Orchid Collective return with their latest release entitled ‘Courage’, a 4 track EP briming with their unique sound of rousing alternative folk-influenced rock. Orchid Collective are: David O Shea (lead vocals, guitar), Shea Tohill (lead guitar, vocals), Hugh O’Neill (bass, vocals) and Brian Roony (drums, vocals) Through their own distinct use of vocal harmonies and searing layers of reverbed guitars; Orchid Collective are aiming to set themselves apart from their contemporaries, offering a bold new imagining of the indie genre.
The band admit: ‘It is both an exciting and terrifying time for us to put these songs out to the public and we hope everyone can relate to them the way we have.’ The aptly named ‘Courage’ EP strives for daring new beginnings and showcases how Orchid Collective operates as a band, lead track ‘Courage’ demonstrates this through whirling guitar riffs and the lead singer O Shea’s dulcet tones. ‘Waited on The Sun’ acts as an ode to the final days of summer with blissed out melodies and optimistic vocals. ‘Tomorrow’ and ‘Blindfold’ play on the band strengths, the first half of each track weaving in and out of sombre melodies and hushed lyrics – only to climax with Brian Roony’s excellent drum work.
Listen to the title track:
Tracklist:
- Courage
- Tomorrow
- Waited On The Sun
- Blindfold
OUT NOW!!!
We got to ask the band a few questions, so with no further a do, Let’s meet the band………
1. Let’s get things up and running with the first question, what’s behind the bands name?
Funny this is a question we get asked all the time and we still have no answer for it…is that bad?! When we first started the band it was originally a seven piece formed from different musicians from our college so that’s where we got the collective. As for the Orchid we just needed a word to go with collective and Orchid sounded nice…apologies for the anticlimax!
2 How long have you been working together and how did the band form? (did you know each other already?)
Dave and I have been working and writing music together for almost five years now. We all met in our music college BIMM Dublin. We used to play as a seven piece with backing singers but soon realised that touring with this set up was pretty much close to impossible. We then narrowed it down to four and our bass player Hugh joined. Our drummer Darra has recently joined the band and that’s what we’ve been touring with for the past few months. We consider the real start to our band was when we released our single Lay As Stone back in March. That was the moment we dropped everything and pursued the band full time.
3. How would you answer the annoying question “what kind of band are you”
We always have trouble pin pointing a genre as we tend to draw from a lot of influences and styles. If we were to describe ourselves in a genre we would have to say indie – ambient – folk – rock but at the end of the day it’s all pop music and we don’t mind that.
4. What are the musical influences behind your music?
We all come from different musical backgrounds and we tend to draw from all these influences. I used to play in a grungy garage rock band, Dave and Darra used to play in a pop punk band and Hugh has a huge love for Micheal Jackson and John Mayer! We really settle for our love of vocal harmonies though and we love bands like Fleet Foxes and Crosby, Stills and Nash. At the moment we are really loving Bon Iver and Local Native’s, you can really see their influence in a lot of what we do.
5. How did you get your music noticed?
Through hard work and effort! Sending emails, hounding radio stations to play us, using social media as a tool to get people engaged. The other day me and Dave drove from Dublin to Belfast to hand in a few demos to radio stations up there! We’ve also been touring pretty heavily in Ireland since the start of summer, that has really helped introduce our music to new people and gain a following. We have much more work to do!
6. Your new EP is called ‘Courage’ can tell us about the title and how it came about?
Courage is the title of the lead track on the EP and we thought the title fitted quite well. This is both an exciting and terrifying time for our band, we have worked crazy hard putting together these four songs and we are putting it out to the public hoping they like it as much as we do. Courage is quite fitting!
7. Did the EP come together quickly?
We’ve always wanted to make an EP as it paints a fuller picture of our work rather than a separate single. When we had the opportunity to work with producer Rob Kirwan (Hozier/ U2) we played him every song we have. We all agreed on the four songs that represents our band best and went straight into the studio. It came together very quickly and creating it was an amazing experience.
8. How would you describe the live experience of Orchid Collective
Enthralling, encapsulating, moody excitement.
9. What would you say is the best part of playing Live
We love touring, we would gig every night if we could! We love meeting new faces and be able to show them our music. Hearing different crowd reactions is always a buzz for us!
10. What are your plans for the upcoming months?
For the next few months we plan to keep gigging and promoting the Courage EP. We also have a few more surprises up our sleeves for early next year which we look forward to sharing. I think the real goal for 2017 is to gig outside of Ireland bringing our music to the UK and Europe…just keep gigging and keep working!
Thank you Orchid Collective
