One Eyed Jacks ceased activity in 2017 with a record by Photonz released under a different alias. It was the right time to let go: when the label started, in 2010, there were few electronic music labels in Portugal and a growing new wave of artists that needed to be documented and shown. Along the years, new labels - more capable ones - developed to cater to that need while projects like Rádio Quântica, co-founded by Photonz and Violet, seemed better instruments to carry on the vision of elevating and documenting a fledgling scene. But the itch for editorial expression was never gone and come 2023, One Eyed Jacks is back to life, animated by a renewed trust in the music and visions of how to apply its mysterious power to move, inspire and heal.

As the first single of a larger body of work to be presented later in the year, “Orpheus” is an expression of that same trust: no rushing, no over-production, no masking. Just a minimalistic dance track cooked up over an attempt to use the kick drum sample as also the source for the bassline and the melodies. The result is a bass-heavy, slow-paced house track with playful polyrhythmic layering and a melancholic emotional undertone. Adding to it we’ve got three exceptional producers on the remix: Lisbon’s Kara Konchar and Lake Haze, and Zambia’s SHE Spells Doom.

Lisbon-based Kara Konchar AKA Miguel Béco picks up on the original’s more emotive motifs and builds up a dense storm of heavy drums, unpredictable changes and texturally-rich variations on the melodies, bringing the drama levels way up. Wamya Tembo, known for deadly house hybrids under the name SHE Spells Doom on household labels such as Tresor or Sweat Equity, lends a no-nonsense, lean and mean quality to “Orpheus”, stepping on the gas while retaining a refined sonic signature and a groove not to be messed with. Lastly but definitely not least, in fine contemplative and romantic style, One Eyed Jacks OG Lake Haze AKA Gonçalo took the source elements and carved out one for the lovers and the breakers.