Produced by Jonathan Coddington (The Magic Gang, Joanna Gruesome), Orpine release their second single Two Rivers via Heist or Hit; another taste of the forthcoming full-length Grown Ungrown.
Orpine is Eleanor Rudge and Oliver Catt. Separated by 300 miles of British countryside, the pair spent brief stints in different bands and singing on one another’s records, but they lost touch. Ceasing to make music, each spent solitary days punctuated by silence, then Eleanor made contact.
Having not seen each other for years, they reconnected in a cottage at the foot of Black Hill, on the Scottish border, where they wrote the upcoming debut. With the majority of it recorded at The Crow’s Nest in Hackney, all of the strings and brass parts were added at Greenman Swaler – a secret place Oliver helped some friends build when he was a teenager.
Leaving the studio environment for the den-like locale befits an album with a narrative that is generously autobiographical. “I’ve worked with Jonny since before we knew what we were doing so we have a good understanding of how the other works. The desk has more channels now but the relationship remains the same” states Oliver.
On Two Rivers, the pair showcase thick, seamless harmonies. The single speaks of the purging feeling of laying on bed of the River Ouse near Mount Caburn, in the vicinity of Eleanor’s home town. “Easier to be, than to be gone” muses Eleanor. The second river, and namesake, the River Ouseburn runs down the road from Oliver in Newcastle. Two little river versions of each other, hundreds of miles apart, striving for the same creative open waters.
