Welcome to Oranje Space

‘Ebb and Flow’ EP Interview & Review

As we approach the six-month anniversary of Oranje Space’s debut EP, we can safely say the project has earned its badge of listener burnout immunity. The four-track EP is a deeply personal oscillation between the ebbs and flows of human experience, creating a uniquely dimensional soundscape. Oranje Space facilitates a fluent relationship between both, entwining the hollowed metallic tones of our lows with the elated choral layers of our highs as one cohesive mirage.

Ricky, known professionally as Oranje Space, was born and raised four hours south of LA in El Centro California, a small desert town bordering Mexico. We bridged coasts via Zoom for this interview, which unintentionally paid a sweet tribute to the artist’s evolution since his debut single, ‘Zoom’, in 2020. After relocating to LA, Oranje Space secured his position in the alternative R&B, neo-soul world with a discography of singles that fall perfectly within the Dijon, Mk.gee, and Matt Champion trinity.

Fittingly, it was in line at a Dijon concert in LA almost two years ago where Oranje Space met his management team, Surface Gallery. And it was through a Surface Gallery video taken that same night that I became a devoted listener of Oranje Space. Call it fate or simply some good connections in a small world, but never waste the opportunity presented by an excruciatingly long concert line – you never know where the story begins.

Tell me a bit about some of your first exposures to music. When did you decide to start making your own music?

“I grew up on a lot of R&B, it was kind of my first love. My first exposure to music was around second grade. I still have a stutter to this day, but when I was little I’d go to speech therapy all the time. It was there my speech therapist noticed that when I sang, my stutter would just go away. After that, singing became somewhat of an outlet for me. A few years later, I picked up guitar and piano and started piecing everything together into one.”

How did you land on the pseudonym, Oranje Space?

“Before I was putting any music out publicly, I had a song called Orange Space. One of my friends had asked me, “If you had to pick a color that this song reminds you of, what would it be?”. I felt like the song put me in this headspace with all of these orangey, sunset-like colors, so I said, “Orange”. And then it just stuck. I didn't really intend for it to be my artist name, I kind of just stumbled upon it. I decided to use it when I dropped my first song and it ended up becoming a lot more than I thought it was gonna be.”

How have you evolved as an artist since your debut single, ‘Zoom’, in 2020?

“That song makes me feel very nostalgic. Since putting it out, I think I’ve come to trust myself a lot more, I kind of know my process, I know what works. I think with that, I’ve grown to understand patience. A lot of times I know that we're making songs that will never end up on the project. For ‘Ebb and Flow’, we probably made about fifteen songs and only kept four. It's funny because I knew the songs weren't going to be anything, but I feel like we had to do them just to get them out of our system so that we could tap into what we were really trying to do. Through that process, I've learned that sometimes to get to the really, really good stuff, you have to get the other songs out of your system first, and then you might be able to fall on that real gem.”

Walk me through your artistic process. Your production and composition are poignantly detailed while your lyrics maintain the same intentional quality. Which tends to come to you first?

“The lyrics actually always come last for me. I don't know what it is – I have to have a full production laid out, the harmonies and melodies, and then I'll plug the words in last. With my last project [Ebb and Flow], we started off with the production of each song. After that, I’d come onto the mic and play around with what I was trying to do melodically and structurally, then I’d start putting words to it. I’ve learned that I'm a very slow writer. It can take me days and days to write a full song, so for the most part, we'd put the production together and then I’d have to take it home for about a week before coming back with everything written.”

What’s the source of your creative drive as an artist?

“I think just taking a step back from it a little bit. I do get caught in these stretches where I have no creativity coming from me and I’m not moved by anything I’m trying. I’ve learned to acknowledge that phase when I hit it. That’s when I know I need to go experience life a little bit. Ultimately, I can't really fake the songs, you know? I can't write about things that I haven't really experienced. That’s the interesting thing about creativity – sometimes the only way forward is to take a step back.”

From your entire discography, which song is your favorite?

“‘Open’”

The EP’s introductory track, ‘Open’, is as straight to the point in its name as it is sonically. Its opening instrumentals have an addictively warpy tone, simulating a sinking sensation in the chest. The first verse is a brief moment of relief before diving right into the first ebb of the project. The track is a tense relationship between grit and softness in a multi-faceted harmony that's gripped the heart before the mind can catch up.

The overarching story of your most recent EP, ‘Ebb and Flow’, is grouped into four parts: ‘Open’, ‘Cylinders’, ‘Wish You Well’, and ‘Can’t Help Myself’. Give me a breakdown of each track title.

“I titled the first track, ‘Open’, as an introduction to the project. The second track is titled after the opening lyric, “sleeping in my four-cylinder house”. It’s a song I wrote about a short period of time when I was staying in my car. ‘Cylinders’ was pretty much strictly about my partner’s insistence that no matter what I was going through, she’d be there for me. It was a very low point when I felt so vulnerable. She really knew that it was going to be okay in the end.”

‘Cylinders’ possess a vulnerable quality in its beautifully unembellished vocals, lyrics, and production. It’s one of the rawest tracks from the EP, produced almost as if the listener had a seat right in the sound booth. The piece is an exposed remnant of rock bottom, standing as a tributary track to the few constants allotted in an ever-fluctuating lifetime.

(Cont’d)

“‘Wish You Well’ is a song about losing someone and going through grief while feeling love simultaneously. I was very intentional about centering this project around life’s ebbs and flows. Each song is for the good sides and the dark sides together. I feel like grief is so interesting because you could be going through that while experiencing the purest love you could ever possibly experience. ‘Can’t Help Myself’ is actually my favorite story. There’s this sculpture called ‘Can’t Help Myself’1 – it’s a robotic arm that spends its whole life sweeping up oil from its own leak. This whole song is pretty much dedicated to that piece. I wrote it at a time when I was feeling really overworked and I was realizing that I could just work my life away while barely surviving. I felt like this robot, working so hard just to keep itself alive.”

1. Can’t Help Myself | Sun Yuan, b. 1972, Beijing; Peng Yu, b. 1974, Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, China

It’s said that a good musical project will have you struggling to pick a favorite song and that’s exactly where I’m left between the EP’s opening and closing tracks. Despite its morbid reference, ‘Can’t Help Myself’ feels like the first phase of entering into a flow state. Through its catchy melodic build-up and wind-down, the song simulates a sense of acceptance and release. Enfolding the same eerie instrumentals layered throughout ‘Open’, ‘Can’t Help Myself’ makes peace with the coexistence of ebbs and flows.

I love the media production for Ebb and Flow. We’ve got this moody, hazy scene of you in an elevator with a group of some bazaar characters. What was the design process behind this trailer? How does this scene play into the story being told through Ebb and Flow?

“That was my favorite part of the entire project. I actually had this idea of the elevator, probably five years ago, I just didn’t know how to make it work. I knew when I started this project that this was the time to do it. I loved the concept of being stuck in this small space with strangers as a daily practice. It’s such a human experience, everyone’s in their own head and going through their own thing but there could be an outburst at any moment. The trailer is meant to represent the temptation of being a part of the world’s chaos and stress while being stuck in the middle of it all just trying to remain sane.”

(Cont’d)

“The process of filming it and putting it together was the most fun because we actually built the elevator from scratch. My friend Colson does short films and a lot of set design, so I brought the idea to him. At first, I said, “I want to shoot this in and out of an elevator”, and he was like, “Why don't we just build it?”. So we bought this gigantic empty wooden crate that we picked up somewhere outside of LA, bought carpet and panels and lighting. We made each wall removable so that we could get all these different shots and just packed ourselves in place for 10 hours and filmed the entire thing.”

Cover: Matt Glen | Featured: Michael Murray, Colson Ayars, Chase Okimura, Jesse Mar Ramirez & Alex Qwerty

Tell me about your support system throughout this whole process with the creation of Oranje Space.

“So many people have helped me along the way. My close friend Isaiah produced the entire project with me, he also produced ‘Lucy’. My friend Michael helped me direct the trailer. I mean, so many people are a part of this. Four years ago I was kind of just throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck. Fast forward to now and I have a support system of people that care, not only about me but the art itself. I'm blessed for that. They're people that I really look up to in their own fields and crafts. So it's just cool that we can share this time. We started this project last August and finished around February and I can genuinely say it was probably the most fun five-month span of my life. Everyone just came together with all hands on deck. I mean, it's not like I had a lot to offer them as far as paying, so the fact that everyone showed up out of their own interest was a cool thing for me.”

You’ve been teasing some of the projects you’ve got in the works now. What should we be on the lookout for from Oranje Space?

“I've been back in the studio navigating some sounds that I've been trying out and we ended up with a couple of, what I think are really, really, good songs. I love them. My goal is to have some singles out before the year ends. The songs I've made in the past month or so are very different from what I’ve made in the past which kind of scares me but it's also my favorite stuff I've made and I hope people will enjoy and understand it once it does come out.”

What is your favorite album of all time?

“Blonde by Frank Ocean”

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be?

“Blood Orange”

Ultimately, what message do you aim to communicate to your growing audience of listeners?

“I want people to know that I really, really care about what I do. I put a lot of effort and intent into it. I want people to feel like when they hear my music, they can escape for a little bit. Everybody has things going on, the world is crazy, and in all of that, I just want to let people close their eyes and go to a different world for a little while. I try to write very honestly, even if my lyrics are a little too honest at times. I think it’s really cool when people can relate to an artist on a personal level. And I hope that I can be that to some people, even if it's just one person.”