American songwriter and producer Orion Redwolf has crafted a journey of self-discovery with his soulful, genre-defying pop sound and deeply personal songwriting.
Rooted in his signature blend of rich textures and expressive possibilities, Redwolf's latest offering "Glow," weaves a transportive sonic world that leaves us enchanted.
As he embraces a new chapter in his career, Orion Redwolf chats to Earmilk about his musical journey, his evolution and what's to come for him.
Your vocals are so luscious – how long have you been singing for?
Thank you! Recently, I’ve been loving playing with the bends and my vocal texture. I grew up singing with my family and don’t remember a time where music wasn’t part of my life. When I was a super small child, I would take this battery powered radio I had to the swings by my parents house and tune it to the pop radio stations. I would swing there for hours not knowing a single word to the songs but writing my own melodies and lyrics onto of everything that came on. Fast forward a bit, I really dug in and learned about how I like to shape my voice after college when I was living in North Carolina and going through a period of self discovery. This past year, I’ve been digging the dusty, rasp I can add to my voice.
What’s your favourite past time to unwind?
Good question, I love so many different things but a couple keep coming back up. I love long boarding and finding the best hills to ride; there is a special moment that happens when all you can do is focus on being present on the board so you don’t eat it while bombing a hill. As someone whose brain races constantly, the moving meditation is so needed. This year, I’ve been carrying a 1969 Honeywell Pentax film camera that my brother gave me when I was 12 and taking photos of stuff I think looks pretty. The art for my new single “Glow” is a photo I snapped in DC at the Cherry Blossoms and Jazz festival in Franklin Park. I love the composition film photos encourage. I’ve printed 40 of my favorite photos onto post cards which I give to anyone who preserves my new music for them to connect with their friends and fam. I could go on with things I do in my free time but I’ll wrap up with cooking food and spending time in nature.
Your latest single ‘Glow’ is hauntingly beautiful – what does this song mean for you?
“Glow” is a special song for me both in its sonics and the way I created it. Starting with a guitar riff I wrote when I was living in Minneapolis, I knew I wanted to write a magical, fantastic sort of song. As a young person I had become obsessed with the world building that is employed by fairy tales and fantasy as a way for me to escape parts of my life. I can still remember sitting in my bed, reading fiction and the original Grimm’s and being transported to a magical land while my dad was dying in the hospital the summer of my 14th year. The songwriting is written from the perspective of a character walking along an enchanted road being aware of all the little magical elements that exist right on the edge of our perceptions. “Glow” is the embodiment of the special world I was able to transport my self to. It feels incredible for me to share that space with the rest of the world.
What was it like collaborating with Matt and Elie on this record?
Being the first time I’d hired a co-producer to help me out, I brought 2 songs into the Tree and Booms sessions. "Stormy Days" was the deeply personal healing anthem and the other was this fantastic magical world. I figured we could dive deep on the feels on the one and then dive deep (have fun) on the sonics of the other. I really appreciated being able to just concentrate on some of the creative and feeling things while allowing (and trusting) someone else to take care of some of the technical things. I brought a demo of “Glow” in with a really pocket-y drum part I had played but I had Matt play it with like 4 different approaches and then fused them together. As for the song writing, Elie and I would sit at recording studio I worked at, on tour or just hanging super late at night and talk for hours about the world. Developing the lyrics for “Glow” was pretty early on in our friendship and I think is some of the first songwriting he did. Working with another songwriter helps me to know when something doesn’t make sense externally and I need to explain what I mean.
We also love your earlier work, The Good Stuff – this was written during the lockdown, right? How did it come about?
Yes, four of the songs I wrote right at the bending of the lockdown and then the rest were part of my existing catalog. When COVID happened, I watched most of what I’d been working towards for the preceding 2 years become not really viable. I had been really developing and marketing my live persona then titled Orion and the Melted Crayons. When the whole world shut down, I saw down and kept making music. By the time November 2020 rolled around, I looked up and realized I had made like 6 or so songs and I just needed to plug a couple holes in the emotional palate and I would be able to put out my first record! I surveyed my catalog and selected “Kaleidoscope”, “Headlights”, “Leela’s Song”, “Skylark Suite” and “The Letter” to accompany the newly composed “E9” (written about the world slowing down for COVID), “The Good Stuff” ( about the whole 2020 political climate and wanting people who disagree with me to know their my family too), “What is Love” (in response to my therapist asking me “what does love mean to you”) and “Dog Song” (written as a final farewell to my childhood dog). The whole record was made in basements and a couple late night sessions in a studio that I worked at. One of my best friends Louis Smith helped me with some of the tracking in return for me teaching him about production and Protools. The record is a tour of your emotions and is acknowledging all The Good Stuff we can focus on while in a pandemic or a stressful day.
Orion, ‘Redwolf’ is a beautiful name – where is that from? Is it real or an artist name?
Redwolf is actually just my middle name! According to my mum, she was in the shower pregnant with me and my name just popped into her head so I “must have named my self”. Red wolves actually hold special significance to our family as they are indigenous to the place where my parents met in North Carolina. In Native American tradition, our names hold power and significance so as I move towards making music that seems more and more authentically me, it’s the clear choice for an artist name.
Finally, what’s left in store for you for 2024?
I’m glad you asked!! I’ll be releasing a song every first Friday of the month starting in August and continuing into 2025. I have been super busy in studio producing and writing for other artists but I am also feeling the itch to play live so keep your eyes on my socials for more info!!
Connect with Orion Redwolf : Instagram
