Featured
Getting out of the way: English songwriter Beth Orton let the words come to her for 'Weather Alive'
Like many others, Beth Orton will have internal conversations with herself.
Oftentimes, the ideas scurry away as fast as they appeared.
Yet, there are moments that stick around for decades.
鈥淚 think I always have to keep refreshing the page,鈥� she says. 鈥淎fter each album, I tell myself that I鈥檒l never make another record. Then a new one will come out of nowhere and reveal itself.鈥�
Orton鈥檚 latest release is 鈥淲eather Alive,鈥� which was her first album in six years.
The English singer-songwriter will make two stops in New Mexico along with her band on Sunday, Sept. 24, in Santa Fe, and then on Monday, Sept. 25, in Taos.
Orton says she is always writing, which keeps her mind busy.
鈥淲eather Alive鈥� was released in September 2022, but the work on the album began years before.
Orton says while writing this album, the songs began to flow out of her, but she remained cautious.
鈥淚t was a special and beautiful thing,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like getting on a horse. It was slow and unusual and had many twists and turns. At the end of it, I wanted to make it the best piece of work.鈥�
During the tour last year, Orton played 鈥淲eather Alive鈥� almost exclusively in her set.
With her shows in the United States, she鈥檚 taking a step forward and performing songs that she鈥檚 never done live before.
鈥淭hese are songs that as I鈥檝e grown older, I鈥檝e explored more and come to appreciate them more,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檓 also looking at what songs fit together. I鈥檝e gone through my catalog and gone through each song. The songs on this tour are the ones that need to be heard. I鈥檓 bringing the straggler songs back into the fold.鈥�
Orton rose to fame during the mid-1990s during the singer-songwriter explosion in music. Her debut album, 鈥淭railer Park鈥� was released in 1996 and followed it up with the album, 鈥淐entral Reservation鈥� in 1999.
Looking back at her career, she鈥檚 proud to see plenty of growth, not only in her performance, but in her writing.
鈥� 鈥楥entral Reservation,鈥� it鈥檚 a beautiful song, and it鈥檚 quite a corny song,鈥� Orton says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about how you embrace and celebrate the song. It鈥檚 about the feeling of getting your hands dirty with someone. There鈥檚 an innocence in that and I enjoy not feeling shy about it. Some of my older songs are a bit corny in the grand scheme of things. I鈥檓 enjoying bringing that song into my world and getting myself out of the way.鈥�
