Growing Beyond Genre
Dan Lydersen of Roots of Orchis talks music and integrity
2004-08-10
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There is music that, when played, evolves our perception of the moment. The sound
creates an artistic aura that paints our ordinary interactions a slightly more
vivid shade. The Roots of Orchis offer us this type of music.
The experiment began around 1997 with a group of high school kids who seemed less interested in being rock stars than combining odd sounds to form musical landscapes. This is made evident by their early decision to be entirely instrumental, sidestepping the lead vocalist / frontman formula. This alone says a great deal about the band’s motivation, about which Dan Lydersen (keyboards, drums) says, “We want it to be about the music, not us as individuals.”
Through a couple of phone conversations with Dan, it becomes clear that this group is dedicated to maintaining their integrity. He says, “One of the reasons we stay with [our record label] Slowdance is because they let us do what we want. There has never been any intervention with our music.”
Staunchly independent, Roots of Orchis insist on doing things on their own terms. Dan recalls an earlier opportunity that the band quickly passed on: “Levi’s was offering a nice amount of money to play a marketing party; one of the conditions was that we would have to play two of their jingles, so we said no.” For a group that hasn’t been able to buy beer for very long, they wield incredible maturity and a refusal to do anything that might compromise their music. In an industry too often built on “bling-bling,” these are admirable and rare traits.
The band’s latest offering, Crooked Ceilings, is a hypnotic blend of bass, guitar, jazz influenced drums, turntables, analog synths and samples. The result is a sound that rejects all categories and stands alone atop a secluded hill of its own design. The inclusion of turntables is fairly new to the band, and certainly not something heard very often from instrumental rock acts.
Several guest musicians contribute their talents on a few tracks, including Josh Quan on bass clarinet, Jessica Anderson on cello and Joel Robinow on the trumpet. These contributions are sampled for live shows, as the core band remains locked at four members. “We had a fifth member before, and it was just too hard organizing practices and gigs,” Lydersen says. “It’s already tough with the four of us. Plus, the less egos you have involved in the songwriting process, the easier it is.” As for their live performances, “We’d love to have more instruments on stage for our shows, but it’s not something we can afford to do.”
Even with four members, there is a constant influx of different ideas. “We’ve scrapped as many songs as we’ve written,” Lydersen admits. “There’s been a lot of times where we’ve written an entire song, and we’ll come back to it a week later, and it sounds like somebody else wrote it, so we’ll throw it out. We go through spells where we’ll produce a lot of material and other times, nothing.”
While listening to the final track on Crooked Ceilings, “Another Body of Water,” it is easy to allow yourself to transcend the physical. A willing mind is offered a fluid journey with an occasional dip into mild psychosis via well-placed scratching and a flutter of layered sound. All this is achieved by individuals who have not been classically trained.
“None of us decided to go the music route in college; sometimes I think it would make the songwriting process easier if we had,” he says. At the same time, it is clear that the band’s creative method works; and it could very well be the lack of formal schooling that lends their music its unique edge.
As with most groups connected to independent labels, there is a concern about the influence of mainstream music on radio and TV. “Unquestionably, they [radio and TV] have a huge influence on culture, but I don’t think it’s a one-way street,” Lydersen says. “It is sort of self-perpetuating; the more people hear it, the more they want to hear. Mainstream musicians are part of society, too. Obviously, MTV is a huge factor in this, most of the videos are from the same four of five directors. It’s problematic and kind of depressing; that’s why we’re trying to do something different.”
In the first years, the band endured a lot of frustration about the lack of appreciation for instrumental acts. “It annoyed us at first,” Lydersen says. “But now it’s just about the music, playing what we want.” And as time goes by, audiences are opening up more and more to the non-existent frontman. “We’ve seen turnouts for our shows go up with every tour, and the response gets better each time.”
Despite a surge in crowd size, the band continues to play in small venues across the United States. How does a group of people stay devoted to a project that requires endless work, merciless touring and minimal financial reward? “We basically just enjoy doing it, and we owe it to the label to promote the album,” Lyderson says. “We love going on tour. Some shows are a bit on the small side; as long as the crowd is into it, it’s fun.”
By avoiding easy placement into a particular genre, the band has created an extremely difficult path for themselves, one of problematic marketing and tricky venue placement. Simultaneously, it is their refusal to be categorized that makes Roots of Orchis a joyful experience. They deliver us their passion with no illusion of fame and riches leading the way. All they ask of us in return is to listen…I’d say they have earned our ears, as well as our admiration.
The experiment began around 1997 with a group of high school kids who seemed less interested in being rock stars than combining odd sounds to form musical landscapes. This is made evident by their early decision to be entirely instrumental, sidestepping the lead vocalist / frontman formula. This alone says a great deal about the band’s motivation, about which Dan Lydersen (keyboards, drums) says, “We want it to be about the music, not us as individuals.”
Through a couple of phone conversations with Dan, it becomes clear that this group is dedicated to maintaining their integrity. He says, “One of the reasons we stay with [our record label] Slowdance is because they let us do what we want. There has never been any intervention with our music.”
Staunchly independent, Roots of Orchis insist on doing things on their own terms. Dan recalls an earlier opportunity that the band quickly passed on: “Levi’s was offering a nice amount of money to play a marketing party; one of the conditions was that we would have to play two of their jingles, so we said no.” For a group that hasn’t been able to buy beer for very long, they wield incredible maturity and a refusal to do anything that might compromise their music. In an industry too often built on “bling-bling,” these are admirable and rare traits.
The band’s latest offering, Crooked Ceilings, is a hypnotic blend of bass, guitar, jazz influenced drums, turntables, analog synths and samples. The result is a sound that rejects all categories and stands alone atop a secluded hill of its own design. The inclusion of turntables is fairly new to the band, and certainly not something heard very often from instrumental rock acts.
Several guest musicians contribute their talents on a few tracks, including Josh Quan on bass clarinet, Jessica Anderson on cello and Joel Robinow on the trumpet. These contributions are sampled for live shows, as the core band remains locked at four members. “We had a fifth member before, and it was just too hard organizing practices and gigs,” Lydersen says. “It’s already tough with the four of us. Plus, the less egos you have involved in the songwriting process, the easier it is.” As for their live performances, “We’d love to have more instruments on stage for our shows, but it’s not something we can afford to do.”
Even with four members, there is a constant influx of different ideas. “We’ve scrapped as many songs as we’ve written,” Lydersen admits. “There’s been a lot of times where we’ve written an entire song, and we’ll come back to it a week later, and it sounds like somebody else wrote it, so we’ll throw it out. We go through spells where we’ll produce a lot of material and other times, nothing.”
While listening to the final track on Crooked Ceilings, “Another Body of Water,” it is easy to allow yourself to transcend the physical. A willing mind is offered a fluid journey with an occasional dip into mild psychosis via well-placed scratching and a flutter of layered sound. All this is achieved by individuals who have not been classically trained.
“None of us decided to go the music route in college; sometimes I think it would make the songwriting process easier if we had,” he says. At the same time, it is clear that the band’s creative method works; and it could very well be the lack of formal schooling that lends their music its unique edge.
As with most groups connected to independent labels, there is a concern about the influence of mainstream music on radio and TV. “Unquestionably, they [radio and TV] have a huge influence on culture, but I don’t think it’s a one-way street,” Lydersen says. “It is sort of self-perpetuating; the more people hear it, the more they want to hear. Mainstream musicians are part of society, too. Obviously, MTV is a huge factor in this, most of the videos are from the same four of five directors. It’s problematic and kind of depressing; that’s why we’re trying to do something different.”
In the first years, the band endured a lot of frustration about the lack of appreciation for instrumental acts. “It annoyed us at first,” Lydersen says. “But now it’s just about the music, playing what we want.” And as time goes by, audiences are opening up more and more to the non-existent frontman. “We’ve seen turnouts for our shows go up with every tour, and the response gets better each time.”
Despite a surge in crowd size, the band continues to play in small venues across the United States. How does a group of people stay devoted to a project that requires endless work, merciless touring and minimal financial reward? “We basically just enjoy doing it, and we owe it to the label to promote the album,” Lyderson says. “We love going on tour. Some shows are a bit on the small side; as long as the crowd is into it, it’s fun.”
By avoiding easy placement into a particular genre, the band has created an extremely difficult path for themselves, one of problematic marketing and tricky venue placement. Simultaneously, it is their refusal to be categorized that makes Roots of Orchis a joyful experience. They deliver us their passion with no illusion of fame and riches leading the way. All they ask of us in return is to listen…I’d say they have earned our ears, as well as our admiration.
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