“My interest in production was born out of necessity,” says Northern Irish producer Or:la. “I needed to make the idea I heard in my head and was constantly chasing that feeling of catharsis and contentment when you finish something creative that you’re happy with.”
As a DJ, label head and electronic artist, Or:la has long been on one-to-watch lists but is now firmly in the scene’s spotlight with her debut album, Trusting Theta, via Fabric Originals.
Eclectic and spiralling in sound, drawing on a genre-pushing palette ranging from breakbeat to tribal house, there are wide ambitions in its tracks. Or:la draws on Irish and ancient Greek mythology, delves into queer identities, moments of sapphic love, and calls out female injustices.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that you need to have a strong ‘sound’ as a producer or DJ,” Or: la says of her production approach and restless creative striving.
“I’ve learned to accept that a signature ‘sound’ doesn’t necessarily have to be succinct and linear to come across as authentically cohesive. And just like the human spectrum of emotion, the music I make and play can be playful, sassy, moody, introspective or chaotic at times.”
Foundations
Or:la’s love of electronic music came from a collage of influences. She picked up a copy of Mood II Swing’s Do It Your Way with Barbara Ann Teer’s vocals in Berlin; social media platform Bebo allowed her to experiment with sound and image while she moved to university from Ireland in 2012, a period she remembers as being particularly potent for club music; and Sasha’s Involver CDs released via Global Underground all sent creative sparks shooting through her too.
“Sasha’s mixes led me to become fascinated with the idea that tracks can sometimes sound better together and juxtaposed between one another than alone,” she remembers. “Mixes like this that made disparate sounds feel cohesive were interesting and exciting.”
Or:la’s first club experiences were at under-18 nights, initially by way of a fake ID during her teenage years. Despite what she describes as Ireland’s
