The story of Queen Orlenes begins in Caldes d'Estrac, a beach village an hour north of Barcelona. Sitting on the balcony of a run down hotel, American-born, London-based songwriter Brooke X opened up her laptop and began typing a letter. It had been one helluva year. A heady cocktail of personal tragedy and professional set backs had left Brooke in a quandary--suffer the same fate as so many music industry casualties, or wipe away the tears, pick herself up, and try again?
The letter, as it turned out, was to her future band mates--long time friend and New Yorker Ian Wolff and native London musician Rob Walbourne. What would happen if they took away all the pressure to be successful? And focused solely on making the music they loved and could be proud of.
The answer came a few weeks later, via a 15-hour drive from NYC to Sparta, Tennessee. The trio set up their gear in the rural farmhouse of Ian’s grandfather and spent the hot Southern summer turning years of angst and anguish into the sound of Queen Orlenes.
Ten Tennessee demos completed, the group returned to London and happened upon producers Richard Cardwell and Jim Duguid, who took an instant liking to the band and promptly cleared their schedules to begin work on the album.
In between studio sessions, the band embarked on a self-funded UK tour whilst setting up shop in farmhouses across North Devon and East Sussex where they continued to write songs. "The Ark," one of the sparkling results of a North Devon session, is the first taster of Queen Orlenes, and features on "Songs To Save A Life" a charity album to raise awareness and money for the Samaritans.
There will be no shoving Queen Orlenes down anyone’s throat. This is music made by real people who have lived and loved hard.