Masters of whip-smart math-pop, Brighton four-piece Orchards have spent the last few years building an army of fans and crafting their debut album ‘Lovecore’. Released in March, the album is packed energetic alt-pop anthems and we can’t wait to have them in Notts to showcase it in September. We caught up with the band from their isolation station for a chat…

Hey Orchards, thanks for speaking to us. How are you keeping yourselves busy at the minute? We’re in need of some inspiration!
Hello! Well we’ve just released our album so we’re just trying to keep our creativity and energy focused on sharing that with the world! We’ve been writing and making sure we focus on our self care.

You released your debut album ‘Lovecore’ in March, how has the reaction been since the release?
We did, the reaction is incredible. People have been so kind, the reviews have been amazing and really positive. We’ve worked so hard releasing this and we just want it to bring everyone a little sunshine in this slightly grey time. A debut album is a big deal for any band but this has been a lifetime in the making for us all and we are super proud of what we’ve created. We just want to share that energy with as many people as we can.

How was the experience of recording the album? Any songs you found particularly enjoyable in the studio setting?
We are all perfectionists. Sometimes that hinders us, but when recording it means a never ending stream of ideas – which is fun to play around with when you’re stuck in a room for a month. We spent the first half in London recording the drums, on a boat, which was an experience to say the least. Then the second half in a restored farmhouse in Essex. The experience as a whole was amazing but, I think we all loved ‘Stealing Your Sleep’ because it’s a little different for us. Getting the right ‘feel’ for that song was a challenge but it’s a track now we’re all super pleased with.

Sweet! And does it feel like a relief to finally have that body of work out in the open?
Hell yeah. It’s our baby and keeping it a secret for so long was tricky.

The upcoming tour had to be postponed but how excited are you to finally take these tunes on the road?
We make music with the purpose of playing these songs live. Touring is our favourite thing about music. Meeting new people, having fun and creating a safe place for everyone. Having to postpone the tour was crushing, but now when we come back we’ll just have more fire and energy than we did before! We have prepared such an awesome show for you all and we are super excited to be able to show it off.

Do you have any wild band pre-show rituals we should prepare the venue for?
Hahaha, not quite. We’ve all tried playing Orchards tracks drunk before and they need the utmost concentration. We save the craziness until after the show.

And finally, are there any new artists or bands you’ve been listening to in lockdown? Who should be we checking out?
Petrie! We are taking them on tour with us. Awesome lads, who are so insanely talented. SPQR, another band we love rn – their track ‘Josephine’ is ‘chefs kisses’.

Orchards will play The Bodega on 6th September. Tickets are on sale now here.

Head to the event page here.