork for Trusting Theta we see Or:la as a 3D scan transformed into stone, a playful nod to how some myths and legends can be misinterpreted just like the tale of Medusa often is. With great storytelling of metamorphosis in mind, Or:la immersed herself in many legends from both Irish and Greek mythology. Drawn to the Celtic pantheon in particular and the Celt's respect for women as healers, mothers and leaders - the focus on equality hit a chord.

Calling on her own community, the debut album features impressive collaborations with Or:la’s close friends and club comrades. Fellow Derry-born artist SOAK reads heartfelt poetry on “Milky Way of Glitter”, and dancefloor friend Eliza Rose can be heard on the declaration of resistance and desire “Slay The Beast” and Mary Lake in conversation on “Cooking Up Pepper Spray”. The latter was born as an enraged act against the criminalisation of pepper spray as a self-defense tool, and captures the intimate laughter between two friends in a moment of defiance. The track documents Or:la and Mary Lake cooking up their own pepper spray, discussing their ingredients like a Julia Child-hosted cooking tutorial, on top of a beat; methodical and purposeful.

This debut album takes our quiet conversations, intimate moments, and mournful prayers, projecting them out into the world. As Or:la describes it herself: “The girls who get it, get it”. These intimate moments include being at one with oneself, and most of this album was born from experimentation while Or:la was in a theta-mind state. During theta states, the brain works on autopilot, and for Or:la the base emotional themes of love and rage had bubbled to the surface.