Orla Gartland

In the organizer's words:

Dublin-born, London-based artist and producer Orla Gartland is bold, brash and increasingly self-aware on her second album Everybody Needs A Hero. Fixated on the idea of a 'hero' as someone to look up to or save us from ourselves, we meet Orla at her most confident self in this record and at this time in her life. Her edgy, alternative sound expands through a series of collaborations and is indebted to her own demanding sense of independence; she's louder sonically and lyrically than ever before.

Gartland began writing songs at the age of 14, sharing them online as she developed her skills and built a loyal following via her massive YouTube channel, many of whom are still with her today via her 'Secret Demo Club'. Here she shares material she is currently working on, giving her fans an insight into her writing process and tracks that will either remain in demo form forever or lead to future releases.

Orla's artistic evolution and confidence in her own taste is evident when listening to her discography in chronological order. From the softer, pop-leaning songwriting moments on her first EPs to the more alternative influences that permeated later projects like Why Am I Like This? and Freckle Season, it's her critically acclaimed debut album Woman On The Internet, the culmination of more than a decade of hard work, that really saw Gartland hit her stride. Combining her self-deprecating lyricism with a wider range of influences, Woman On The Internet reached the top 10 in the UK album charts, was streamed millions of times and helped Gartland connect even more deeply with her fans.

With multiple sold-out headline tours in the UK, Ireland and beyond, festival appearances at Glastonbury and Latitude marking career milestones, and appreciative nods from some of her biggest inspirations (Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap), Orla has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Following a remarkable chapter with her band FIZZ, which she co-founded with friends Dodie, Martin Luke Brown and Greta Isaac, the return to her solo project and the release of 'Everybody Needs A Hero' via her own label New Friends marks another exciting milestone for this proudly independent artist.

Gartland took a thoughtful, hands-on approach and endeavored to be involved in every aspect of building the world of Everybody Needs A Hero. As co-producer of the album, making conscious decisions during the mixing and mastering process and collaborating on the creative direction of the project, Gartland signed off on every decision. While creative independence is nothing new, in 2024 it is a choice; a power she notes might have been relinquished had she opted to release the album through a traditional record label rather than her own independent imprint (released through The Orchard).

Citing the influences of multi-instrumentalists, songwriters and producers St. Vincent and Caroline Polachek, Gartland looks up to "real artists" who not only command an audience, but are the puppet masters behind everything we see from her project. Gartland says, "I feel like it's time for me to carve out space for myself unapologetically - I'm not interested in being a 'nice', pleasing artist or songwriter."

Everybody Needs A Hero traces the journey of self-discovery that one goes through when figuring out who you are within the confines of a long-term relationship. It's often a struggle that can remain internalized. Gartland expresses all of these intimate intricacies and more, describing the inevitable compromises made together and individually. Underpinned by brutal honesty, her on-record narrative has a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor that sometimes serves as a defense mechanism when things start to get a little too real. Poignant, sometimes pointed lyrics are what fans love and expect from Gartland, and there are plenty of them here, "I think this music sticks out at the edges more than anything I've done before," she notes, committing the bit - an exaggerated version of herself.

On Everybody Needs A Hero, which was created over the course of a year, Gartland collaborates again with Tom Stafford, who worked with her on Woman On The Internet during the pandemic, as well as Peter Miles, who took the reins on her FIZZ debut The Secret To Life last year. Featuring a variety of analog and digital recording techniques and ideas born in Orla's London studio and realized at Miles' creative retreat Middle Farm Studios in Devon, Everybody Needs A Hero is direct and feels greater than the sum of its parts.

The album's lead single and highlight, 'Little Chaos', is all about experimentation and striving to be loud. Like most of the tracks on the album, Gartland describes "Little Chaos" as "about figuring out how to be someone for someone else without rounding off all the rough edges," she explains. "I'm all of these things at once, and you have to be able to handle that and hold it all." As a result of a jam session at Middle Farm, Gartland took a hard drive full of sprawling 30-minute instrumentals back to London and began filtering them until she finally heard something special in what would become Little Chaos. Turning her usual process on its head, the drums influenced the lyrics and melody in real time, rather than being added later - "I felt like a conductor bringing in all the different parts and singing over them, it was a holistic process that was a lot of fun."

The album's next sample, 'The Hit', packs a different kind of punch: "This track is a more subtle, prettier moment," Orla explains. Part of the softer side of the album, it's about a sisterly friendship, much like "More Like You" from the first album. 'The Hit' describes the friction and frustration that comes with being so close to someone that you start to become the same person, and is very emotional despite its sonic nonchalance. She describes the relationship in question as "like a voodoo doll thing... you're so connected that it hurts," adding, "It's a nice gesture because you're admitting that you care about the person enough to feel it even when they're hurting, but there's a point where it can go too far and that's just not healthy or sustainable."

The opening track "Both Can be True" openly states a core idea of the album: that all the different feelings we have for a person can exist at the same time. "For me, that's a statement of intent for the whole album," says Gartland. The drum-heavy track 2 "SOUND OF LETTING GO" breaks through with a similar sentiment and really welcomes the listener into Gartland's evolution.

"I was drawn to working with friends of mine who are amazing pop songwriters," says Gartland, emphasizing how important her close circle of collaborators were while working on the record. "Backseat Driver" marked the first time she collaborated with close friend and songwriter Lauren Aquilina; they use the titular metaphor to describe intrusive thoughts in this anthem where the windows are rolled down, the sun is shining and you're driving fast. One of many unintentional lyrics referencing the car, but it makes sense considering Gartland was just learning to drive when he wrote these songs.

Declan McKenna is featured on "Late To The Party," another moment on the record where Gartland makes good on her promise to take up more space. The indie-sleaze inspired maximalism shines, while Gartland asserts herself as a leading lady, brimming with confidence. Though no stranger to collaborating with others, having appeared on feature tracks by Cavetown and half-alive in the past, she explains, "I thought I would feel very protective [of inviting someone to feature on one of my tracks]... but once we started the session, it was so easy. Declan came in with a fresh perspective and I trust him so much as an artist; the input was so valuable."

Inspired by Soccer Mommy and anthemic classics like "Teenage Dirtbag," Gartland wanted "Who Am I" to have an American sound, and it does - it sounds like it was created in a garage jam session. Written with Victoria Zaro, who has worked with Tate McRae and Renee Rapp, it was "Andrew" from Zaro's artist project Ryann who brought it to Gartland's attention. She laughs when she recalls how many times she told Zaro during the session, "I hope you know this is the best song ever."

There are moments when the album takes a detour into gentler territory, most notably on "Simple," which features Gartland as the sole songwriter. Pulling back the humor and embracing vulnerability and sincerity, she explains, "I challenged myself to be very sweet in a less complicated way." It's a direct and sincere love song that creates a warm, cozy feeling while eating yogurt on the couch and talking about the future. On "Mine", this sincerity is supported by a haunting string arrangement that elevates this slow song into a timeless and reflective space.

From the thumping bassline in "Three Words Away" to the infectious riff and explosive drums of first single "Kiss Ur Face Forever," Gartland could so easily be paralyzed by indecision - a concept these tracks skirt. But her decisions to make them sound so direct transform the indecision into an unwavering stance that needs no resolution.

"I want to go on stage to the Superman theme. I want to have a cape. I want the confidence to be almost like a parody; like I AM HERE TO SAVE MUSIC," she jokes as she discusses the album title: 'Everybody Needs A Hero' offers an oxymoron of sorts. "It's less about me being a hero and more about me saying, OK, no jokes now - I really need you." She explains: "There are a lot of cheeky and tongue-in-cheek moments on the album, but I really wanted it to end on a humble note."

Noting that conflict and compromise are usually less about the person you're with and more about what they mirror in you, with this album Gartland didn't want to fabricate stories with start-of-the-relationship love songs or grand, dramatic breakup anthems; "that's just not my experience." Holding that mirror up to herself and deciding not to look away when you don't like what you see can be so important, "this record is about just trying to figure things out... how to move through the world as a woman, how to be in a relationship without shrinking yourself - that's so much more interesting to me."