Tableau by The Orielles

Words by Jasmin Williams

This week’s 2SER Feature Album, Tableau is the fourth album from the West Yorkshire-based outfit, The Orielles. 

 

Coming to life in a somewhat unorthodox way, with no demos, no producers and an emphasis on improvisation, this album is an amalgamation of experimentation and forefronts a wholistic bending of genres. Experimenting through sound and time, this album is dynamic and fluid, providing listeners with a journey through the tracks.

 

Tableau marks a departure from their lo-fi DIY indie origins, and dips a toe into various genres by utilising holistic jazz practices, oblique 21st-century electronica, experimental 1960s tape loop methods and autotuned vocal sounds.

Despite all the differences between these distinct tracks, threads link every track across the entire album. The recurring motifs and sonic ideas presented in these complex and diverse tracks tie them all closely together, allowing for a seamless conceptual experience.

In the depths of the album, there is a stellar track titled Darkened Corners, which, according to the band is succinct and easy-to-explain . The repeated organ motifs and guitar grooves provide the track with a unique sound. A question was posed by bassist and vocalist, Esme, ‘What if a photograph was speaking to its maker?’, explaining she felt inspired to write Darkened Corners while visiting a Berlin retrospective of American photographer Lee Friedlander.

 

“The exhibition had these monuments, and it was photographs and the photographer speaking to each other, and that felt quite apt for this album.” 

 

As such, all three of the band take vocals on the track for the first time, representing different aspects of the photograph in dialogue. This album is really one that speaks for itself, and the unique unison of the band members through experimentation and improvisation with no barriers or limitations can be felt across all sixteen tracks. 

The group emerged from the studio with a finished album, created by just three people in a room.

 

Listen to Tableau on all streaming platforms, or buy the physical album here. Keep your mind open and indulge in the experience. 

 

Esmé Dee Hand-Halford rang in with Danny Chifley on 2SER breakfast to talk about Tableau and much else as well.