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Orton Spark

Checking in with melancholy folkie Beth Orton -- The singer-songwriter, who brightens up a bit with ''Daybreaker,'' talks about her inspirations, her collaborators, and her household appliances

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Checking in with melancholy folkie Beth Orton | 175611__beth_l

WISTFUL THINKING Orton says she went for a cinematic sound on ''Daybreaker''

Beth Orton: Valerie Phillips

By Michele Romero

British-born singer-songwriter Beth Orton has her head in the clouds, and it's not just because she stands six feet tall in sandals. ''I love looking at the sky,'' she sighs. ''I love a wide sky.'' On ''Daybreaker,'' her recently released third album, the somewhat flighty Orton soars, crafting a unique hybrid of melancholy folk and electronic music while making the most of a voice that sounds as if it emanates from a hole as deep as she is tall. What else lurks in that dark well? Orton fills us in on pesky journalists, swearing, and her collaborations with Ryan Adams, Emmylou Harris, and another duet partner who turned out to totally suck.

What's it like to get asked the same questions over and over again?
I think people have an idea that my music is quite confessional, so it almost seems like an analytical free-for-all, and the stakes seem to be to get inside my head. I find that a bit odd. Journalists are people, obviously, and they're reading their own ideas into my lyrics. I realize a lot of them have [the story] written before [the interview].

Hmmm, good to know. Anyway, today I played ''Daybreaker'' at sunrise and it appears that the woman nicknamed the Comedown Queen has made a get-up-early-in-the-morning-and-go record.
Yeah, exactly. For me a day breaker is a certain song that breaks your day and changes your mood. A good walk can do that. Or a breath of fresh air. Or a good run. So, it's that new day, new dawning, new morning sort of thing.

A lot of your song titles are about getaway vehicles: ''Stolen Car,'' ''Paris Train,'' ''Trailer Park.'' Do you need to be on the lam in order to write songs?
I can do it pretty much anywhere. I'm not particularly like, ''I have to be in some villa in Spain.'' I write from a mood and an atmosphere, though I'm incredibly affected by my environment and I find traveling very inspirational. I'm always saying ''I will not get on a plane, I will stay at home.'' But then I'm flying off and one thing leads to another. I like being high up sometimes.

You must have felt high when you got to work with Emmylou Harris on ''God Song.''
Well, I first met her on the Lilith tour. On the first day she came and introduced herself. She knew my record and mentioned details about certain songs and I was just blown away because she'd really listened to it. I wasn't there when she sang her part on ''God Song'' because she was on tour for ''O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' But when I got it, I just ran around the room screaming and jumping up and down because I was so happy. It was electrifying.

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