Orions Belte
Three-man band Orions Belte have established themselves as a quirky and unique group guaranteed to please. Their music takes inspiration from different experiences, paying homage to artists without paying attention to the boundaries of genre. The group first showed off this unique sound on their 2018 debut album Mint. Since then, the group has dropped singles that have strengthened their catalogue of music. Their song, “Joe Frazier,” has over 1.5 million streams, contributing to a following of over 118K monthly Spotify listeners. In addition, they’ve been featured on Spotify’s Modern Psychedelia and Outliers playlists. We recently spoke with Orion’s Belte about the best part of being in a band, their dream collab, and more!
How did you start making music?
Øyvind the guitar player and Chris the bass player met as part of the backing band for great Norwegian folk singer Ingebjørg Bratland, and immediately hit it off. We then met up with Kim Åge, the drummer whom Chris had played with for a number of years in different projects. The first time we got together all three of us, we recorded our first album. There was an instant connection, and we've tried to maintain that spontaneity when we have continued to make music.
It’s your day off: How are you spending it?
Playing ball, prepping veggies, making pizzas, swimming in the ocean, hanging with family.
What was the last song you listened to?
Let's see..(opening Spotify).. I was listening to a David Sylvian record yesterday, and when I got to my soundcheck I had to stop at the song “Gone To Earth.”
What is the best part about being in a band?
If you like the people in your band it is an absolute privilege to get to travel around the world with your friends performing stuff you've written in front of other people that you've never met. To be on stage playing music is a super intimate thing to share, and the freer the music is the more you have to share from yourself. We try to keep things pretty loose so there's always room to take some chances.
It’s collab time: who are you choosing to make a song with?
Anybody interesting, it has to be someone that can add something that we can't.
Which song is your most personal? Can you explain to us its significance?
There's a song on our upcoming album that will be released as a single sometime in the near future. That is probably my favorite song of ours so far. It's written as a tribute to our nearest. The live take with the three of us felt really good in the studio, and the production turned out just the way we wanted. The artwork is cool, so I really like everything about that track.
Any future projects for fans to get excited about?
We're doing a streaming tour from AUG 18-22 where we visit 5 scenic places in Norway, playing different shows every night. It will be a different way of touring for us now with all the summer festivals cancelled, so we figured we could share some cool spots for people around the world to see. We're also finishing up our new album so there will be new tracks dropping throughout the fall and early next year.
