"Orange Trees" is a song by Welsh singer and songwriter

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

from her fourth studio album, ''

Love + Fear Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of meanings is that the lov ...

'' (2019). The song was released for digital download and

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as the album's third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

on 22 March 2019 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It was written by Marina,

Oscar Görres Oscar Michael Görres (born 20 March 1986), also known as OzGo, is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known for writing and producing songs with the likes of Marina Diamandis, MARINA, Taylor Swift, 5 Seconds of Summer, ...

, Erik Hassle, and Jakob Jerlstrom, while produced by Görres. Several remixes of the song were commissioned by Atlantic and released throughout 2019, including one produced by German DJ Claptone. An acoustic version of "Orange Trees" appears on Marina's sixth extended play, ''

Love + Fear (Acoustic) ''Love + Fear (Acoustic)'' is the seventh extended play by Welsh singer and songwriter Marina. It was released digitally on 13 September 2019 by Atlantic Records and contains five acoustic versions of songs that originally appeared on Marina' ...

'' (2019). Musically, the song has been described as an

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and

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track, with a

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beat and lyrics that describe a summer romance spent in the beauty of nature. Marina wrote the song about the island city of Lefkada, Greece, where her family once lived. "Orange Trees" received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Some considered the song a standout or compared it to Marina's previous single " Handmade Heaven", a track that also discusses nature in its lyrics, while other critics dismissed it as inferior to other ''Love + Fear'' tracks. Two accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

s were produced and the original video was released alongside the song, directed by Sophie Muller, and filmed at a private villa in

Puerto Vallarta Puerto Vallarta ( or simply Vallarta) is a Mexican beach resort city situated on the Pacific Ocean's Bahía de Banderas in the Mexican state of Jalisco. Puerto Vallarta is the second largest urban agglomeration in the state after the Guadala ...

. It depicts Marina adventuring and exploring the property with several friends. A

vertical video A vertical video is a video created either by a camera or computer that is intended for viewing in portrait mode, producing an image that is taller than it is wide. It thus sits in opposition to the multiple horizontal formats normalised by cin ...

was released in April 2019, featuring Marina singing while wearing a large, flower headpiece. To promote the song, Marina performed it on ''

Late Night with Seth Meyers ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' is an American late-night news and political satire talk show hosted by Seth Meyers on NBC. The show premiered on February 24, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. Airing weeknights a ...

'' that same month. The song was also included on the setlist of her fourth concert tour, the Love + Fear Tour (2019).

Background and release

To mark the beginning of a new era in her career, Marina stated via

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in 2018 that she would be dropping "and the Diamonds" from her stage name in order to release music as just Marina (stylised in all caps). She explained that, "It took me well over a year to figure out that a lot of my identity was tied up in who I was as an artist... and there wasn't much left of who ''I'' was." After the announcement, Marina released " Baby" with

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit are an English electronic music group, formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have had four number 1 hits and ten top 10 hits on the UK Singles Chart. They direct and produce their own music videos, many of which have been nominated for ...

, her first

under her new name. On 14 February 2019, she announced ''Love + Fear'', her fourth studio album and first as Marina. The track listing was unveiled the same day, revealing "Orange Trees" as the third track on the album. ''Love + Fear'' serves as a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

that is composed of two segments, with each one exploring psychologist

Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (July 8, 1926 – August 24, 2004) was a Swiss-American psychiatrist, a pioneer in near-death studies, and author of the internationally best-selling book, '' On Death and Dying'' (1969), where she first discussed her the ...

' theory that humans are only capable of experiencing the aforementioned two emotions. "Orange Trees" appears on the ''Love'' portion of the album, devoted to lyrics detailing positive thoughts and emotions, because it was categorised as a song about "her sense of home". The song was written by Marina,

, Erik Hassle, and Jakob Jerlstrom, while Görres handled production. Marina recorded her vocals for the song at

Wolf Cousins Studios Maratone is a music production company, and started by two music producers and songwriters, Max Martin and Tom Talomaa. Based in Stockholm, Sweden, it was started in January 2001 after the closing of Cheiron Studios. Maratone moved in at Cosmos Stu ...

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"Orange Trees" was released for digital download and

as a single in the United States on 22 March 2019 through

. On that same day via

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a proprietary Swedish audio streaming and media services provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. It is one of the largest music streaming service providers, with over 456 million monthly active us ...

in the US, the song was bundled with previous singles " Handmade Heaven" and " Superstar" as part of a digital extended play to stream. A promotional CD single for "Orange Trees", intended for radio airplay, was distributed throughout the

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

region of Europe by Atlantic Records and the

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. It features the album version of the song plus four remixes, released in advance of their digital distributions. Atlantic commissioned a total of four remixes to be made for "Orange Trees". They all first appeared on the Benelux promotional CD, but were then released separately for digital download and streaming; the first one, the Danny Dove remix, was released on 19 April 2019. The Bearson remix and Claptone remix followed, being released on 31 May and 7 June 2019, respectively. The Michael Goldwasser & Easy Star All-Stars Reggae remix was the last one, released for digital download and streaming on 14 June. An acoustic version of the song was recorded and included on the track listing for Marina's sixth EP, ''

'', on 13 September 2019. It was produced by English musician Benjamin Fletcher.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, "Orange Trees" is a romantic and "breezy"

and

song, with a

beat. Lauren Murphy from ''

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'' referred to the beat as an "infectious summer groove". Similarly, John Murphy from ''

musicOMH MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B. History MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...

'' said the

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

is "suitably summery" when considering the song's lyrical subject matter. ''

Classic Pop Traditional pop (also known as classic pop and pre-rock and roll pop) is Western pop music that generally pre-dates the advent of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. The most popular and enduring songs from this era of music are known as pop standards ...

''s Wyndham Wallace described the genre of the song as "understated electro-pop", while he considered Marina's vocals to sound "demure" and reserved. According to Musicnotes.com, "Orange Trees" is set in common time and has a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 101 beats per minute. The key of the song is in

B major B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...

, with Marina's vocal range spanning an entire

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

, from F₃ to G₄ in

scientific pitch notation Scientific pitch notation (SPN), also known as American standard pitch notation (ASPN) and international pitch notation (IPN), is a method of specifying musical Pitch (music), pitch by combining a musical Note (music), note name (with accidental ...

. Throughout the song's three verses, the vocal range advances in the chord progression of E–F♯–E-F♯–B/D♯. Instrumentation for the song is provided by Hassle, who plays the guitar, and Görres, who plays keyboards and percussion. The song was

engineered Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more specializ ...

by John Hanes, while mixed by Serban Ghenea. Marina provided her own background vocals for the song and mastering was handled by Dave Kutch at The Mastering Palace in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Lyrically, "Orange Trees" uses vivid

imagery Imagery is visual symbolism, or figurative language that evokes a mental image or other kinds of sense impressions, especially in a literary work, but also in other activities such as psychotherapy. Forms There are five major types of sensory ima ...

and serves as "an ode to the beauty of Earth's natural wonders". According to Marina, the song is about the island city of Lefkada in Greece, where her family originated from. Regarding her decision to write a song about the town, she said: "it's my favourite place in the world. I always feel at peace there. It's like my body/biology recognises I’m back home." Lake Schatz from '' Consequence of Sound'' summarized the song's message as being "about embracing and becoming one with all the beauty that nature has to offer". Lucas Villa from AXS described the lyrics as "picturesque" and compared them to the ones of "Handmade Heaven". Marina opens the song by singing "O-o-o-orange / O-o-o-orange / O-o-o-orange" over a beat without the use of a sustain pedal. She then transitions into the first verse, where she describes: "I can see the flowers in the greenery / I take a breath of air and I feel free". During the song's

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

, Marina sings "Life is beautiful and now you see / This is how it feels to be free," which Villa felt alluded to a summer romance in Marina's personal life.

Critical reception

Ben Niesen from ''Atwood Magazine'' considered "Orange Trees" to be one of the most "'powerful' moments" on ''Love + Fear'' and called it "probably the most colourful cut" overall. Lauren Murphy also liked the track, grouping it with several other songs on the album that she felt were "uplifting and empowering". David Renshaw from ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' raved about the song, describing it as "an

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

song perfect for sunny days and long, balmy nights". Idolator's Mike Wass was equally positive in his review of the song: "It's achingly lovely and definitive proof that the 33-year-old doesn’t need to be in the depths of despair to make great

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

." The acoustic version of the song was reviewed by several critics. Mike Nied from Idolator described it as his "personal favorite" and the "absolute standout" on ''Love + Fear (Acoustic)''. Although Riana Buchman from

WRBB WRBB (104.9 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a variety format, run by the students of Northeastern University. Licensed to Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it serves the Greater Boston area. The station is owned by Northeastern and trans ...

was mixed in her review of the EP, she felt "Orange Trees" succeeded as the album's closing track and called it the sole highlight. The more negative reviews of "Orange Trees" referred to it as boring or unmemorable. ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' reviewer Douglas Greenwood provided a mixed review of the song, saying that it "might be more of a swig of

Fanta Fanta is an American-owned German brand of fruit-flavored carbonated soft drinks created by Coca-Cola Deutschland under the leadership of German businessman Max Keith. There are more than 200 flavors worldwide. Fanta originated in Germany as ...

than a sip of fancy San Pellegrino, but there's something about its carefree nature that makes it difficult to hate." In his review of ''Love + Fear'', Peyton Thomas from '' Pitchfork'' called the track "anodyne" and preferred album cut "Too Afraid". Also, Nick Lowe from '' Clash'' was unimpressed by the track, referring to it as Marina's "half-hearted attempt ta chart-topping summer hit".

Music videos

The original

for "Orange Trees" was directed by English director Sophie Muller, who had previously collaborated with Marina on the video for "Handmade Heaven". The visual was filmed on location in

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...

, Mexico at a private villa and beach. It was later announced that the music video would be released at 10:00 AM ( PST) on 22 March 2019. Ultimately, it was uploaded to Marina's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

account on the scheduled date. The video opens following Marina as she walks around a beachfront property in Puerto Vallarta. The next scene shows her lounging in an infinity pool with two female friends; for the first chorus, she is joined by her friends on the beach, as they hold hands and dance in the waves. A different shot has Marina posed in a green dress in front of a wall of flowers. Other scenes show her dancing in the sand of the beach in a one-piece swimsuit and standing on a dock while gazing at the surrounding water. Many of the shots in the video were edited with a color filter to bring out a strong orange hue. Alongside the YouTube release of the music video, it was made available for download via

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple M ...

on 22 March 2019.References regarding the release of the music video for "Orange Trees" by Marina on Apple Music: * * * * * Villa wrote a positive review of the visual, calling it a "colorful video". A contributor for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' also enjoyed it, writing that the video "positively radiates with summer sunshine" and summarising it as a "feel-good clip". A separate

, also directed by Muller, was created. It features Marina singing the song in an orange dress and a headpiece containing many flowers. The video was eventually uploaded to her YouTube channel on 12 April 2019.

Live performances

In 2019, Marina was featured on NBC's ''

'' as the guest musical artist, standing as her first appearance on the show since 2015. She appeared on the 8 April episode and performed "Orange Trees" to the audience. Schatz was positive in his review of the performance, writing: "Though the stage itself was without any

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...

or natural daylight, the

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based artist carried plenty of warmth and spiritual uplift in her body language and, quite literally, in her hair." The song was also included on the set list for Marina's Love + Fear Tour in 2019. It was performed in between her 2015 single " Froot" and '' Electra Heart'' track "Teen Idle" (2012). During this segment of the show, Marina and her background dancers began to engage in more theatrics. Roman Gokhman from ''Riff'', reviewing Marina's show in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, called the live performance of "Orange Trees" a highlight of the show. He complimented her ability to "bend ..the tone of her voice to a near vibrato", which he considered a trademark of the older releases in her discography.

Track listings

* Digital download/streaming # "Orange Trees" – 3:08 * Digital download – Bearson remixReferences regarding the release of "Orange Trees (Bearson Remix)" by Marina on Apple Music: * * * * * # "Orange Trees" (Bearson remix) – 3:02 * Digital download – Claptone remixReferences regarding the release of "Orange Trees (Claptone Remix)" by Marina on Apple Music: * * * * * # "Orange Trees" ( Claptone remix) – 2:48 * Digital download – Danny Dove remixReferences regarding the release of "Orange Trees (Danny Dove Remix)" by Marina on Apple Music: * * * * * # "Orange Trees" (Danny Dove remix) – 3:04 * Digital download – Michael Goldwasser & Easy Star All-Stars Reggae remixReferences regarding the release of "Orange Trees (Michael Goldwasser & Easy Star All-Stars Reggae Remix)" by Marina on Apple Music: * * * * * # "Orange Trees" (Michael Goldwasser & Easy Star All-Stars Reggae remix) – 3:01 * Promotional CD single # "Orange Trees" – 3:08 # "Orange Trees" (Bearson remix) – 3:02 # "Orange Trees" (Claptone remix) – 2:47 # "Orange Trees" (Danny Dove remix) – 3:04 # "Orange Trees" (Michael Goldwasser & Easy Star All-Stars Reggae remix) – 3:01 * Streaming – Spotify EP edition # "Orange Trees" – 3:08 # " Superstar" – 3:54 # " Handmade Heaven" – 3:30

Credits and personnel

Song

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Love + Fear''. * Marina Diamandisbacking vocals, vocals, writer * Serban Gheneamixing * Oscar Göerreskeys, percussion, producer, programming, writer * John Hanesmix engineer * Erik Hassleguitar, writer * Jakob Jerlströmwriter * Dave Kutchmastering

Music video

Credits adapted from Marina's YouTube account. Production * Prettybird UKproduction company Personnel * Sophie Mullerdirector, edit, grade * Vern Moenadditional editing * Juliette Lartheexecutive producer * Hannah Mayproducer * Mariela Martinezlocal producer * Cesar Rosaslocal producer * Andrea Mirandaproduction assistant * Dan Curwincommissioner * Daniel RoblesGDL production coordinator * Adrian Patiñodirector of photography * Ruben Quintero "Pupilo" Steadicam operator * Rodrigo Leónfirst AC camera manager * Victor Andreselectrician * Edwin Chávezelectrician * Sierra Galvanelectrician * René Garciadata manager * Mercedes Contrerasstylist * Derek Yuenhair * Katelin Hollenkampmakeup * Molly Hornedancer * Kayla Watsondancer * Andrés Sierragaffer * Jesus Ivantransport coordinator * Fletes Sandovaltransport coordinator * Melitón Guerradriver * Victor Velascodriver

Release history

References

External links

* {{Marina Diamandis 2019 singles 2019 songs Atlantic Records singles Electropop songs Marina Diamandis songs Music videos directed by Sophie Muller Songs about cities Songs about Greece Songs written by Erik Hassle Songs written by Jakob Jerlström Songs written by Marina Diamandis Songs written by Oscar Görres Tropical songs