Issue 74 / February 2017

Bido Lito! February 2017
9
learning classical pieces again, and I recently restrung my old
guitar I used to do my grades on, and I want to get back into
reading noted music.”
The tender ages of all three Orielles may be one of the reasons
for the charming exuberance in their music, but, contrary to what
you might think, this hasn’t held them back. “It’s not been too
much of a problem for us. I think people find it more endearing
than anything else,” says Esme. “We used to face a lot more issues
than we do now,” chips in Sid. “But particularly being signed to
Heavenly, that’s all gone.”
The three of them are stretched across the vast north of England
at present, with Sid studying in Liverpool, the other two still rooted
at home in West Yorkshire. How does the band cope with the
geographical divide, and Sid balance it with her studies?
“I’m really passionate about the band so I make it work. In terms
of practice, thankfully we do a lot of gigs and they’re like practices,
I guess. But when I do go back I’ve got to make the most of it.”
Sid shows me a book of short stories she is reading at the
moment – Side Effects by Woody Allen – because it’s film and
literature that commonly influence the band’s lyrics. They cite
Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 film Death Proof and, more recently,
David Lynch’s Twin Peaks TV series, still surreal 27 years after its
first broadcast. “It’s concepts of films we like and get really into,”
says Esme. “We discuss them sometimes and use that as a basis
for the song and then brainstorm ideas off that about the different
ways we’ve interpreted certain films or sections of books into our
own story.”
One of the songs they have coming out soon is inspired by the
2016 psychological horror film Neon Demon, directed
by Nicolas Winding Refn, about a 16-year-old
aspiring model succumbing to the temptations
of narcissism, the notable and memorable line
being “beauty isn’t everything; it’s the only
thing.”
“We found that really inspiring.
The idea of narcissism and
consumerism and how those
two ideas connect together
when society judges
things on face value,
how attractive
it is.”
Having worked the festival circuit pretty cannily over the past
two summers – Live at Leeds, Festival No. 6, Sŵn, Sound City and
Dot To Dot amongst others – when invitation to play Canadian
Music Week came last May, it was probably only The Orielles
themselves who were surprised, albeit pleasantly.
“We didn’t really accept the fact that we’d be going there. We
kind of shunned it off, thought we’re not big enough or done
anything like this. When we found out we had got the funding we
were really excited to go,” says Esme. The band benefited from
a grant from the PRS for Music Foundation, which, in the last
couple of years, has given much needed financial assistance to
Esco Williams and Heavenly labelmates Stealing Sheep. Money
applied for can go towards recording, promotion and touring. “I
think they [PRS] are doing a really great thing and more bands
should be encouraged to go for it.”
“[Canada] was fun. We’d go back in a heartbeat. They treat you
differently abroad,” adds Sid. “Playing in Canada was a bit surreal
and different to the UK. Not only in the sense that you’re playing in
a different country but promoters seemed to treat the bands with
a lot more respect. I’m not saying promoters in the UK don’t do
that but they were a lot easier to get on with. A lot more positive
about music and things.”
The Orielles have built up an enthusiastic following in the North
West, particularly Manchester, and they see headlining the Deaf
Institute in December 2015 as a turning point. “We have fond
memories. It was our first big gig in Manchester
and we said to ourselves afterwards that it
sort of meant something. It felt really good to
be out of doing the support slot circuit,” says
Sid. Last November they curated Late Night
with Jimmy Fallow, a special weekend of gigs at
the city’s Fallow Café venue featuring Zuzu, Party
Hardly and The Roasts, and were the stars of new
music conference Off The Record during the
same month, performing at the Night And
Day Café.
But the band also reserve a fond spot for
Liverpool, which
they see as
a kind of
second
home, with The Shipping Forecast noted as a favoured venue.
“It’s got good food, for one,” laughs Sid. “It’s got a DIY ethic to it,
a DIY vibe. Like you’re playing a house show which is something
we’ve always liked,” Esme reckons. “It’s really different to playing
a ‘normal’ show. It’s way more laid back, the audience are so close
to you that it feels so different to a gig.”
With sights trained firmly on exporting their winsome, sunsoaked
guitar pop much further in 2017, The Orielles reveal that
they’ve just finished recording their next single and its B-side, due
out at the end of March, and will tour the UK in April. After that, they
record an album – already written – for a pencilled in release date
of October or November. But they’re not content in resting on that,
they’ve more ambitions on top of current recording schedules,
and ultimately aim to emulate the success of another labelmate,
Hooton Tennis Club.
“It’d be great to play America, and the rest of Europe.
We’ve only played in Amsterdam and that was so much
fun, but we’d like to discover more places,” says Sid,
adding more to her busy list.
2017 and 2018 sorted, then.
soundcloud.com/theorielles
bidolito.co.uk