[Interview] Exclusive interview with Lew Tyler from Orotoro

Dear readers, we are pleased to offer you in this article an interview with a French artist, creator of the Progressive/Psychdelic Rock project Orotoro. We welcome Lew Tyler.

Hello, how are you?

Lew Tyler: “Hello, iā€™m doing well, i hope you are too

The Orotoro project was born in 2016, how did the idea and choice of this original name come about?

L. T. :Well the name of the band is a palindrome, so the word can be read from left to right but also right to left. The center of the name is the letter ā€œtā€ or a cross which references the Atlantian cross. The Oro is gold in spanish but also lantern of light or wonder in japanese. So the name Orotoro isnā€™t so much as a word as a picture in itself.

You offer a blend of Progressive Rock, Psychedelia and Stoner, where did your passion for these sounds come from?

L. T. :I started my musical journey as a grunge punk rocker, very influenced by the 90ā€™s but as i became a better musician i started to listen to more and more different types of music. I was tired of writing in the usual format verse chorus verse and prog rock, psychedelia and stoner allow me to write with absolute freedom.

The new album ā€˜Ikigaiā€™ was released on October 20, 2024, how would you describe this third album of yours?

L. T. :Ikigai is the japanese word for reason to live. These days itā€™s impossible to live in a bubble and ignore all that is going on in the world. These are weird and scary times. Music and art in general are my reason to live. Itā€™s escapism. A creation of a parallel world in which i can comprehend a little better my own life in these times.

It’s the first one with no guest appearances, how did the creative process of the music come about?

L. T. :I wrote Ikigai very quickly, as there was no discussing ideas with other musicians. It was deliberate as the second album took over a year to produce, i wanted the third album to be the opposite. On Ikigai i would just record a riff or a drum loop and go from there. What you hear on the album is often my first idea.

Long and intense instrumental and vocal textures, what themes do the lyrics deal with?

L. T. :The lyrics come second to the music but i often write about the weirdness of our place in this society. The absurdity of living. The fact that none of us wanted to be here. In the second chorus of the song Ikigai i sing:

ā€œIā€™m so in doubt, but no one can tell. I dream of waves, i canā€™t swimā€

I feel like iā€™m suffocating, drowning, thatā€™s what i write about.

The covers of your works are very sought after, who is the creator?

L. T. :Iā€™ve created the last two album covers with AI. To me AI is a tool, nothing more.

I directed AI in the direction that i wanted, making many different album covers until i found the right one that expressed what i thought represented best the feelings and sounds on Ikigai and The age of stars.

As practically a one-man band, is this a studio-only project or will there be a chance to hear you live in the near future?

L. T. :So yes i will be performing live, iā€™ve been rehearsing with two friends as a trio and we will be doing gigs in 2025 and also recording some new songs together.

This is your third full-length, how has your sound evolved over time?

L. T. :For me music is an evolution. I grow older and my musical tastes change over the years. Music that i couldnā€™t understand when i was younger now has meaning for me. I think that reflects in my music whether i want it to or not.

The music market is constantly evolving, how do you see the modern music scene in your country and more generally in Prog/Psych Rock?

L. T. :I wouldnā€™t say itā€™s evolving..more like struggling. I live in France and the french donā€™t support their own bands. They rarely go to gigs and rarely buy music. Itā€™s very difficult to tour as more and more bars are closing and the bigger music venues are subsidised by the governement and therefore dictate what is going to play.

There are some fantastic french bands.

Thank god there is bandcamp and youtube so they can at least be heardā€¦

What advice would you give to young artists approaching music with more elaborate sounds like yours?

L. T. :Create a band, create a label, put on gigs, create a network of bands and help eachother out. Donā€™t rely on the music industry, itā€™s an industry, they sell t-shirts and mugs ā€¦occasionaly they sell cds

Do you have any other activities or artistic passions outside music?

L. T. :A part from day job, I paint,draw and iā€™m writing my first book

I thank Lew for the interview, wishing him all the best for the continuation of his artistic career.

Purchase “ikigai” on Bandcamp: https://orotoro.bandcamp.com/album/ikigai

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Author: Jacopo Vigezzi

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