Bethany Lokken (Orchard Lounge) Interview & Exclusive Mix

LiS (Ben Weiss): How’s vacation?

Bethany Lokken: Goooood, I’m in Arkansas with my family.

LiS: Now I know you’ve been to and performed at who-knows-how-many festivals, but which is your favorite?

Bethany: Oh man, Camp Bisco! (laughs). Camp Bisco, hands down. Every year, I can’t sleep for like the whole week before. It’s just like…camp, camp, camp, camp!

LiS: So how many times have you been as a civilian?

Bethany: None, actually. We played first at Camp Bisco IV, and that was my first but we’ve been to every one since. Ben (Silver) went to the first three though.

LiS: What’s it like to be performing at a festival that you really want to be at?

Bethany: It’s kind of a bummer, actually (laughs). We were sound checking when Snoop Dogg was playing, and sound checking when Nas was playing, and we were just all sort of looking at each other goin’ “Oh man!”

LiS: Ok, real quick rewind to last year’s Camp Bisco VIII. You guys got a pretty cool VIP slot with the Michael Jackson dance party. How’d you get that opportunity?

Bethany: They just asked us right after he died, and three days before camp they were like “are you interested, and prepared to do a Michael Jackson thing in the VIP,” and we were like…”Yes! We could do it right now!”. And as soon as I told my Dad what we were doing, he sent me my Jackson’s jacket from when I was little, when I didn’t get to go on the tour, but I still got the jacket. And he gave me tons of copies of the “Making of Thriller” DVD to hand out to people, and later on people were like “Oh my god! Tell your Dad thanks!” So my Dad was there with us.

LiS: And how did the Disco Biscuits’ drummer, Allen Aucoin, wind up sitting in with you for that set?

Bethany: Well, they just asked if we’d be interested, and we were like “Uh, of course.” And he was actually hooked up through our mixer, so he was manipulatin’ our stuff too, so yeah, that was neat havin’ him hooked up with all of his drum pads and stuff.

LiS: How much preparation do you need when your playing with a live instrumentalist like that? Was he familiar with your catalogue and improvising?

Bethany: Yeah, I’m sure he knew the stuff we did, and we’d played with him before… but um… no, he just jumped right in and Ben and I kept looking at each other like “this is soooo cool.”

LiS: So he could just lock right into your beats?

Bethany: Oh yeah, absolutely. It was hard… I was trying to pay attention to what I was doing, and I just kept lookin’ over, listening, and putting my headphones on both ears goin’ “this is soo amazing.”

LiS: What’s the difference between playing in the VIP area as opposed to playing on one of the stages for the masses?

Bethany: Well it sort of depends on what time (laughs). But it’s so much more fun when everybody can just get down together. It’s a lot more mellow, not as crowded, and it’s really nice because you get to be on the same level as everyone instead of having to look down at people.

LiS: Speaking of looking down at the audience, do you remember seeing anything particularly silly while performing on stage at past Camp Bisco’s?

Bethany: Oh yeah, tons of stuff (thinks). I’ve seen girls with little bee outfits and with little wings on. But when I’m playing I’m pretty focused on what I’m doing. Plus there’s too many people we know trying to get our attention while we’re playing. You kind of have to be like “Hi! Can we talk later?” (laughs).

LiS: But still, you construct most of your set based on audience reaction, right?

Bethany: Oh yeah. The whole set is adapting to the crowd. You sort of have to look through one eye to see if people are gettin’ down or if they’re slobbering and snoring, and from there you can decide if you want to pick it up a little or bring it down a little. So we get in there and we have a framework, or an outline or something but we don’t know how it’s gonna turn out or what it’s gonna be like until it’s happening. And it’s nice to get in there before your set to see what people are movin’ to as a way to get started, and sometimes you just wind up going “Ok, screw point A, we’re gonna have to go right to point B” (laughs).

LiS: Now you’re a Camp Bisco vet, so you’ve had a bunch of different time slots… which was your favorite?

Bethany: Playing set break for the Biscuits (Camp Bisco VI) for sure. We were just all on the same page that we wanted to get dark and scary, and it was just a short little 30-minute set. And we had this Stanley Kubrick mashup that went along with the music. Some people thought it was awesome, but some people said they were so scared they had to go back to their tents (laughs).

Orchard Lounge w/ the Disco Biscuits at the Highline Ballroom, Halloween 2008

LiS: That was actually the first time I’d ever heard you guys, and I never forgot about that crazy visual display. Who designs them for you?

Bethany: It’s our friend Clay Dempsey. We just tell him what we’re thinkin’, and he just goes off that and creates them. So like for the Kubrick Boys visuals (during CBVI set break) we told him how we were all excited about playin’ barkin’ techno and scary stuff and he made that awesome collection. We work really well together, and when you find people like that….you keep ‘em in your crew.

LiS: What goodies do you have in store for your set at Camp this year?

Bethany: We’re tryin’ to get a mix from each of us now. Just new songs, to get people to hear new music, doing our sampling like we do. So just normal… fun… not downtempo.

LiS: No downtempo?

Bethany: Naw, I did a downtempo one last time, so this one’s gonna be like 120 (Beats Per Minute) or somethin’. Fun mix of some new tracks for people to jam out to on their way to Camp.

LiS: Any other special guests this year?

Bethany: Yup, this year its Magner vs. OL in the VIP. We’re so excited ‘cause we really like what he does, and we’ve just had so much fun when we’re just settin’ up and we get to play with him somewhere. We’ll either be doin’ their (The Disco Biscuits’) set break, or openin’ up for them, and he’ll always just play over our stuff, and we’ll always say, “Oh man, that was really cool, we’d love to do anything with you, anytime.” So I’m really excited about that. So ya it’s gonna be OL vs. Magner… I think it’s gonna be like, a techno set. It’s really gonna be a winner… he’s gonna destroy it… it’s like OL, AND Magner!

LiS: Who else are you looking forward to seeing this year?

Bethany: Oh, I’m excited to see Ween, I’m so excited to see Wu Massacre. I saw them last year at Summer Camp, and it was AMAZING (laughs). LCD Soundsystem… so excited! And you know I’m just excited. It’s just so cool to see Camp going from something small into… WAH. I love it.

OL Hat by Grassroots California

Bethany Lokken – Summer 2010 Mix – “All I Do”

Setlist:

1. 2pac_-_(interview)_fortune_and_fame_(acapella)
2. Philip (Parts 1 & 2) – Pezzner
3. Aundy – Tanner Ross & Sergio Santos Remix -Claude VonStroke
4. Love Sweet Sound (Greg Wilson Version) -Groove Armada
youarenowinanOL 5. We Make It Right – Original Mix Bruno Pronsato, Thomas Melchior
6. Gangsta (Bel Biv Devoe) sample
7. Discolour – Original Mix
-Dan Ghenacia
8. Crazy Place – Luciano Remix
-Dave Aju
9. Keep Off- Wighnomy Bros Detroittobrieflyshort-ulle mix
-Sycophant Slags
10. big.’s freestyle-10 Crack Commandments -battle for the bridge
11. Fetia Avae – Original Mix
-Nick Fonkynson
12. A Promise – Original Mix -Lump
13. Kak Ty – Instrumental Mix -Xenia Beliayeva
14. Traumdeuter – Radio Slave Edition -Theo Schwarz
15. Timeless In Your Soul – Original Mix -Phrakture
16. I am so high – Peggy Wilson (Mad Men)
17. Timeless In Your Soul – Original Mix -Phrakture
18. I smoke weed everyday – Nick Swardson
19. Vintage Warmer – Original Mix -Mark Holmes, Raspe
20. In Church (Luciano Remix) -M83
21. Black Magic Witch Scream -Scary Sounds
22. Aint Theoratical – Jean Philips & Mat Holtmann Remix
-Pierre Deutschmann
23. Im in the hurt bizness – MIKE TYSON – ‘CRAZY’ speech
24. Inspiration – Mea Edit
-Eric SSL
25.were grown ups – Stepbrothers (movie)
26.yeah – lcd soundsystem (clap-a-pella)
27. Ray Diamond – Oliver Koletzki Remix -Moguai, Zenker
28. Swoon – The Chemical Brothers
29. we are orchard lounge…..

Check out LostinSound’s resident photographer Jay Rogovin’s photos of Orchard Lounge at Starscape 2010:

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http://www.orchardlounge.com/


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