Orla's business sense extends to creative methods of funding her work:
"I use Patreon, it’s like a crowdfunding thing but it’s ongoing. An online tip jar is probably the best way of explaining it. Fans can pay, say, a dollar a month and get all these things no one else gets. So I have this thing called Orla’s Secret Demo Club. It’s a niche platform. I don’t have many people on there, but they keep me alive and help pay for recordings.”
Those recordings still usually take place in her small bedroom studio, In terms of equipment, Orla is currently using an Apogee Duet, although she’s looking to upgrade to something with more inputs. “I use it live with Ableton and a LaunchPad but it's also my main interface. I have an Aston Origin, obviously, and some Shure mics too. I have a really nice pair of Focal monitors – they’re way too big for my room but I don’t care. I’d say our neighbours love us...”
“When I need anything exceptionally close, I use the SM7, but when I need a bit more room, I use the Aston Origin, although you can get really close with that too. I use the Aston for all my guitars. I do a lot of random stuff like dance, K pop, and in those situations, I’ll just put up both mics and just see. I’m still learning to trust my ears on those things.
My Aston is definitely my go-to for all the videos. They’re all recorded in my room, so I want them well recorded. A massive part of it is being able to see a bit of the Aston but also to have it tucked under the camera and not too obtrusive visually. I want it to look like there isn’t too much gear and wires and stuff.”