Kris Orlowski didn’t pause at the chance to make experimental music his day job
From a perch of nearly 40 stories above the rainy streets of Seattle, singer/songwriter Kris Orlowski is serenading a small, wine-and-whiskey-sipping group of music obsessives from the relatively cozy confines of the Smith O ffice Tower’s only private residence, a penthouse at the very top. To fit the group into this relatively small space, the family’s furniture has been removed for the occasion—it’s literally Orlowski, his guitar, blankets hastily arranged around the floor for people to sit upon, and one of Dale Chihuly’s giant signature glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling above it all.
Orlowski has been hosting a monthly “Smith Tower Sessions” series from this locale, opening for a fellow Seattle-area musician (tonight, it’s his friend David Bazan, also known for his work as Pedro The Lion) in a close setting that encourages intimacy, improvisation and the fearless debut of new material—all of which Orlowski does in turn, veering between a ragged-but-right cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” and new songs from his forthcoming band LP, Often In The Pause.
Orlowski’s style can best be described as earnest but moody; somber but sincere. Like the best Northwesterners of recent vintage (think: Death Cab’s Ben Gibbard, Damien Jurado, the late Elliott Smith), Orlowski uses roots music as something of a starting point, but ladles pop changes and varying production sensibilities over the a air to switch up textures and moods. He’s a man wearing many hats—working musician, songwriter, promoter, cultural curator, marketer—making music in as many ways as possible, as frequently as possible, without the safety net of a label to fall back upon.
“I landed my publishing deal two years ago,” says Orlowski. “Then one of my songs was placed on Grey’s Anatomy, and I realized, ‘Hey, this is more attainable now—I can make a living doing this.’ That was enough for me to quit my job, do a national tour behind my debut album (2014’s Believer). I’m around music all day, every day. It’s a weird balancing act of staying just organized enough to also do the experimenting I love.”
—Corey duBrowa
