Åsa Orbison – Blue Bayou

By starrymag | October 4, 2024

By: Sammi Turano

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) Jazz infused pop, breathy vocals, partly recorded on tape so it has an “old” vintage sound to it. Julie London meets Swedish Monica Zetterlund. I hear my singing sounds like from the 20’s and with my accents it’s a bit hard to place where I come from…I’m originally from Sweden and have lived in Nashville, TN and now in Malibu, California.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) Julie London, Monica Zetterlund, my superhero Linda Ronstadt, Louis Armstrong and, of course, Roy Orbison.

 

Q) “Blue Bayou” is one of your latest singles. What is the inspiration behind choosing that as a cover song?

A) In 2019 We were working on my father-in-law Roy Orbison’s album Unchained Melodies with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, on which I sang background vocals on. One of the great honors of my life. My husband Roy and I were rehearsing a lot and had so much fun playing together. Roy was playing around with jazzy chords, and we came up with the rearrangement on the spot. Roy’s really good at that kind of thing, I guess it runs in the family. I changed some notes and together with my “Swenglish” approach on the lyrics and vocals, it became something we are really proud of and people seem to like!

 

Q) “Blue Bayou” has some incredible, powerful sounds, thanks to your collaboration with your husband Roy Orbison Jr. Tell us about working with him on that song.

A) Roy and I are always together, and we do everything together. In our ten years, I can count the days we’ve been apart on my two hands. So, at this point the things we do together come more naturally and easier than doing things individually and it for sure is a lot more fun. I trust Roy on everything, especially in music where he has a lot more experience than me. I simply just trust him and things tends to end up great!

 

Q) With this being such an iconic song, what were some of the challenges of covering it?

A) It’s always a tricky road to walk, covering a song. And such a masterpiece like “Blue Bayou,” you want to respect the original artists work while making it “your own.” Luckily, I had my husband Roy Orbison, Jr. guiding me and by trusting him in this process, I was able to let go of any doubt and just do my thing.

 

Q) You also recently dropped the single “Love is Strange” with your husband. What were some of your favorite moments from that collaboration?

A) I have loved this song ever since I watched the movie Dirty Dancing and it’s a dream to put my own take on it together with my husband. Roy and my version of “Love Is Strange” is a playfully updated version of the classic duet song by “Mickey & Sylvia” from 1956.

We had the honor of Wayne Moss laying his guitar on it. He is a living legend. Among other things he came up with the famous “Jolene” riff for Dolly Parton. More so, he was a dear friend of Roy Orbison and played on the original “Oh, Pretty Woman” recording in 1964! So here we were, fifty years later, playing around in the studio, Wayne laying his guitar on this duet – goosebumps – rock and roll and music goes down through the decades and is immortal.

 

Q) Will you be releasing a full album, EP or more singles in the near future?

A) I am always recording and releasing! My next song, last one off this album, is out next month. Then, I’m working on some exciting projects ahead, as I am going to Nashville for some sessions in November to record some new material coming out in January!

 

Q) Which one of your songs has the most meaning to you and why?

A) It would have to be my debut song “Blue Bayou” that is submitted for a Grammy. Built on the foundation of my marriage, different branches of the song extend to relationships from my father-in-law Roy Orbison’s career. From 1950’s Sun Records and Johnny Cash (Ana Cristina Cash on background vocals) to Roy’s zenith in the 1960’s at Monument Records (Charlie McCoy on harmonica and vibraphone), through his 1980’s comeback with “You Got It” and The Traveling Wilburys (Jim Horn on saxophone and Richard Dodd mastering), posthumous album with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (on which I sang in 2019), this song of tremendous spiritual depth bridges laughter and tears from seven decades for everyone who played on, hears and understands it’s significance.

 

Q) We mentioned Dolly before, but who are some other artists that you would like to collaborate with in the future?

A) I would love to work with Chris Botti, Josh Redman and Melissa Aldana. Also, Samara Joy is one of my favorites right now.

 

Q) In addition to your album, you’ve appeared on “Below Deck Mediterranean” and you and your adorable kids have become fan favorite guests. What would fans of the show be surprised to learn about being a part of the show?

A) The show is amazing, and I think what many don’t realize is it’s completely non-scripted. A lot of reality shows right now are scripted, believe it or not. “Below Deck Med” may be edited and twisted, but what you see did indeed happen.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of the beautiful music that you make?

A) Every morning, I am so excited to log into the back end of Spotify and see who is listening! I have a lot of listeners in France, Brazil, Sweden and America. It’s very international and that is great, because we’d like to tour in those places too! Thank you for listening!