We had the chance to speak with Atlantic Records new Pop-Reggae group, 4th & Orange!! We love their sound and just had to feature them on our on the rise series! These questions are answered by lead Singer Garrett Douglas! Check out our conversation below!
For readers who aren’t familiar with you and your music can you share with us how you began your musical journey?
Irey and I were lucky to have both our fathers soak us in all genres of music. Because of that, we kept an open mind as to which kind of music we played once we put our garage band together post-high school. It was mainly reggae, but our music was influenced by other genres. Now, ten years later, our manager Charles Chavez presented the opportunity for us to be a signed act to Atlantic Records – and we stay true to our reggae roots and allow other genres to weave into our music. Chavez tasked us with finding our remaining band members. We went the unconventional route and searched via Instagram – and we were lucky enough to find some of the most talented guys around. We’re heading into 2020 strong.
Would you say your geographical location plays a role in your musical styles? How does California influence your sound?
Absolutely. The waves crashing against the shore right next to DJ Flict’s (our producer) studio makes a huge impression on our session for the night. Being from Southern California is a lifestyle. That’s why our music sounds like summer, because down here it feels like summer almost all year-round. Plus, the fact that we live amongst so many different people with different ethnicities. It’s beautiful.
What was the dynamic like when all of you from different backgrounds came together to create art?
We got along, we learned from each other, and we created art without focusing on differences. It’s almost 2020 – the world has gotten so much smaller due to the internet. We used it to our advantage, and it felt seamless to work towards this goal together.
As a group what is one common goal you want to accomplish or message you want to share with your listeners?
Be open-minded. It’s as simple as that. This life we have is way too short to spend time worrying over differences, caring too much, and being scared of the future. With time comes memories and lots of different vibes. The goal of 4th & Orange is to separate you from your most chaotic situations and bring you back to reality which is: LIFE IS GOOD.
With some of you taking up music early on in life, you can tell you’ve worked hard to be where you are now! So what was the reaction to being signed to Atlantic?!
Picture having this actual dream over and over and over again since you’ve been a kid: you’re doing what you love more than anything, people are praising and congratulating you for your achievements, and passing on the love they feel through your music. That’s what it was like getting signed to Atlantic.
What was it like releasing your debut single “Girl Next Door”?
It was everything we expected a record label to do. Which was BY FAR the best feeling knowing they were doing it FOR US. We work hard to deliver quality content to our listeners, and this song was perfect a perfect introduction to 4th & Orange. Atlantic packaged it up perfectly, and we couldn’t be more grateful to them as well as our manager, Charles Chavez. He was the one who loved “Girl Next Door” enough to take a chance on it!
Can you tell us more about your latest single ‘Only You’? What was the inspiration behind it??
Our manager wanted to flip one of Julie Greenwald’s (COO of Atlantic Records) favorite songs – “Only You” by Yazoo. We felt would it fit perfectly into our reggae vibe. We flipped it, added some lyrics, and turned it into something that respects what Yazoo did on the original but feels fresh for the new generation.
If you could collab with one artist dead or alive who would it be and why?!
This question always get to me because I really can’t choose one, so I’ll go with who we’d love to work with AT THE MOMENT. That’s Ty DollaSign. We are a reggae band that loves to incorporate hip-hop elements into our music. We would love to make something big with Ty to start really blending our audiences together. He’s a perfect fit for our music because his lifestyle and his voice has so much in common with what we are doing right now. Plus he’s our labelmate now, so it would make a lot of sense.
What plans do you guys have for the future?!
We could only plan to be as big as all of our favorite bands that made an impact on us. We have a lot of work to do, so the plan for now is to stay focused on making the best music we can. That means staying true at all times to what we believe, and that will make a difference in our listeners’ lives. 4th & Orange will soon be a lifestyle for anybody that wishes all of the judgement, hate, and doubts in society were crossed out and forgotten. Come out to one of our shows and see for yourself – we make our NYC debut at the Mercury Lounge on the 20th! Thanks for having us guys!
Connect with 4th & orange
INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE
Special thanks to Atlantic Records!!
