Strange Orchid
How did you decide on the name of your band?
"Originally the idea for the band name was 'Wild Orchids', but then it didn’t seem to fit. Lee was thinking of the best way to describe the band, and the word 'strange' kept coming to mind – Strange Orchid was born. Maybe he had H. G. Wells in the back of his mind somewhere too."
Do you have a designated songwriter in the band or is it more of a group effort?
"Lee is the main driving force behind the songs and usually makes up demos of the sound and vibe. Once we all get into the rehearsal room and start adding parts and ideas to a song, it then becomes an Orchid song quite collaboratively. We are all songwriters in our own time but the way we are doing things with the band feels right at this time. There is openness to change things up as we continue creating together."
Your sound is very specific, who inspires you to create in this style of music?
"Everyone in the band has quite an eclectic taste in music. We’re really into textures and far out sounds, as well as great song writing, so bands like The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, Pink Floyd, Beatles and David Bowie are big direct inspirations. To stay connected during lockdown, we’ve been doing a monthly album swap on Spotify (look up 'Orchid Album Swap'): it’s included Steely Dan, Temples, Dillinger Escape Plan and Seal, so pretty diverse and a lot of fun."
Self-recording and self-producing are becoming increasingly popular with music, what is your typical process for recording?
"Everyone in the band had a lot of experience self-recording before we got together (Lee and Ash are also qualified) so it seemed quite natural for us to produce and record ourselves – we didn’t really question it. Process-wise, we put the time into the songs, rehearsing and tracking demos, so we largely know what we’re doing before we come to record the final thing.
On the 'studio' side, we’ve been quite flexible as lockdown came in just as we were ramping up for both recording and gigging – for example, on our new single Strange Love we took the drums from a rehearsal studio recording (we really liked the energy the live rhythm track gave the sound) and then overdubbed everything else remotely in our home studios."
What sort of gear do you each use for recording/live playing?
"Our live and recording set ups are quite similar gear-wise. A lot of our live sound comes from layering guitars, keys and effects, whilst keeping the bass and drum sounds much simpler, so we also try to capture this when recording:
Lee has two go-to semi-hollow guitars, a Gretsch and Guild, that he runs through a reconfigurable board of effects to create the far out sounds – placing this before the amp (usually a Vox valve head) helps to add saturation and create washed-out sounds.
Ash runs his keyboard through a laptop with Logic Pro so the sound possibilities are effectively endless – then he uses a Fender Toronado through a Fender Hot Rod and keeps this sound pretty dry (relative to Lee).
Jason uses a Fender Jazz bass through a SansAmp preamp.
Kyle often finds himself behind an assortment of drum kits without much choice, but he is patient and gracious – his Ludwig Supraphonic snare is the staple of his sound and goes with him everywhere! He’s also master of our live sample pad which we use for added soundscapes and interludes.
When recording and mixing, we currently do things digitally and 'in the box' – USB interfaces, laptops and software are more portable, flexible and affordable. We’re also experimenting with ways of blending pre- and post-recording effects and textures, as well as amp/mic/room placements and choices. We’re planning to get our rehearsal/recording space set up more permanently, which will help with experimenting with gear and approaches."
The music scene in Swansea is so vast, are there any bands grabbing your attention at the moment?
"Yeah there’s loads to choose from! You can’t be a band in Swansea without noticing Bandicoot – they’ve got a cool decade-spanning-indie sound and are also really active in creating new music as well as bilingual music. Outside Swansea, there’s bands like Adwaith and Los Blancos also driving this sort of natural Welsh language music revival which is really cool to see.
We’ve also been compiling a list of other psychedelic rock acts we’d like to play with, like Keys, News From Nowhere, Fforest and Windshake to name just a few. There’s also a healthy punk scene in Swansea: bands like King Goon and KD Knows My Name have both recently released some cool EPs."
Vinyl records have proven to be returning in popularity with a lot of artists, do you think it's a format you'd consider recording on?
"Definitely. While our new single is digital only for the time being, being big record collectors ourselves, we’d love to hold the physical thing in our hands and see the artwork printed on a record sleeve."
If you could jam with any other artists, dead or alive, who would it be and why?
Lee: "As much as The Beatles and Pink Floyd are two of my favourite bands, I think I’d be too in awe to even play an instrument. I’d love to jam with The Flaming Lips. They’re such a creative and fun band; I imagine jamming with them would be a lot of fun."
Ash: "I love the song writing of Paul McCartney and Kurt Cobain. I've always been inspired by Stevie Wonder and Jimi Hendrix for the raw energy their music has, and for textural and more experimental music Robert Fripp and Miles Davies are big influences on me."
Kyle: "The best live bands I’ve watched have times of spontaneous jamming on stage and the chemistry is incredible. Red Hot Chili Peppers and Muse are the absolute best at this! But I must mention that I am always humbled to be jamming at the open mic night down the Kilkenny Cat pub in Llanelli with my local heroes!"
Jason: "There are so many great musicians I’d love to play with, but when it comes to jamming: Frank Zappa and Ben Folds come to mind as intrinsically creative yet methodical; Mogwai or P J Harvey for creating huge soundscapes and drones from a few simple notes; and maybe Django Reinhardt – for me the perfect balance of accessibility, weird jazziness and improvisation."
Do you have any little traditions before you go on stage or when you record?
"The band likes to find ways to wind Lee up. Coincidentally, Lee likes to not speak to anyone."
Final word: Strange Orchid take the mic
"Our new single Strange Love is out now on all music platforms:
You can find us on
Twitter - https://t.co/fNKkw2yBtX
Instagram.- https://t.co/6n3lGw5d2V "
It was great having a catch up with Strange Orchid, take a listen to their single "Strange Love", wishing them all the best with their music.
If you would like an opportunity to "take the mic", drop me an email at stewjones22@gmail.com
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