There’s been a bit of mysterious excitement around Orchids, a new electronic pop project lead by synth chanteuse Nikki Dessingue and top-billing Boston DJ Leah V. Before their live debut this Sunday night at Radclyffe Hall’s Vanyaland-sponsored record release party at Great Scott (which also features the delectable sounds of Sir Matthew Connor), we swung by the ARCH Gallery nearby in Allston for a private live preview.
Dessingue took the reins for a solo performance of her song “Fleur De Sel,” and it’s a nice introduction to the ideology and sound of Orchids. We pulled out our iPhone and shot some raw video, and you can watch that clip below.
“Leah and I came together during a huge time of change,” Dessingue tells me after her performance. Since the beginning, it’s been in a lot of ways a collaboration. Very organically Orchids grew roots around my songwriting. It’s very vocally-driven, but it’s built around her beats and my vocals.”
Recently, the Organ Beats’ Alex Fiorentino joined on as a third member and in-house producer and engineer to complement Leah V’s triggers, loops, and beats and Dessingue’s synths and emotionally-driven lyrics. “It’s the most non-traditional project I’ve ever been a part of,” adds Dessingue, who currently also performs in Doom Lover and was formerly of Where The Land Meets The Sea and Stereo Telescope. “I love to sing and I love to synth but I always love people to collaborate with and bounce ideas off of. Leah’s a very powerful individual, and Alex is a very detailed producer.”
The project’s moniker reflects their formation.
“An orchid can’t grow unless everything is perfect,” Dessingue says with a laugh. “There’s something about how one wrong turn or move will fuck everything up. And the name reminded me of all the orchids I’ve killed along the way.”
