In this interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.     

This time we speak with “post-disco punk” trio The Orielles.

Originally conceived at a house party in West Yorkshire and fueled by a mutual love of Pixies, Pavement and the films of Quentin Tarantino, sisters Sidonie B and Esme Dee Hand-Halford, in collaboration with their new partner-in-crime Henry Wade, set out to the form The Orielles.

The circumstances were, admittedly, rather inauspicious considering two members of this fledgling band couldn’t actually play their instruments at the time, but as evidenced by genre-smashing recent singles ‘Sugar Tastes Like Salt’, ‘I Only Bought It For The Bottle’ and ‘Let Your Dogtooth Grow’, The Orielles have become a truly formidable beast.

Having moved on from the charming surf-rock beginnings of early releases Space Doubt and Jobin, this Halifax trio have honed their distinctive songwriting talents, blending vast arrays of seemingly antagonistic genres in a “post-disco punk” fusion (as the band have smilingly referred to their music) with results that demand attention.

They’ve just released their latest side-stepping single ‘Blue Suitcase (Disco Wrist)’, and with their highly-anticipated debut album Silver Dollar Moment due for release this month via Heavenly Recordings, we decided to catch up with the rising 3-piece to learn a little more about the album’s making.

***

TMR: We’re curious about the early days of the band. How long have you been playing as The Orielles, how did you guys come together and what did these formative months of the band look like?

We have been playing together as The Orielles for around 3 years but have been playing together a little longer under a few different names. We met at a party and were the only people there more interested in the grand piano in an upstairs room than anything else the party had to offer. Despite two of us having never really picked up an instrument before, we decided to meet the following day to have a jam. The first few months were spent learning about one another as well as learning our instruments! We then got asked to open an all-day gig in Halifax, which was the first time any of us had even set foot on a stage. We played for about 15 minutes and didn't speak at all in between songs, we did two of our own tunes that we had written especially for the gig and we also covered ‘There She Goes’ by The La’s and 'Stray Cat Strut’ by Stray Cats.

TMR: It’s well documented that you three have toured and played out quite a bit before the wider UK music scene got to know about you. What have been some of the most memorable moments on the road?

Yeah, I guess being from Halifax meant that we had to look outside the town for gigs, meaning that from quite an early stage we were playing shows in Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, etc. before we were even in any way established. The tour we did with The Parrots in September 2016 was really great. It was the first time we had played a lot of places such as Reading, Ramsgate and Glasgow so that was exciting, but mainly because those guys are just great, so much fun! We made some amazing friends on that tour, which made it especially memorable. On that tour we also had one of the weirdest experiences of our lives whilst staying at what can only be described as a 'cult house'. We sing about our wild experience on a track called 'Snaps' on the album so you'll have to wait to hear the story!



TMR: Your new record is called Silver Dollar Moment and (lucky for us) is out very soon. Can you describe how and where the album was written/recorded? What was your favourite stage of the album making process?

The record was written over quite a long period and so is comprised of a collection of songs from over the years, a lot of the tunes we have never played live before so are totally new and we're most excited for people to hear those ones. It was recorded over the summer in 2017 at Eve Studios, Manchester and was produced by the genius that is Marta Sologni. It's way too difficult to just choose one stand-out moment of the recording process, it was all so much fun! One moment that always sticks out though is when we had a really long drawn out jam session with Marta and the studio engineer, Joel. We were swapping around instruments and just got really proggy with it all haha. It was a fun night.

TMR: We really can’t get enough of ‘Let Your Dogtooth Grow’. How did this track come about?

Thanks! This track was one of those that we were buzzing about from the very start. I remember whilst we were initially jamming it around, Esme found it really easy to add a vocal melody to, the chorus melody came to her right away, which is always a good sign when it comes so naturally. We then wrote the lyrics after watching the film Dogtooth by Yorgos Lanthimos and we decided that the themes portrayed in the film were actually pretty apt for us being considered a fairly young band a lot.

TMR: Do you have a favourite moment on the album? If so, which and why?

In a track called 'Sunflower Seeds' on the record, there's a line which goes “we talk about space” and Marta came up with such a crazy, yet brilliant idea that we should take that line, and reverse it underneath the actual main vocal line. So underneath the line is the phrase being sang backwards. It sounds dead cool and Twin Peaks-y.

TMR: If you could curate an ideal environment to experience your music, what would it be?

I don't think there's better environment than a live setting to be honest! There's definitely something special about collectively experiencing live music with a room full of people. Everybody is witnessing the same thing, however I can guarantee that each individual person is feeling something different at each particular moment.



TMR: Your songs often make reference to works of film. Is script writing or directing something you’re involved in alongside the music/would like to get more involved in?

It's not something that we're involved in on a serious level. We have written short stories and screenplays in the past, but only for our own pleasure. It's definitely something we would like to get into more though! We've always had the dream of either composing or just selecting the soundtrack for a film so maybe that is something we could certainly look into doing in the future.

TMR: Not that there are any, but to nip any misconceptions of The Orielles in the bud, have you come across anything in the press that you feel misrepresents the band?

Just the age thing really! People still think we're all in high-school which is a bit annoying, considering Sid has graduated from not only high-school or college but university! We appreciate that we look pretty young, but it sometimes gets a bit tedious reading comments regarding our age when there are other bands out there that are our age or younger who don't get any trouble. I mean, we're in our early twenties/late teens, but some people think we're like, 14, haha. We just wish that people would stop making such a big deal out of it now.

TMR: Are there any up-and-coming artists or bands you’re really enjoying lately?

New Hookworms record is UNREAL. They're not new, but boy is this album tight! Our mates Sports Team are doing super well at the moment and they're going on tour with our other friend Pip Blom which will be an absolutely amazing tour. We urge everybody to get to one of the shows if they can. You won't be disappointed.

TMR: After the release of the album, what does the rest of 2018 hold for The Orielles?

We have a UK tour through February and then Europe in April so that should be fun. After that we're doing festivals pretty much all summer, again this will be ace. We will probably head back into the studio over summer as well, to begin writing and recording some new material for album number 2! There's no sleep in Orielles camp!



Silver Dollar Moment is out on February 16^th via Heavenly Recordings. Catch The Orielles on tour.

-Karl Jawara