Orton Heat

It's been six years since Beth Orton released an album. In that time, a lot has happened. The British singer-songwriter gave birth to her first child (daughter Nancy) in 2006 and her second child (son Arthur) in 2011. During that period, she lived as a single mother and eventually married her husband Sam Amidon. With that in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising that Sugaring Season has taken so long.

“I was writing on and off. I'm always writing. I've written many, many songs over the past couple of years. Eventually, there was just a time where I realised I was ready to record,” she says of the period. “There was no great plan. It just sort of unfolded like that for me. A lot of things happened over the past six years. I mean, having children is quite a dramatic change. It sort of puts a different spin on time.”

Orton is more experienced than most. She's been working as a singer or songwriter since the early nineties. Her initial sound as a solo artist was both pioneering and highly influential – blending folk instrumentation and songwriting with electronic arrangements and production. Since then, she's diversified with straight folk, pop and shades of indie rock. In total, she's released six albums since 1993's SuperPinkyMandy debut.

“I don't really listen to what I've done before, I have to be honest,” the singer-songwriter confesses. “I like parts of what I've done in the past and, really, I'm a bit over certain things I've done before, but I'm never going to reject it. I think it's all relevant to me as an artist. I have to say, though, that where I am right now is really exciting to me. That's kind of what I'm thinking about these days.

“I think there's just a part of me that loves different kinds of music, loves different sounds, loves exploring new ways to put songs together,” Orton muses of her multifaceted catalogue. “I think there is probably an element of fear to it – that fear of being pinned down as an electronic musician or whatever – and probably on a subconscious level. Really, though, I just love exploring different sounds.”

However, Orton endearingly still resembles a younger musician. She speaks with a kind of vague romance and gentle, frustrated naivety (“Well, that's a really good question, but do you want me to actually answer it or just give you something that sounds like an answer?” she asks at one point). While Sugaring Season is a product of a great deal of life lived, it seems to have also inspired a voracious thirst in Orton to live life.

“I do find that, once I've made a record I start to think about what I'll do with the next one,” she says. “There's always a weird space after finishing a work where you wonder what the next one will be. I do actually have songs that I've kind of set aside or am thinking about for the next one already – but there's also this big huge gap of just not knowing what the future will bring. It's a strange feeling.” 

“I think the thing I like about this record is there's a fearlessness,” she reflects. “For me, I feel like there's a development. I can see a clear movement. I don't know how to put it into words, exactly – but I look forward to exploring it. I look forward to going deeper into it all. Exploring music and exploring sound. I mean, I look forward to that continually and whether I will or not I don't know, but that's what I'm looking forward to right now.”