Elizabeth Caroline Orton (b. 12/14/70) is an English musician, known for her “folktronica” sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica. She was initially recognized for her collaborations with William Orbit, Andrew Weatherall, Red Snapper and the Chemical Brothers in the mid-1990s. Her UK/US first solo album, Trailer Park, received much critical acclaim in 1996. Orton developed a devoted audience with the release of the BRIT Award-winning album Central Reservation (1999) and the 2002 UK top 10 album, Daybreaker. Her 2006 album, Comfort of Strangers, was followed by a break during which Orton gave birth to her daughter and collaborated with the British guitarist Bert Jansch. Orton returned with Sugaring Season in 2012, which moved towards a purer acoustic sound, followed by a return to electronic music with Kidsticks, released in 2016.
Orton’s music has been featured in the movies How to Deal and Vanilla Sky, and also in the TV series Felicity, Charmed, Dawson’s Creek, Roswell, Grey’s Anatomy and Manifest, providing her with exposure to a more mainstream American audience.
Early Life:
Orton was born in Dereham, Norfolk, but moved to Dalston, East London, at age fourteen (1981.) Her father, a public relations consultant and journalist, left her mother when Orton was eleven, and she lived with her mother, a journalist and political activist, and her two brothers. Beth’s father died shortly after his abandonment of the family. Beth’s mother died from cancer in 1989, when Orton was aged 19, which led to her traveling to Thailand for a short period, living with Buddhist nuns.
Orton studied A-levels at City College Norwich. On returning to London, Orton worked at jobs such as a waitress at Pizza Hut, and she even briefly owned her own catering company. Orton was an actress before becoming a musician, initially enrolling at the Anna Scher Theatre School. She toured in an experimental stage adaptation of Une Saison en Enfer with a theatre company touring throughout the UK, Russia and Ukraine, playing Rimbaud’s lover.
In a 2022 The Guardian interview with Beth, she says:
I’m not a fucking folk singer, a tidy little girl, it’s never been that way. The first gig I went to of my own volition was the Fall when I was 12. I learned to just go: ‘OK, I am all these very contradictory parts and it’s all right to just encompass that.’
Musical Beginnings:
Orton began working with William Orbit on an LP together as Spill, entitled Burn Blind. “Don’t Wanna Know ‘Bout Evil” was the first track on the album that ended up being released in just Orton’s name (although listed as co-written by William Orbit, and below as written by John Martyn?)
Superpinkymandy was named after a rag doll which she bought at a jumble sale at the age of six. This rare album was released only in Japan, in extremely limited numbers (popularly quoted as between 1,000 and 5,000 copies). The sound is very much Orbit’s, but all of the songs (except “Don’t Wanna Know ‘Bout Evil” written by John Martyn) were co-written by Orton and Orbit, and some tracks were later recycled, in very different versions. “She Cries Your Name” later appeared on Trailer Park. “Yesterday’s Gone” became “Montok Point” on the fourth Strange Cargo release, Hinterland (1995). Hinterland had Orton’s vocals on several tracks, and also included an alternative version of “She Cries Your Name.”
Her first solo single, a cover of The Ronettes’ “I Wish I Never Saw the Sunshine“, was released, again in extremely limited numbers, in mid-1996, and was followed by “She Cries Your Name”, shortly before the release of what she herself considers to be her first LP Trailer Park, released on Heavenly Records on 19 October 1996.
Discography:
|
Studio albums |
8 |
|---|---|
|
Compilation albums |
2 |
|
Music videos |
13 |
|
EPs |
3 |
|
Singles |
20 |
|
Other appearances |
26 |
Filmography:
4
Some things to share:
Also in The Guardian:
Unfairly associated in some listeners’ minds with chillout compilations and the horrible label ‘folktronica,’ Orton’s unwillingness to cleave to a neat genre has left her underrated…
I would encourage you to follow The Guardian link below to learn more about Beth’s life in general and musical status in the world. Searching for YouTubes, I see she is currently on tour!
Official website: here
Sources: wikipedia, The Guardian, YouTube, PBS News
Tao Talk 
Interesting, challenging and too often tragic life events make for the best songs and artists. Some one I knew nothing about.
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Randy, so true. She’s so talented but I didn’t know she existed until I did this write-up. Not sure where I got her name from either.
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A very nice find nonetheless
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Yeah… the formal lessons can be a drag. Nevertheless, I got something out of the workbooks I was handed. I suppose one thing I gained from lessons is appreciation for those who can do it. 😃
I did play an actual full piece in a recital, I think only once. It was something like ragtime jazz. I did fine, but…
Where I really get the nostalgia is from an earlier space in my life, ballet lessons. I wasn’t a star there, either. My mom scheduled me so close to when my parents were done with work that I was always late, age five. The teacher was pretty ticked about it. Yet, that discipline actually did me good health-wise in the long run.
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Marleen thank you for a glimpse into your childhood. Your parents gave you some pretty sweet opportunities.
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Trailer Park is the only album I have of hers. I’ll have to dig it out again.
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Glyn if you have Spotify, click on the Trailer Link and you can listen to it immediately :)
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She’s not touring near me, darn it, but I’ll tell my middle son in NZ about her. (He’s not the one with the mellow playlist, however. But his fiancé might be interested.)
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Cool, Marleen. May I ask where you live? For some reason I thought you were Fandango’s wife but maybe not!
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😏 It occurred to me at some point that I’m sort of maybe what people sometimes say (generically) is a workplace wife… ish? (No big claim in this as I only mean rhetorically; plus, it sounds like he has an awesome wife despite the fact that she likes Twitter.) No, I’m more of a pal. Only online as he’s in California, as you know, and I’m in the Midwest though I did live in California for a few years long ago after my husband graduated with his masters and I selected where we were going. I’m pretty sure we’d left by the time Fandango got there. I found Fandango’s site shortly after [also shortly after Trump was sworn in for context] my dad died — very upsetting to me for years — and I was comforted by the writing style of this fella with a bag over his head and smoke floating by. He really helped me out, without exactly knowing it… although I mentioned it at some point, and he said he was glad. He’s been very kind and hospitable (as he is to everyone as far as I’ve seen). Mmm… except once, understandably. Anyone can identify with the fact that someone showed up and claimed that no one died in the attempted insurrection; he then asked that person directly if he/she was stupid. 🙂
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I could’ve edited that better in a couple of places. One spot didn’t need parentheses and is kinda dumb with them. The other is that my use of “at some point” twice is not meant to be a meaningful parallel.
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No worries, Marleen!
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Cool, Marleen. Good to learn a little about you. I agree with your assessment of our buddy, Fandango.
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Cool choice. I loved her most recent one.
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Thanks, Graham. I like what I’m hearing.
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Thanks for the top video…I’ve heard her on someone elses blog…probably Grahams. Very atmospheric and ethereal…I like this.
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:)
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I like Beth Orton, although I had never read any interviews with her. I get not wanting to be pigeonholed, but I think she makes too big a deal about it. Folk singers are not tidy; how can any musician be tidy? Labels are dumb, but so what? Just do what you do. I never heard of Folktronica myself. I just like her music; it needs no label. (K)
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Well-said, K. As Paul said, “Let it be.”
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Exactly.
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Beth Orton is another new name, Lisa. To me at least. I’ve really been enjoying your Women Music March series. It’s a great illustration how many talented female music artists are out there. That PBS segment is great!
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:) My pleasure, Christian. Thank you.
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Thanks fot this. Lisa! I have Stolen Car on repeat …great song.
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Just listened to it, JIM. It’s a good’n!
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