New Girl on the Block: Meet UK Songstress Orla Rae (Interview)
“R&B and the music scene in general at the moment in the UK is just insane. I feel like we’re going through an incredible era of such great artistry.”
They say too many cooks spoil the broth, but that couldn’t be further from the truth in the case of the UK R&B scene. The genre has undergone somewhat of a revamp, and has found its way onto everyone’s radar in recent years. Now a space where boundary-pushing is encouraged, it’s bursting at the seams with new talent from all corners of the country with common themes that connect them - a penchant for in-depth storytelling, raw authenticity and sultry vocals.
Enter: Orla Rae. A newer name on the books, whose delicate mix of honesty, vulnerability and soulful warmth has quickly captured people’s attention. With an enchanting debut EP and some smooth live sessions under her belt, I sat down with the South Coast singer-songwriter to discuss her musical career so far, her inspirations and what it means to create music that resonates deeply with her listeners.
Hi Orla, it’s nice to meet you! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me.
My pleasure! It’s lovely to meet you too.
Right I’ll start off simple, what can you tell us about who Orla Rae is?
I’m 23, born and raised in Brighton. I never like to put a label on my music genre wise, but I’d say it kinda falls under the umbrella of like R&B/soul. I’ve grown up listening to a lot of jazz. I try and be super honest in my songs and my writing and I’m trying to build my world and let people in. Just share my thoughts and experiences, the normal human experience and try and make it sound nice.
How did you first get into music?
I grew up in a very musical household. Both my parents and my older sister love music and my sister sings. We had one of those old keyboards, you know you’d have them in school? That would go like “DJ!” when you pressed them. I’d play around on that. My parents would always play Stevie Wonder, D’Angelo, Donny Hathaway, Lauryn Hill, and my mum loves Fleetwood Mac and U2. My sister introduced me to Beyoncé, Destiny’s Child and Brandy. I remember being in the car with them and they played one of the D’Angelo albums, I think it was Black Messiah, and also when Channel Orange came out, it just blew my mind. I did my first performance when I was three at nursery.
What did you sing?
I think it was Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. It was like on a big stage so I think from then my parents were like I think she’s gonna want to sing. That’s how I got into music and I did all the school musicals and stuff, I’ve always liked performing and putting on a show for people.
Would you say it’s always been a dream career for you or was it something that developed as you got older?
100%! I found an old school workbook from when I was like seven or eight the other day, and it was like ‘how do you learn the best’ and I did my whole thing on listening to music. I put Thriller lyrics in a speech bubble. I haven’t ever really been good at anything else I feel like, it’s always been my dream. We would watch all the music videos on Vevo on the TV and I was just fascinated by it, so I think I’ve always known I wanted to have this as a career.
Love that. So you’ve already kinda touched on this, but who would you say are your top musical influences?
Oh God there’s so many. Since I was young I’ve thought Stevie Wonder is just the best ever. D’Angelo, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu… I’d say more current, Mac Ayres, Frank Ocean and I love Sasha Keable at the moment. There’s Destin Conrad, Victoria Monét and kwn who’s absolutely killing it. Cleo Sol is another massive one, and SAULT. The list just goes on! The whole neo-soul 90s era was what really sparked my interest, and when I was in school and college I’d listen to so much jazz, like Ella Fitzgerald. I really dug into the best singers. I feel like one day I’m R&B obsessed, contemporary R&B, and another day I’ll listen to jazzy stuff and then I’ll put on Olivia Dean. Lots of different pockets, but it all comes under the same umbrella.
If you could describe your sound in four words, what would they be?
I’d say soulful, intimate. Sometimes a bit sexy, it can go down that route… and real. It’s hard because I haven’t got that much music out at the moment, so I’m kinda talking about stuff I’m working on now which I know no one’s heard. But I’m really excited to put out new stuff because you’re always changing and growing, going through different things, so that’s what I feel like at the moment.
It’s clear to see that you’re passionate about your craft based on the music you’ve put out already. I’d love to know, what’s your typical creative process like?
Sometimes it’s different. With the EP I just put out, I was going through a bit of a shit time and I was just hung up on this guy who didn’t treat me very well. I kinda just locked myself in my bedroom for like a week and basically just wrote the whole EP, which I’ve never really done before. I write at home sometimes but I find I work best in the studio with other people to bounce off of. James Berkeley who produced the EP, I’ve been working with him since I was 15 so we have a process that’s just natural now. I’ll go and we’ll have like a therapy session at the beginning and then figure out what the song’s gonna be about and go from there. I just produced all the demos at home and then took them to him [James]. Sometimes it’s finding a song that inspires me and it can even be an idea I get in the shower.
Sticking with the EP, why did you go with the songs you chose for it?
They all came quite naturally one after the other, I wrote them in quite a short space of time. I felt like they represented a phase of my life, like I listen to them now and I’m so not in that headspace anymore. It definitely was a timestamp in my life and those were the main things I was going through so it made sense for me to put that out as a body of work. I’m still in my early 20s but things are always changing, so it was like this is now and then I’m gonna move on. Here we are now, there’s gonna be another EP about some more stuff soon!
Can’t wait! So Liar in Love is a favourite of mine from your EP, what inspired that song in particular?
When I wrote the EP I had been with someone on and off for like three-ish years and he was just a liar. There was a lot of cheating and lying, and it got pretty toxic. I’m a rubbish liar, so you know when someone does something to you and you can’t even fathom how you could do that to someone? It felt like I was releasing all of my anger about that situation because there’d just been so much deceit. I was like, I’m not a spiteful person, but I’m gonna get it out in this song. It felt like a good release, so now I’m just screeching it at the top of my lungs when I’m performing. It’s like my alter ego, my Sasha Fierce.
What would be your alter ego name?
That’s a really good question! Well my full name is Orla Rae Berry, so I feel like maybe Berry… but it’s not giving sassy, I feel like it’s giving cutesy. I need to come up with a sassier one I think.
What’s your favourite song that you’ve written? Not just on the EP, but of all the songs you’ve put out.
Diamonds & Flowers means a lot to me and that helped me heal I think, but I still love richest girl. I put that out before the EP and I feel like she’s a cute song and it also makes me feel sassy. There’s definitely more that I’ve been writing at the moment that I love… or maybe Liar in Love. If I had to put it in an order maybe richest girl, Diamonds and then Liar in Love.
“WE ALL JUST DO IT BECAUSE WE LOVE CREATING, AND IF I COULD BE IN THE STUDIO EVERYDAY I WOULD.”
What would you say sets you apart from other artists that are out right now?
R&B and the music scene in general in the UK is just insane. I feel like we’re going through an incredible era of such great artistry. I’m still figuring everything out and still learning about myself, just growing as an artist, but I’d say I’m just very real and such a people pleaser. I want everyone to feel comfortable and I would wanna be friends with everybody if I could. I have a lot of musical depth, but I’m almost like the girl next door who would be your mate. I’ve gone to Mahalia shows before and I’ve left feeling like I’m her friend. I want people to feel like that with me!
What’s been your biggest challenge so far?
My biggest challenge… it’s kind of generic for an independent artist, but I think just running this whole thing on my own. I don’t have management, I work a normal job, I make coffees and I work in a restaurant. I’m great at latte art though so maybe that’s what sets me apart from everyone else. But I think it’s really tough trying to put your all into your artistry and also you know, having to survive and run this as a business at the same time. We all just do it because we love creating, and if I could be in the studio every single day I would but, reality. Part of me is like I wish I grew up in London because everything is there. I lived there for a couple years but I’m back in Brighton now. But yeah, having to do everything on your own is the toughest part but at the same time, it gives you great life skills.
On the flip side, what’s been your biggest achievement?
I’ve hit a lot of little milestones this year. I think playing the Jazz Cafe this year was such a good moment for me and I’ve been wanting to do that for years and years. Being able to tour and perform in different countries, I did that with Blue Lab and that’s my dream really, to travel the world performing… I can’t wait for it to be my tour! Just having that experience was amazing. Of course releasing my first project was great too, but I’m ready for more.
Who would you say is your dream musical collaboration?
It’s so hard because I would automatically say Stevie Wonder but I don’t know if I’d be able to compose myself! So, God this is hard… I could never do it with Beyoncé because how can you compare? It would be really cool to do something with Leon Thomas or Sasha Keable. They’ve carved out their own sound and I can’t wait to do that myself. To put two seconds of a song on and you know it’s me. That’s why I’m so excited to release more and to have people say, “oh that’s Orla.”
What would the song be about?
I think they’re both really good at writing Liar in Love-esque songs, like they stand on business if you know what I mean. I think it’d be something like that, or maybe with Leon Thomas like a proper heartfelt love song, like Best Part kinda vibes. That kind of duet.
I’m hoping that happens for sure. Alright onto a more fun question… I know the catalogue of R&B itself is very wide, but if you could have written any song that already exists, what would it be and why?
I think Déjà Vu by Beyoncé. It just never gets old, it’s timeless. It makes you feel so empowered and just sexy. I think the arrangements of the songs, the horns, just the groove it all makes you feel so good. I think the aim in music is to make people feel something and with Déjà Vu, even if you feel shit that song will make you feel like a diva!
What can we expect from you in 2025 and beyond?
I’ve got some live sessions coming out, from my EP. I just did a Reprezent Radio Session as well and then hopefully a couple more singles to come! I’ve been working with some really cool people and I’m really excited. There’s just so many different sounds that I’m really excited for people to hear, and maybe some songs that people don’t expect as well… I’m just excited to keep growing and seeing what people think.
Do you have any last messages for your fans or anyone that’s going to come on board after this?
I’d just say to keep an open mind and I hope they enjoy the music and can relate. Just stick with me, there’s so much coming and I’m so excited.
