Songwriters Monthly Presents:

Orb Orb

Orb Orb: Something Beautiful

Orb Orbs Invisible Kingdoms explodes in a brilliant geyser of colors that embellish the cosmic decor of the stratosphere with an astounding multitude of rich and vibrant tonal hues. Christina, along with producer Jahon Mikal and engineer David Green are the musical equivalent of the mythical chocolatier and candy maestro Willy Wonka! Each track is a fiercely imaginative blend of surprise and wonder. Songwriters Monthly recently had a chance to talk with Christina Orb about her magical album. I love Willy Wonka, Christina exclaimed! Mmm . . . Great, we just got started and Ive already lost you to thoughts of candy! No, I love that comparison because we were aiming for something that was expansive, something with so many layers and so much in it that you could listen multiple times and totally get a different experience each time, she explained. To hear you say this validates one of the aims we had. Christinas speaking voice could easily have landed her a gig on NPR. Her refined diction along with her careful consideration of words hinted at a woman who was rather cerebral in nature. However, the excitement and enthusiasm that propelled her words revealed the truly vibrant creative soul of this color-outside-the-lines artisan. How did this whole project come together? I asked. I had been working on writing songs for this album for a while and I had been trying to find a producer for a couple of years before I met Jahon. Orb began. The first time he came to my house, I played him everything that Id ever written and I said, You can choose

anything. What do you want? He said, I want this one, I want this one, I want this one, and this one, and this one . . . Christina bought a computer and software so they could start working on the music. I talked to Jahon about how I wanted this album to be about sonic environments and how I wanted it to Christina and Jahon have this kind of whimsical, circusy, otherworldly feel. Jahon is a dynamic producer, he looks at things in a whole other realm. He has synesthesia [Ed. Note: Synesthesia is a condition where an individuals senses cross paths, e.g. you might taste a sunset.], so often hell look at the songs as shapes or colors and say, Oh, this song is missing a piece of its shape, or, The colors are wrong. I live in a cultural building, the artist noted, so Id be working downstairs and I would come up on my lunch breaks so Jahon could play me the material he had been working on. Id give him feedback, then Id go away. When I came back again, it would be a totally different experience! He took my songs and found ways to make them richer, his production made them more than they could ever be alone. Jahon understood that, for me, a song has to have the complexity of life, she continued. He put all of these invisible sounds and invisible

textures in, sounds that you really cant hear on the surface, but without them the songs do not sound complete. Some of these songs have 53 tracks on them! I was blown away by that. It made me realize just how much work he had put into making this album have such depth.

We were the perfect team because there were no two people who were experts at the same thing, so there was no competing. It became a festival of yes.
Was there ever a time when Jahons contribution didnt work? Did you ever have to say, No, thats not right? I wondered. Christina laughed, I quickly learned to just say, Yes, she admitted. The whole studio process was just us me, Jahon, and David, the engineer saying yes to each other. The places where Im not as strong, Jahon was strong. The places where Jahon was not as strong, David was strong. We were the perfect team because there were no two people who were experts at the same thing, so there was no competing. It became a festival of yes, Yes, Im going to trust you. What did you bring? What was your expertise? I probed. Christina laughed again. It was a warm, luxurious sound rolling up from her chest. Lets see, well, a lot of what I brought to the table came on the front end with the songs. I brought the songwriting element, the vision, and just knowing the feeling I was looking for. Also, Im not just a singer, Im more interested in being a vocalist. I want to push myself into interesting sonic places with my voice so Im not just a pretty voice, but a character.

I revealed excitedly, That was one of my observations that appears again and again in my notes! Your vocal approach to each song is so different. Your ability to alter various fundamental aspects of your voice makes it sound like there are a number of different vocalists on this album. Very impressive.

Ive never worked so hard on something in my life! It was long, ten-hour days and lots of pushing my voice and pushing me.
I care so much more that the songs tell something dynamic rather than they sound pretty. Did it need to be softer, more vulnerable, angry? I didnt care if the recordings made me sound like a good singer, I just wanted to tell the true story of each song. So, that cool robot voice on Wait is you? Its me and an amazing engineer. I sang all of the parts, then we were like, What if a robot was telling the story? What if this is some scathing speech by a robot to humankind? So, we worked it for hours and hours. We spent a whole day building that robot voice. I sang all of the parts, but David had to run it through a bunch of processors to get it to sound both robot and human. We were looking for a very specific sound and David pushed and pushed until he found it. I admire his patience because it took a really long time! That song could easily be a hit. I noted. This is such an amazing album, each song is a whole, multi-layered world unto itself. The specific sounds are so vital, how are you going to take this project on the road? Im not really interested in bringing in a band, Christina informed. Im doing it with a DJ and dancers and puppeteers and props and

masks! Im working with some really incredible dancers and artists and people to build this live experience. Im really interested in creating a show that is as whimsical as the album and having people come for 45 minutes and go to this other land, this alternative reality with me. Final words on Invisible Kingdom? Ive never worked so hard on something in my life! It was long, tenhour days and lots of pushing my voice and pushing me. But it was also, by far, the most fun Ive had doing a project! I really feel that we came up with something beautiful. For more information on Orb Orb and Invisible Kingdoms, visit: www.orbe-orbe.com www.twitter.com/orbe_orbe