Heavenly harmonies like no other, paired with grunge rock vocals, ambient instrumentals and killer guitar solos are what make Orenda Fugue one of a kind. After playing shows around the Chippewa Valley for a couple years they’ve finally stopped teasing us with their captivating sound and recorded a full length album. Now listeners have the opportunity to hear their tunes whenever they’d like.
A Little About the Album
The album, titled Revel, is scheduled to be released on Saturday, December 15th at The Mousetrap Tavern. “It’s been a long time coming I think. We feel this album really reflects early Orenda Fugue,” expresses Alex. Each musician brings something powerful to the band which can easily be heard on Revel. Members consist of Alex Vang on bass guitar and back up vocals, Sean (pronounced seen) Hanson on guitar and lead vocals, Dan Gary on guitar and back up vocals and Ben Peterson on Drums.
The album quickly pulls you in with song Hard Learner, starting with an upbeat rock vibe and guitar solo before Sean’s pleasantly grungy vocals hit you. I find myself able to sing along after a couple play throughs. As the album carries on I become mesmerized with A Brief Ascension and Wonder Apparatus. I could listen to these on repeat for infinity. Harmonies emerge an indescribable feeling in me. There is something purely magical about Orenda Fugue’s three part harmonies which sets them apart from everyone around the Valley.
“Vocally it came together very organically. I remember these guys were starting before me and they invited me to come play with them. They already had a little bit of Revel (song) written. I heard the chorus and jumped in vocally – and the moment – I still remember that moment because when we all three sang together it was like…that’s it! We gotta keep those vocals going because we just knew right away that vocally it was unique and strong,” Alex exclaimed.
Ten songs make up the album. Each flows beautifully into the next, even though a theme wasn’t exactly a part of the process. “I didn’t go into it with a theme. A lot of the writing that I do, it kind of requires you to be introspective. If you’re listening to the words, it points out some negative things, but always brings you back to the silver lining. That’s kind of a reason why we chose Revel as the title. The main chorus in that song is, ‘revel in the things you can’t control, revel in all things unknown.’ You can go through life wondering why things are happening to you, but there’s always a silver lining,” says Sean.
The Birth of Orenda Fugue
When the band started Sean had brought with him a collection of unfinished material from the past five years or so. Playing through the pieces everyone found their spot and filled in each song. The members bring a blend of talents and musical interests that are as unique as the name Orenda Fugue. Orenda is defined as ‘a supernatural force believed by the Iroquois Indians to be present, in varying degrees, in all objects or persons, and to be the spiritual force by which human accomplishment is attained or accounted for.’ The name doesn’t give way to a genre, while their incredible live performances don’t give way to their musical backgrounds.
Guitarist and back up vocalist Dan grew up he was surrounded by his parents love for music, but didn’t start playing guitar until age 14. “What got me into it anyway, was one of my relatives played music. They’re really good at several different instruments and it sparked my interest right away. My dad always had a guitar laying around and ironically it wasn’t until he sold it that I actually started to pick it up,” expresses Dan. After a year of lessons Dan continued to learn guitar by teaching himself.
Speaking of teaching yourself guitar, Dan actually taught Alex guitar in high school. Playing music didn’t interest Alex as a kid, but he has fond memories of his father and uncle performing in their garage. Vocals became Alex’s link to music. “When I moved here to Eau Claire somebody overheard me singing and they convinced me to join choir. It totally introduced me to the world of music and I became obsessed with singing. I did play trombone I suppose in middle school briefly, but then I actually started playing guitar when I met Dan,” says Alex.
Photo By: Weiss Studios
Sean, Dan and Alex attended high school together, while Ben joined in later when he and Alex met at an open mic. Amazed by Ben’s drumming skills making them friends ever since. Soon Ben took over drums for Orenda Fugue. His background in music is fairly different than the other members. Ben played Jazz drumming in high school and was in marching band. “He sees the math and is able to break stuff down in very detail oriented way,” shares Sean.
Sean’s been playing for around 12 years straight, but started learning to play at a young age. Piano lessons in the 1st and 2nd grade were the start of his music venture, drum lessons in 4th grade and he picked up guitar Junior year of high school. “Everything that I do is based off my ears and feeling. I don’t get into breaking down music the way that Ben and these guys can with the theory. Then the other interesting tidbit is that as the lead singer I was never in chorus, I was never in any vocal training of any kind. It just happens to be where I fit in,” Sean says.
Influenced by More Than 90s Grunge
This blend of music backgrounds is what makes every member critical to Orenda Fugue. The band is influenced by all the various branches of the ‘rock tree’ including grunge and progressive metal. Although they also cite funk, jazz, and pop as additional influences.
You can hear a bit of a resemblance to Alice in Chains within Sean’s vocals and the groups guitar parts. Yet, it wasn’t all inspired by grunge. Classical music captured Sean’s attention the most when the band started up. He’s drawn to music without words. Hearing the peaks and valleys of songs which give him the opportunity to go where ever he wants with the music, without lyrics telling him otherwise.
Perhaps classical music is what inspired Pot Roast and Morning Steps on the album. Both are instrumentals which really show off each members skill whether it be drums, guitar or bass. Now, I know what you’re thinking, Pot Roast? Well, Sean compares the instruments to a pot roast cooking, “The way the song starts it’s melodic and a little bit easy going, a little bit bouncy. It’s like cooking in a crock pot, you get everything in there, season it up. You know when the song kicks in it’s like the first time ya sneak a smell, you open the crock pot and smell how it’s going – it kind of hits you. Then you gotta close the crock pot and wait. Then you get to take your first bite and that’s the chorus.”
Photo By: Weiss Studios
While Morning Steps has it’s own story. “That one goes all the way back to right around ‘The Blue Room’ time. (A band Alex and Dan were in years ago.) I had written that one day and put together a bunch of instruments just accompanying this guitar part that I wrote. Then we eventually put it in a Blue Room song back when we were together, we scrapped it and never recorded it. We somehow presented that idea when we were in this band and thought it might be something cool to revisit and we completely changed it from that,” said Dan.
Both of these songs peer away from the rest of the album’s grunge vibe, but I think create a beautiful balance to Revel. I enjoy how it breaks up the lyrics and creates a fresh renewed feeling for the listener. I think these guys could play any style of music and excel at it.
Additional influences for the group include Neil Young, David Gilmore, Pink Floyd, and Maynard James Keenan (vocalist for Tool). Maynard being a huge influence for Sean’s writing as he reflects on an interview where the musician expressed he writes to work through his life’s problems and writing is a way to heal and work through things in life. Sean shares, “so, for me to write it makes way more sense to write and talk about things that I care about or that I wanna get to the other side of and I think that ties into the theme of our album.”
Dedication Pays Off
Orenda Fugue is truly an outstanding band and there’s really no one else like them in the Chippewa Valley. They have a strong presence during live performances and blow audiences away with their sounds. In order to do so it’s taken them years of practice and dedication. “I don’t think a lot of people realize that an original band is time consuming. It takes time to write songs, polish them off and be proud of what you’re writing. I’m not just throwing a few chords together and saying ‘oh it’s good enough,'” says Dan.
Writing original music not only takes a lot of time, but being in a band takes emotional and mental dedication as well. “What’s the point of being an original band if you’re not really proud of the music you’re writing. You gotta be able to put your stamp on it. ‘See what I did? This is cool, I’m proud of this,'” Dan explains. All of the work put into Revel is very apparent while listening to each song.
They’re one of many bands in the Valley who work hard on original material. “That’s why I love this scene you know, cause there are a lot of really talented musicians in the area. And they put all the time into it. It’s just cool to be a part of the community,” expresses Alex. Orenda Fugue will be releasing their album along side some of these talented musicians, including We’re Wolves and The Broken Eights.
If you’re thinking that these heavenly harmonies, grungy vocals, ambient instrumentals and guitar solos are your jam then pick up Orenda Fugue’s first album ‘Revel’. It’ll be available at their release show on December 15th from 9pm-close at The Mousetrap Tavern. Otherwise message the band via Facebook and keep a look out for online options and copies at local businesses.
Photos in this Article:
Weiss Studios
Album Credits:
Tracking: Drum Farm Studio, Toy Car Studio, Pine Hollow Studio
Mixing: Drum Farm Studio, Justin Andersen
Mastering: Adam Schmitt
Album Artwork: Keith Kohrs
Logo Artwork: Anthony Wilde
Album Design: Zack Jensen
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Sean is the goat