Beth Orton

The only tidbit she’ll confirm, is, yes, booze did play a role in her early career. Ambient artist William Orbit had seen Orton in a play and asked if she’d read on a song for him. She showed up “a bit pissed” for her reading and, thanks to the false courage of alcohol, decided to sing the part instead.

Before she became a full-fledged solo artist, Orton lent her voice to songs by Orbit, the Chemical Brothers and others. But all along, she was also making her own music. “I was writing my own little things,” she said. “People were aware of that and someone gave a demo to this guy at [U.K. indy] Heavenly Records and he really liked what I did.”

What Orton does is craft folk songs and embellish them with the beat of electronica and ambient music. Her voice has a hauntingly familiar tinge of Sandy Dennis, but there’s nothing derivative about her style. Orton’s influences range from Neil Young to Primal Scream and she finds no contradiction there.

“I just look at it like as if I was working in the fine arts. I wouldn’t just paint with oils, I wouldn’t just use watercolors; maybe I would sculpt and shape things as well,” she said. “There are so many ways to do the thing that is music.”

Orton’s amalgamation of styles and textures won critical acclaim for her Trailer Park album, which is her first release to be readily available in the States. A few dates last summer on the Lilith Fair’s acoustic stage generated great enthusiasm and curiosity about this lanky young woman with the lovely voice.

While touring with Lilith, Orton said she was impressed by the warm welcome she received from audiences that knew nothing about her. “I think American audiences are very giving and open-minded and I quite enjoy that,” she said. They’re really receptive to what ever comes up and that, in my mind, is what makes it really enjoyable.”

Back in the U.K., Orton had become a surprise hit at virtually every major festival in the country. Glastonbury, T in the Park, Phoenix, Cambridge Folk, Reading… Orton crossed the genres and played them all. “Festivals are all about getting it out there and letting people know what I’m doing so they can make their own minds up,” she said. “I’m more interested in giving the audience a good show than fitting into a certain category. Maybe I just don’t sit around long enough for anyone to put me in a box.”

Right now, she’s in the middle of a U.S. club tour and she’s putting the music way before image and airplay on her priority list. While Orton has earned a reputation as a new school acoustic folk artist, she’s been playing with a full band for awhile. On her current tour, she’s accompanied by the requisite guitars plus cello, mandolin, bouzouki, Wulitzer piano and keyboards.

She said she doesn’t have any particular expectations as to what kind of audiences she’ll attract during this tour but she does expect quite a good deal of herself. “I put myself in the shoes of the person who made the effort to leave their house and buy a ticket. If I went to see this gig, I’d want to leave with my mind a bit expanded. I’d want to feel like I’d seen something that could really alter my perception in some way. When I do a gig that’s really good and really worthwhile, I want it to feel that way for the audience as well.”

In order to forge a personal connection on each tour stop, Orton said she tries to conjure up in her imagination the history and spirit of the place she’ll be playing. “I find that to be quite an interesting idea… thinking about the place and the people and focusing on that in some way. It sounds weird, but it gives the songs a different kind of poignancy every night whether it’s Nashville or Seattle.”

Obviously, Orton has a great personal investment in her music. The past 18 months have been a whirlwind of recording sessions and live performances, and that’s the way she likes it. “I just look forward to doing everything. I want to stay open to new things,” she said. “Life is far too mundane otherwise.”

She’s especially looking forward to her December 14th show back in London at Shepherd’s Bush Empire. But she won’t be celebrating a career milestone and it’s not a big holiday soiree. “It’s my birthday,” she said shyly. “I’m hoping for a little party afterward.”