Inspired #272 - Orchid
British-Iranian producer, songwriter and vocalist Orchid is the pop star we have all been waiting for with her self-professed ‘fuckgirl anthem’ ‘Doe Eyes’. She took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
Grimes - Okay I'm gonna be real I didn't get her early ethereal stuff. But even then I was like, WOW a female producer?! That's so cool. It sounds dumb now but I'd never thought that was possible before. And then Art Angels came out and I was like hold up this is pop music but it's weird as hell, and it was imperfect but I felt it. She totally changed what I thought pop music could be, and what it could be about.
MIA - Her lyrics and flow are insane, her beats are HARD, and for me I think I've taken on some of that way she makes something super bright and fun from her anger, like it's sickly sweet. And then obviously her production is so high energy and huge but raw and experimental at the same time. Arular is still one of the best albums in the world. I have a stupid amount of respect for her.
Kanye West - This guy has so many huge songs, and for real he's one of the most talented producers out there, but more than anything I love his more personal storytelling, and then this mad way of putting humour in all of it, even when it's so painful. His music is really special to me for that. It inspired me to be more honest in my writing and dive deeper, which is hard on your spirit sometimes, you know. I love the questions he asks in his songs, of the world and everything happening around him, and of himself.
Is there a certain film that inspires you and why?
There are a LOT but the first one that I remember blowing my mind was Baz Luhrmann's Romeo & Juliet, just because it's visually so extreme and full of colour and trashy and ridiculous. It made me want to make films, actually, maybe because it was the first film I'd seen that wasn't just a chronological timeline about everyday life in muted colours. There are definitely a lot of other stories that have hit me harder and meant more to me personally, but that was the one that opened my eyes to how you could start to twist and re-mould film as an art form.
What city do you find the most inspiring and why?
Omg this one is so vivid and obvious to me - Tehran in Iran. That's where all my family are and everytime I go it's already evolved from the last time. It's constantly in motion, massive and sprawling, loud, hot, and feels like the future and the past in one, like anything is possible and new technology is just more power to the people. And night time there is a whole other world, not just the end of the day. Life is really different there, and people go to insane lengths and danger to be with each other and to dance. Oh and my favourite and most corny thing is the smell of jasmines in the street at night, you feel like you get drunk on the beauty of that for real. On a personal level too, being there really throws my whole world into question because I feel so at home (I look the same as everyone!) but totally alien at the same time. There was a big chance I would have grown up there and it's wild to think about that parallel universe.
Who is the most inspiring person to you and why?
Honestly, all people who show me a different perspective, and another way to be. People who are unreservedly kind to all people and full of love, who love openly and freely in the face of the hardness of the world. People who put their whole selves on the line, and aren't afraid to use their voices, and know the difference between doing what's right and what's just sweet or nice. I keep meeting a lot of people like that lately, and I'm not sure what's going on but I feel unbelievably lucky for it, I'll take it for sure.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
I'm super inspired by UK Garage in general, especially the pace of a lot of garage vocals, I love that flow. I wanted to make a song that had that rush and energy but without actually being UKG. Then in the pre-chorus, which is one of the anchors of the song to me, those 'come to me / open arms / heaven but make it hurt' lines - that's actually just riffing directly off this one drumbeat that's used a lot in Baile Funk (if I try to write it it's like 'mm ka ka mm ka! ka!'), which is in my head actually a lot of the time as the soundtrack to my overthinking, since it's so aggressive and incessant.
Lyrically, I was thinking about the idea that we all have many faces, some of them ugly and cruel, and especially when it comes to romantic relationships they can show up and burst out of us unexpected. I was thinking about cartoons and shapeshifting too, into different creatures that are part of our spirit, and I was thinking about animals in folklore. 'Doe eyes' is like a name I gave the person I'm talking to in the song - someone who's showing themselves as innocent and naive. But that person is also a 'crybaby' for attention, and a 'viper' who lashes out when things don't go their way, and a 'baby bunny in the headlights' when confronted with the truth they were already fully aware of.
How would you like to inspire people?
To make the most of our tiny existence on earth; love this place and the people on it openly deeply, watch all the details, be who you actually are all the time, and drink up everything that's going good.