Lead singer Yael Miller and harpist Julie Campiche set the tone for the group’s ever-evolving musical exploration. These two young women are the soul of the ensemble. Drummer Roland Merlinc and base player Manu Hagmann keep them grounded, something akin to pulling on the silken string of a soaring kite gone wild.

Unconventional subtlety fuels Orioxy’s combustion engine. There are explosions of tenderness and innocence, delicate pastels that instantly transform into etchings. There is an explosion of language, or should I say of languages, from English into Hebrew and on into French. The use of Yael Miller’s Hebrew mother tongue has nothing traditional or folkloric about it. On the contrary, it brings something unique, intimate and profoundly touching to their music. An explosion of forms penetrates each album. Orioxy cares nothing for labels. That they cannot be categorized is self-evident. They are free!

Their two previous albums were lush nocturnal landscapes of childhood awash with imagination. Now, with “Lost Children”, Orioxy refines a universe immersed in detail. They fluidly set their world in motion, image by image, step by step. They delicately rekindle childhood fears. Those harmless, innocent fears that we so want to continue feeling. This new opus is like a child itself, turbulent and playful, dreamy and frightened, filled with dreams and full of hope.

With simplicity and fine-tuning as their guideline, Orioxy’s third album “Lost Children” marks a turning point in the group’s delicately complex universe. Their trademark subtle/sober world is enhanced with elegant jazz, blues, folk and pop-rock compositions. The voice is more discerning; the harp reveals stunning new facets; while the base and percussion greatly surpass the role of the standard rhythmic section. Each composition is a world unto itself that evolves through the unexpected. A typewriter suddenly replaces the drums; a shruti box is heard in the background; the sounds of the harp and bass grow distorted. We find Palestinian Darg Team rapper Sami. And, as a change of pace, Orioxy offers its rendition of the Beatles “Blackbird”. Between lullaby, spoken word and flights of poetry, this new album is like a child itself, turbulent and playful, dreamy and frightened, filled with dreams and full of hope.

Orioxy has taken its jazz-derived songwriting style with its admittedly rebellious pop approach all over Europe since 2008. Their first two albums were praised by international critics and have been classified as Revelation (Jazz Magazine-Jazzman), Discovery (Jazz News) and Favorite (République du Jazz). They were awarded the 2013 Avignon Jazz Contest Grand Jury Award, and named the 2014 Label Suisse Festival Favorite by Femina Magazine. Swiss culture promotional institutions also fund the group. Orioxy hasbeen included in recent Swiss Vibes and Jazz Made in Switzerland compilations and received Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia 2015-2017 High Priority Support.

by Franpi Barriaux

The German Record Critics’ Award has nominated Lost Children for its Quarterly Critic’s Choice for best World Music album.

3rd album - Lost Children
release in February 2015 by GLM music
recorded at Studios La Buissonne
produced with Philippe Teissier du Cros

Press excerpts

“Orioxy’s music gives birth to a pristine universe as it explores the myriad possibilities of the imagination. It cares nothing for labels.”
Jean-Paul Ricard – Jazzmagazine / Jazzman

“Contemporary jazz aficionados will certainly be moved by their relationship to their performing space, to each other, and how they seize the initiative.”
Franck Bergerot - Jazzmagazine / Jazzman

“What immediately strikes me while listening to Orioxy is the quality of sound the four musicians wish to create. And the rigorous silence interspersed throughout the concert that generates a disturbingly moving rhythm and groove.”
“This is music that connects and weaves, it is unhesitatingly modern. It creates a universe between here and there, and is profoundly poetic. Each voice vibrates in accord with the other and we, the audience, are enthralled by its beauty.”
Laurent Brun – Jazz Rhône Alpes

“Orioxy’s music is the celebration on an idea of the world.”
Francisco Cruz – Jazz News Magazine

“A beauty that defies convention. A beauty that almost disturbs.”
Jacques Prouvost - Jazzques