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 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!
Therapy is like telling your nightmares when you're a kid; they lose their power to hurt and control.
I just like the child's nightmares and therapy, once an experience has found the light of day I'm no longer under its spell, I'm free to tell it. I hope in telling honestly I can in some way help other people to do so also.
I was born on a pig farm in Norfolk. We grew up in the city called Norwich in Norfolk, then I moved to London when I was thirteen.
I have a friend who says the best boyfriends are ones with intimidating, good-looking older brothers. The boyfriends try harder because they're so insecure. Maybe I'm the female equivalent.
I don't read music; I taught myself guitar.
I get a feeling, on a guitar, and I sort of mess around until something resonates with me, and then I just find that what happens is that a melody comes, and with that, words.
My manager said the next best inspiration to heartbreak is travel, and it's true.
Even when I haven't had money, I found money to travel. It's a luxury that's a kind of necessity, I think.
I'm not comfortable holidaying in other people's poverty.
Norfolk is not on the way to anywhere, you don't stop off on the way somewhere else - it's an end in itself. You have to want to go there; it's an effort.
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 get told I'm a confessional songwriter, which gets on my tits because I think of negative connotations attached to the word "confessional". I don't like the idea of songwriting being therapy. I don't want to put myself so directly in the foreground.
I was scared of the Bible - it seemed whenever I read it I got bad luck. Then I befriended a couple of Jesus's disciples and I used to show them modern life - how to run the hot and cold taps and things like that. They seemed alright but it didn't change my feelings about the Bible jinx.