YCG caught up with Rosie and Joel of Orchard just ahead of them settling in to record their second album. Their debut, ’Til You Fall Down, released in 2024 via Cruel Nature, is available on Bandcamp now.
Promising some songs from their more recent gigs as well as some brand new tracks, Joel reveals that the new songs may be ‘a little more complicated, a little more focused… and a little less like we’re trying to fill time to make up a cassette,” he wryly jokes. Rosie explains that they were still finding themselves and there is a lovely innocence, but the new songs will be more complicated, with not-quite-metal, but heavier elements, particularly on guitar; “Fewer folk-inspired songs. Though there are some of those songs as well – for a good sing-song!”
So the Orchard style has developed; they explain that over the many years they’ve been involved in projects together, they’ve never been easily categorised. Not on purpose but just what happens; they’re both self-taught so as Joel explains, he doesn’t play anyone else’s music; they have influences but wouldn’t say they have one sound.
Those influences include Firehose, Eric’s Trip (a Canadian band), and jazz and metal for Joel; as well as The Cars in the pop vein, and country music – Rosie adds that they both simply like a lot of music, and as ‘people of the nineties’ the DIY style and grunge scenes, Riot Grrl, Le Tigre, the Gits – lots of punk and hardcore and ‘weird noise music’! They add to the mix, System of a Down, The Knife, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Pet Shop Boys – the eclectic mix backed by a sense that they ‘like stuff with a bit of American dust in it’. And landscape is a huge inspiration for them – whether the ‘gigantic spaces’ from Joel’s Canadian homeland or for Rosie, the ‘ancient wolds and dales’ in Yorkshire.
Having relocated to Scarborough from London some years back, after taking some time to ‘just exist’ in their new home, they started Orchard as a project approximately two years ago. The little scene they inhabited in London left its mark though; Power Lunches in Dalston was somewhere they played a lot and mixing with lots of other bands, like Shopping (“not that we’re anything like Shopping, they’re amazing!”); Ravioli Me Away; Witching Waves are friends; Bastard Sword (“one of the best bands to ever exist”); Diaphragm Failure; “we’ve got a connection with all those bands from a time when we all played together, heard each other”.
Scarborough is similar, they feel, in that “when you are playing on the scene, with other bands, you lean into each other”; Joel feels there are lots of excited young musicians making music and it’s great. They note Graham Watson and Serial Killer Glasses as favourites, and Jenkem Revolt with their ‘absolutely meat and potatoes hardcore, doing it right, doing it well’ says Joel, with Rosie adding that James (Koppert) is brave to bring the politics in, and it is important. We follow that thread for a while and discuss online hatred, and how opinions are often ‘performative’; objectionable comments are often baiting the emotions; whilst there isn’t much of a solution to this, we can certainly agree that just treating people like humans is a good start.
Back on the main topic, they explain that their songwriting happens in two ways; one is that Joel creates a song and brings it to rehearsal, with tune and lyrics, and it’s like a whole song; or the other way is Joel brings an instrumental and then Rosie adds the tune and lyrics. Every once in a while, something spontaneous pops up, but less so in a duo than happened in slightly larger bands, or sharing spaces with other bands in regular rehearsals. The lack of many good rehearsal spaces in Scarborough does see them often driving to Hull and York to practice; it’s certainly an issue we’ve heard before from musicians. But whilst sometimes the extra people to bounce ideas off is helpful, Joel is firm that they like their current set up; “I like the extra space, and there’s a novelty to the dynamic that I think audiences like.” Equally Rosie feels like if they had more members it would be a different band, but they would be up for the ‘side project’ of playing with some other musicians. Certainly, Joel notes that if they did add anyone to the mix they’d have to be special – “I don’t mean a Juilliard graduate! I mean someone who is willing to play and put in the work, not just to chat… someone who is up for making music.”
Outside of their music, Joel writes poetry and does some solo electronic music projects; Rosie has ‘too many’ hobbies, she says, including pottery, sewing – she makes virtually all her own clothes – and Morris Dancing, which she has recently taken up. It’s not very different to being in a band in terms of rehearsal and performances. Musically though, besides the album work, they think that putting on an event is their next step. It’s been really great to have the opportunity to contribute to something here; audiences are really appreciative, which is something that makes it pretty cool; “It makes a change from London where people are trying to be cool, but they’re not necessarily in it for the music, first and foremost. It’s really great,” says Joel. And for the fun, adds Rosie, explaining that across all the different sorts of venues they played in London, “people generally wouldn’t dance; here, people are in it to participate.”
Their first Scarborough gig was a Sound of Scarborough event at the Old Parcels Office; they’ve played a number of times at the Corporation Club and The Railway Club, often alongside Jenkem Revolt, Serial Killer Glasses, Graham Watson and Active Minds, amongst others. They’re fond of the scene, the interactions, and the mutual respect, and are looking forward to putting together a launch event when they get the recording done.
In the meantime, you can catch Orchard this Friday (22nd August) as they are one of the first bands to play the new venue, downstairs at the Cask & Keg for its launch night. Joining them to christen this new chapter in Scarborough music venue legacy are Active Minds, Jenkem Revolt and Graham Watson, with the poetic verses of Graham Rhodes, our very own rock and roll poet (it also happens to be Graham’s birthday that night – what a way to celebrate!).
The next album will once again be released by Cruel Nature and titled Argentum – we’ll bring you album details upon release, and more upcoming events as and when announced – be sure to catch Orchard at your next available opportunity.
Links:
Catch Orchard at The Cask & Keg Scarborough alongside Jenkem Revolt, Graham Watson and Active Minds, Friday 22nd August from 8.30pm (downstairs). Read more about the new venue launch weekend here.
