Kit Orion reveals an electronic-pop euphoria from within on ‘Bottle Grin’
Cambridge songwriter, producer, and DJ Caitlyn O’Brien opens a portal to perseverance with a cinematic debut album out now.
OUT NOW: Listen to ‘Bottle Grin’ via Spotify
BOSTON, Mass. [October 24, 2024] -- Kit Orion is ready to set her debut album free. But before that was at all possible, the Cambridge songwriter, producer, and DJ born Caitlyn O’Brien had to first free herself -- from bouts of self-doubt, a fixation on perfection, and personal trauma that was impacting her mental health.
The result of this inner and outer journey plays out in vivid color across Bottle Grin, set for release on Thursday, October 24, with a listening party and “Like Honey” video premiere showcase later that night at The Capitol Theatre in Arlington. Hosting a record release event in a historic movie theater is an inspired choice, as the spectrum of electronic-pop that unfolds across Bottle Grin’s euphoric 13 tracks is as cinematic as they are introspective.
“This album feels like a series of sonic journal entries to me,” O’Brien says. “A lot of the lyrics in this album are a response to complicated grief. During the time I was writing these songs, I experienced abundant loss. I lost multiple pillars in my life, one after another over a short time. I was not able to have the space to grieve each person before another one was gone, so writing these songs was an acknowledgment of my people, their existence and their absence as a form of catharsis.”
To peek inside Bottle Grin, past the shiny beats and glossy exterior of kaleidoscopic electro-pop, and past an emotional curtain that O’Brien may have once guarded with her life, is to not only understand the Worcester native’s creative headspace over the past two years, but to relate to it on a personal level.
“The lyrics are also an observation of how the experience of Covid and the heavy political climate affected mental health, morale, and interpersonal relationships personally and collectively,” she adds. “It was a time that I felt like I had no choice but to contemplate how upside down everything felt, and channel it into something.”
From the kinetic strobe light mood of lead single “Like Honey” to the theatrical indie-pop confessions of the album closing title track, O’Brien weaves coming-of-age tales with delicate precision and a dream-like wonder. Select interludes, spliced-up samples from her personal past, pulled from home videos, take us back to her childhood, allowing a glimpse of the innocence and confidence she, like most of us, have lost along the way through adulthood.
At times, Bottle Grin almost has a theme park-like quality to it, a vast landscape of musical rides and attractions, with some appealing to all and all appealing to at least some. And once the listener engages in certain aspects, their own life experiences may help shape their own feelings about it.
“I hope that by sharing my experience, lyrically or musically, directly, or abstractly, that listeners can find moments of healing, inspiration or curiosity,” O’Brien notes. “I like the idea of broad strokes or the intention behind impressionism leaving space for people to have their own experience.”
And while the Kit Orion sound is one that glides from one stop to the next with ease, there are some moments on Bottle Grin that were especially challenging for the artist to wrangle. Even the record’s title comes from a lyric within its closing title track, which finds O’Brien grappling with issues like recovering from perfectionism, people pleasing, and minimizing herself to avoid confrontation. As O’Brien puts it: “The idea of becoming plastic in that way could make me less breakable or susceptible to pain.” It’s a call to live authentically – finding joy, accepting imperfection, accepting humanity and embracing the notion that mistakes will be made. And in the end, that’s ok.
“‘Get Grounded’ was written as a letter to myself, as I was experiencing depression, so it was difficult to write,” O’Brien reveals. “But sitting with my younger self, and looking back to give her some hope, helped me to remember to be kind to my current self, because my younger self is still there and that joy can be found even in difficult times.”
Last year, O’Brien submitted ”Get Grounded” to Waveforms: A Multimedia Art Event at The Museum of Science in Boston, where she redesigned the song into spatial audio with the MIT Spatial Audio Lab. The day after Bottle Grin’s release, on October 25, O’Brien will return to Waveforms, taking part in the MIT Spatial Sound Lab Futures of Listening multimedia art occurrence at Midway Artist Studios in Fort Point.
More traditional live performances are also on the calendar, as Kit Orion plays Cambridge’s Lizard Lounge both before and after the album drop: First October 16 with Rosier, and then for the Bottle Grin afterparty on November 7 with Justice Cow and Baker Thomas Band.
Performing with Justice Cow is especially poignant, as it’s the project of Jessica Kion, who not only provided bass guitar on Bottle Grin and directed and edited the “Like Honey” music video, but led a songwriting club during the pandemic that helped plant the seeds for the tracks that appear on the record. Kion now performs in the Kit Orion live band, with Dutch Tulips’ Matt Freake on synths, drums, and percussion.
“Each one of these songs was written as a response to a prompt, which also acted as a vessel for meditating on personal grief and trauma in real time,” O’Brien says. “I chose each one of these songs for the record because it felt like an accurate patchwork quilt of vibes for what was going on for me at the time that I was writing these songs.”
Beyond her own songwriting, and providing vocals, synths, keys, samples, and drum programming, Bottle Grin was ultimately a collaborative affair. O’Brien wrote and produced the tracks, with recording, co-production, and additional engineering by Evan Murphy at Ombic Sound in Worcester, Massachusetts, and Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island. Mixing and mastering was done by Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studio.
In addition to Kion, the album features a wealth of contributions: Chris Barrett on trumpet; Kyle Harris on drums; Ben Levin on electric guitar; Laurence Scudder on viola; and Samuel Taber on piano and Rhodes and Hammond organs. Additional vocals and vocal samples are provided by the aforementioned Kion, Levin, and Murphy, plus a range of family members that reinforce the personal nature of the music contained within: James O’Brien, Mason O’Brien, Sue O’Brien and Richard O’Brien Jr.
“I may have written these songs, but it was from the accountability, and prompts of my songwriting club that these songs exist at all,” O’Brien admits. “I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to have a team of wonderful, good-hearted friends who came together and lent their voices and skills to the project. It wouldn’t be what it is without them.”
‘Bottle Grin’ production credits:
Music and Lyrics by Caitlyn O’Brien
Production and additional engineering by Caitlyn O'Brien
Recorded, co-produced, and additional engineering by Evan Murphy at Ombic Sound in Worcester, Massachusetts and Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island
Mixed and mastered by Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island
Vocals, synths, samples, and drum programming by Caitlyn O’Brien
Trumpet by Chris Barrett
Drums by Kyle Harris
Bass guitar by Jessica Kion
Electric guitar by Ben Levin
Viola by Laurence Scudder
Piano, Rhodes, and Hammond by Samuel Taber
Additional vocals and vocal samples by Jessica Kion, Ben Levin, Evan Murphy, James O’Brien, Mason O’Brien, Sue O’Brien and Richard O’Brien Jr.
‘Bottle Grin’ artwork:
Kit Orion bio:
Introducing Caitlyn O'Brien (she/her/hers), a Cambridge-based singer-songwriter, musician, producer, and DJ. Caitlyn became dedicated to her exploration of music and musical community starting with studying classical voice at a young age, and later, getting involved in her local music community performing in original projects, bands and studio sessions.
She has only just recently started publicly writing and producing her own music under the name Kit Orion with her first EP released in February of 2021.
The majority of the songs from her self-titled EP and upcoming record Bottle Grin, scheduled for release in October of 2024, were written as responses to personal loss and exploration of self, through prompts given in a songwriting club led by dear friend and collaborator, Jessica Kion (Justice Cow).
The creation of the album Bottle Grin strived to sonically collage her self-produced bedroom soundscapes to the live musical contributions of friends and collaborators in the studio.
“Like Honey,” the first single released from the new record, hit all streaming platforms in August.
Media praise for Kit Orion:
“Cambridge music maker, producer and DJ Caitlyn O'Brien can be found DJing weddings, making music for podcasts and teaching vocal skills. Now, she’s created a deliciously catchy batch of genre-defying pop songs for her second Kit Orion album. While the beats are always unpredictable, there’s a vibe of optimism and gratitude that flows through these dreamy gems.” _WBUR, Boston’s NPR
“An absolutely stunningly gorgeous musical composition.” _The Whole Kameese
“Orion deftly harnessed the power of hearing + memory, prompting feelings of nostalgia, hope, and kinship with her work.” _Lauren Levato Coyne of Waveforms Media
“As a solo artist, Kit Orion mesmerizes audiences with her unique blend of looped vocals, electronic elements, and heartfelt songwriting that draws inspiration from the rich tapestry of indie pop, rock, and folk traditions. Her performances are a testament to her ability to seamlessly merge contemporary electronic sounds with the timeless essence of these genres.” _Home News Here
