Hailing from Berkshire, Gabrielle Ornate is somewhat of a newbie on the music scene and has been releasing since the beginning of the year. In that time, she’s already racked up over 192,000 listens on Spotify and received support from BBC Introducing which I think we can all agree is pretty impressive in such a short timescale.
Identifying her genre as ‘Bohemian pop/rock’ Gabrielle is self-described as “Kate Bush meets St. Vincent and Tame Impala brewed into a brand new sound of my own”. Her latest single ‘Waiting to be Found’ is available to stream now.
The first thing to note on this track is that Ornate has a strong voice which beautifully compliments her colourful poppy style.
“Waiting to be found” is a bright and bubbly track laden with kaleidoscopic soundscapes created with Syths, guitars and bass. This track has a lot going on. It’s certainly creative but in parts it feels like too much.
It’s not always easy to focus on the lyrics because the sound has shifted towards the synths and vocal effects which I found a little distracting, it didn’t quite marry up. I love a synth heavy track but here it feels like a sensory overload at points. This is a shame because lyrically this track delivers some poignant lines; delving into the concepts of sanity and self-exploration, Ornate poses the listener with some interesting questions.
You can tell the song is thought out and there are some interesting layers and effects, it’s the kind of track where you pick up something new with each listen. There is a lot to like and it feels quite unique. It’s certainly colourful, creative and unlike anything I’ve heard in a while which is always refreshing.