Feature: Josh Orange Decodes “Believers & Dreamers (What have We Become)”
What was the creative process like for this particular single?
It was actually unusual in that we went back into the studio to re-record a song from our current album “What have We Become.” The song kept getting asked about after our recent shows, and we felt it was an album track. Anyway, we decided to head into Everland Recording Studios in Sydney, and work with the amazing Ben Worsey on the recording. We also had our good friend Kaela Phillips join us on a full-size harp, just to see what happened. We took out time with this one and we really enjoyed hanging out together while recording the track.
How did you work with the producer or engineers to bring your vision for "Believers & Dreamers (What have We Become)" to life?
Well, we were lucky enough to have Tim Palmer involved in this track (Pearl Jam Ten), Tim took a dump for the desk and just spent a week working with the track. We were blown away by what came back, we loved it. Myself and Andrew Wass (guitars & vocals) also stripped the album version back to acoustic and worked on the arrangement before we went back into the studio to re-record. There is a bit of a change in the song’s arrangement from the album to the new single version which we called “Believers & Dreamers (What have We Become).” It was the first time in five albums we ever took a track back in and stripped it back and re looked at it. We might do that again with some older songs in the future.
What was your Favorite moment in making the music video?
We literally filmed the video while tracking live in the room. Not the greatest idea in the world when you have a camera in your face and you are trying to get a take. But we had no budget for a video and we thought it might have something if we captured the actual recording as opposed to filming after the recording is done. The most fun I had was editing the video. It’s something I got into a few years ago and I have edited most of our videos over the past two albums.
Can you tell us more about you as a band?
Andrew Wass and myself were living together in a small apartment in Sydney’s Inner West suburb of Glebe in the late 90’s. We used to go to different parties and bring our acoustics and just play. We finally decided to form Josh Orange in 2004. Alex Miller joined us on Drums and our great friend Blaine Munnings on Bass Guitar. Our first studio album was released in 2006, and in 2024 we released our fifth album “Birds For The Bayou”. It says a lot when three of us are still together after 21 years, and so would Blaine only for an inner ear injury that stopped him from continuing in 2016. There is a connection that builds between musicians over many years, and it is most apparent at our live shows. We are delighted to be back out doing shows at the moment.
What do you enjoy most about performing live and connecting with your audience?
That’s where the real magic happens for me and for us as a band. It is the greatest feeling in the world to get on stage and play songs that span 21 years and five albums. I remember reading an interview with Jeff Buckley, and he described what it felt like to watch Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan perform live. He said it was like being elevated to another dimension. That is what a great liver performance can do, and for me personally I try and go inside myself when performing, into a special place that just feels so damn good.
