Festival season in Toronto is one of the best ways to explore the vibrant music scene. New York/Brazilian-based band Orlas experienced the festivities when they played at the Pilot Bar for North By Northeast (NXNE) on June 13th. The crowd danced along to their groovy and high-energy set. I caught up with the band in person after their performance, and we had a lively chat over brunch about their NXNE set and the theme of nature in their music.
When asked about their musical sound and the energy of their performance, band member Victor Delnur said, “We are an uplifting band, I believe, it’s a Brazilian band, Disco, Funk, Samba, Jazz…”
Orlas’s music is unique as most of the songs are in Portuguese; however, there are a couple of songs in English including, “Everything Is Cool” and “Intimacy.”
Their album Viver o Mar, (“Live The Ocean” in English) is an immersive listening experience as the production and instrumentation sets the calming and positive mood. Since lots of their music is in Portuguese, I do not need to understand the lyrics to interpret the message of the songs as the production, melody, and emotion in the vocals convey the story in a engaging way. The srings are soft and soothing, and there are various guitar or piano solos through out their Viver o Mar.
Growing up in Brazil, the band has a deep connection with nature, which is the theme of the album. Delnur explains, “We grew up in nature so we were surrounded by the shores. When we moved to New York you go out you spend money everywhere. In Rio we didn’t have to do that, we would just go to the beach and it was free. We were happy, we’re trying to get back to that mentality of being happy without having much. Live the Ocean, Viver o Mar, is us being happy with friends at the beach talking.” It is about being in the moment and taking a step away from responsibilities.
Delnur adds about his connection with nature, “When you go to a waterfall you not only go for a dive, you sit down with your friends and talk about life, about what’s positive in your life and also what’s wrong in your life. You share your expectations and frustrations. That’s important, that communication between friends, not only saying everything’s good in my life; we all have our struggles our insecurities. And nature for us is where we spend some time with friends talking and sharing.”
I would highly recommend checking out Oral’s album Viver o Mar, as well as their instagram page @somdasorlas.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.