Lusitanian Ghosts

Lusitanian Ghosts issue ‘Exotic Quixotic’, a rallying anthem for artists and dreamers to “fight the good fight” in the face of rising populism.

The international collective release the defiant, uplifting track to mark the 47th anniversary of the  Portuguese Carnation Revolution when civilians took to the streets against the fascist regime which had held the country in an iron grip for almost half a century.

Just as the revolution was first signaled by a radio broadcast of the now-iconic Grandola, Vila Morena by the banned folk musician José Afonso, ‘Exotic Quixotic’ celebrates the value of artists, musicians and creativity at a time when concert halls, theatres, nightclubs and bars have been silent for many months.

The track is the lead single from Lusitanian Ghosts’ forthcoming album Exotic Quixotic, which is set for release in September 2021. Recorded at Clouds Hill Studios in Hamburg with Sebastian Muxfeldt, it follows Lusitanian Ghosts’ 2019 self-titled debut LP, a “must-listen”, according to No Depression, for fans of “provocative, intellectually stimulating rock music”.

This autumn’s LP will see the collective, which hinges around Lisbon-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Neil Leyton and his Swedish counterpart Micke Ghost, journey deeper into their recasting of forgotten traditional chordophones as the basis for literate, 21st century indie rock.

For now, Ghost takes lead vocals on ‘Exotic Quixotic’, the springtime anthem also featuring the voices of Sasa Vipotnik from Slovenia’s AKA Neomi, Finnish author-musician Petri Leppanen and Joana Negrão from Portugal’s Seiva.

Lusitanian Ghosts collective members Vasco Casais, Claudia Teles and João Sousa shot the footage for the lyric video in their respective regions of Torres Vedras and Setúbal as they could not travel beyond their municipality due to pandemic restrictions. Watch it HERE.

“I don’t speak Slovenian or Finnish, so I can’t tell you what Sasa and Petri are saying,” says Leyton, who wrote Exotic Quixotic’s lyrics, “but what Joana is saying is that, even though it’s hard to be an artist day-in, day-out, she is fighting the good fight and she’s proud of that.”

He continues: “Exotic Quixotic is an ode to being an artist in a digital century threatened once again by the rise of social-media powered populism. We chose to release it close to the 25th April, the date of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. I was just three years old when the Portuguese army hit the streets, on cue, triggered by a José Afonso song. Not that any of our songs compare, but we hope it will send vibes of strength and courage to every artist currently enduring this pandemic.”

‘Exotic Quixotic’ is out on 23rd April 2021 via European Phonographic.