Orcas is a musical collaboration between

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

minimalist composer

Rafael Anton Irisarri Rafael Anton Irisarri is an American composer, multi-instrumentalist, producer and mastering engineer based in New York City, New York. He is predominantly associated with Minimalist music, post-minimalist, drone music, drone and ambient music, e ...

and multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter

Benoit Pioulard Thomas Meluch (born August 4, 1984) is an American multi-instrumentalist, writer, and photographer, best known by his pseudonym Benoît Pioulard. His music signed to Kranky Records. Biography Meluch began documenting field recordings and ...

. On January 21, 2011, Irisarri and Pioulard released a cover version of Broadcast's "Until Then" (from the band's 2000 album The Noise Made By People), as a tribute to the late Trish Keenan. Later that year, the collaboration spawned into a full, new project, called Orcas. The duo's self-titled debut LP was released in April 2012 on Germany's Morr Music imprint. Together they combine their distinct individual approaches to composition, melody, texture and rhythm into "''a genuine, coherent album that conjures immense shadows and immense depths worthy of its namesake.''" Irisarri's trademark tonality and analog scratchiness is heard throughout the record. Orcas toured throughout 2012 in Europe and in select cities in North America. The artwork for their debut record was created by audio/visual artist Sean Curtis Patrick of The Attempted Theft of Millions. The cover depicted a hand holding a small

Kachina A kachina (; also katchina, katcina, or katsina; Hopi: ''katsina'' , plural ''katsinim'' ) is a spirit being in the religious beliefs of the Pueblo peoples, Native American cultures located in the south-western part of the United States. In th ...

Doll in

Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...

SX-70 film. Patrick also created the music video "Arrow Drawn" and accompanying visual projections for live shows. Their debut self-titled album was listed as one of 2012's best records by numerous blogs and websites. Morr Music announced in January 2014 that Orcas will release their second album entitled ''Yearling'' later in April. This announcement was accompanied by a promo video made by their visual collaborator Sean Curtis Patrick. The press release stated "For 'Yearling', ORCAS members Benoît Pioulard and Rafael Anton Irisarri (The Sight Below) teamed up with Martyn Heyne (of Efterklang) on guitar and piano, and Michael Lerner (Telekinesis) on drums to build upon the subdued ambience of their self-titled debut, adding a huge dose of analog warmth to their hazy pop leanings."

Discography

*'' Orcas'' (2012) *''Yearling'' (2014)

References

External links

* Musical groups from Seattle Dream pop musical groups Morr Music artists {{US-band-stub