Beth Orton
Beth Orton
Elizabeth Caroline "Beth" Ortonis an English singer-songwriter, known for her 'folktronica' sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit, Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-1990s. She released a solo album in 1993, Superpinkymandy, but since the album was only released in Japan, it went largely unnoticed by international audiences. Her second solo album, Trailer Park, garnered much critical acclaim in 1996. Orton developed a devoted audience with...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionFolk Singer
Date of Birth14 December 1970
When I'm on a roll nothing makes me happier or feel more satisfied, like plugging in, life makes sense.
When I first started writing, a friend said I should be careful because I'm letting people know how to reach right in and play with my workings. And they do!
The husk could be some useless bloke or losing myself and changing my DNA with bottomless grief.
To me songwriting is more like redemption. I can extract the poison or the pollen, the essence from a situation and the rest becomes a husk that blows away.
I want it to be more universal than that - like a painter doesn't have to explain his life story away to justify his painting.
I didn't jump a lot of trees because I didn't like heights. I liked getting a mirror and walking around with it facing the sky. I'd imagine I was walking in the tops of the trees and falling into the sky, or walking up the stairs whilst going down.
At about the age of ten, my friends and I discovered the joys of sitting in graveyards drinking merrydown cider and kissing and stealing our elder siblings' records.