Lost Weekend

Lost Weekend is the indie bossa nova project of Brooklyn based songwriter Erik Laroi.  Drenched in Burt Bacharach inspired orchestrations, Lost Weekend’s second album Where Our Stories End is a modern take on 60s easy listening and 70s baroque pop, with sonic touches from Brazil’s rich musical history.  Imagine Nick Drake and Astrud Gilberto collaborating on a record and you’re not too far off from Lost Weekend.

With its dreamy mix of trippy horns, lush strings, and jazzy electric piano, Where Our Stories End is a soundscape album tinged by nostalgia for a bygone musical era.  Taking a cue from Gil Evans or Nile Rodgers, each song feels enveloped in its own opulent tone color - from the melancholic samba of I Guess I Was Never Here to the faux disco of Sweetest Exile.

Yet Where Our Stories End is also an album grounded in traditional songwriting.  Laroi wrote all 8 of the tracks with just voice and guitar, bringing in musicians to contribute their sonic magic during an almost two year bi-coastal recording process. 

Multi-instrumentalist Mylo Janus (Tito Puente, Mos Def) adds his unique retro style to the arrangements, jumping from Latin funk to Claus Ogerman inspired textures to Brian Wilson-esque flourishes.  Indie veteran Kendall Jane Meade (Mascott, Sparklehorse) delivers a beautifully hushed vocal style and becomes the perfect harmonic partner to Laroi’s plaintive singing.  Drummer Butch Norton (Lucinda Williams, Rufus Wainwright) adds his distinctive groove and playful percussive tricks throughout, giving the album a rich, worldy feel.

Mixed by Charles Newman (The Magnetic Fields, Aarktica), the entire album was recorded in pieces and meticulously assembled during the post-production stages.

"shades of ‘60s orchestral pop and samba, echoing the likes of Sergio Mendes and Kings Of Convenience" - Treble magazine

"melodies that stay with you long after listening ... drawing comparisons with imperial Prefab Sprout" - Shindig! UK

"a transcontinental bridge between modern bossa nova and the golden age of baroque pop" -  98.9 KUTX Austin

"drawing from masters of ‘60s oblique subtlety - think Burt Bacharach, Joao Gilberto, Gil Evans" - Shindig! UK