The quiet beginning of Ask You Twice comes sliding in sideways, effortlessly smooth; the way the song forms itself in the first moments assures us that it will grow on us, and I know already the first time that the reverb-touched four-note guitar line plays, that it is intended to be the sonic hook that will always draw us back to this song – and that for me it will do just that.
a great sympathy for the world, you sense, despite the inescapable tinge of sadness
Joey Ryan, aka ORIAN, has a tenderness that is caught in the tenor of his voice; a great sympathy for the world, you sense, despite the inescapable tinge of sadness that is there too. The artist says of the song: “With Ask You Twice I wanted to try and describe that feeling of initial inertia and connection with somebody special; when it happens so quickly and unexpectedly, and that magical feeling when they feel the same way.“
After the soft, atmospheric beginning, our favourite guitar hook kicks off an insistent bass drum that keeps the song moving resolutely forward even as ORIAN leans a little back: there is that soft-voiced sadness again, and layers of lush keyboard float just behind the vocal before the drums proper kick in and take the song to a new place, pulsing along with a cleverly captured pop sensibility and an electric guitar that feeds back in the background, never allowed to take over the song but just adding texture.
ORIAN shows a talent for a catchy hook; a taste for pop rock balladry and the sensitivity and way with a song to make that a good thing.
The new single from Irish artist and Berlin based ORIAN was produced and written together with the german producer Joschka Bender (Madeline Juno, Varley), and co produced by Berlin based producer ANDOR.
After independently releasing his first two singles Tryin’ and Holding On in May and November 2019, ORIAN achieved support from Irish radio stations such as RTE Radio One, BBC Ulster, RED FM, BEAT 102103, KCLR, Dublin City FM and Shannonside,
alongside support from Radio Eins, TIDE and Fritz Radio in Germany.
Having completed his second headline tour of Germany in February 2020, ORIAN Ask You Twice is the first of five new singles from the Irish artist, planned for over the next few months – and we can’t wait to see what the next four sound like!
ORIAN on Facebook | ORIAN on Instagram | Orion on Soundcloud
Photos by Paul Tobin Photography
