The Orchestra (For Now) may only be two years old, but in that short span they’ve become one of the most unmissable bands on London’s pub circuit – standout darlings of the so-called Windmill scene. Their first ever gig happened to be supporting black midi’s last – a poetic handover between two generations of South London innovators. We meet two of the seven members at the opening night of a headline UK tour, a run that finishes with their biggest show yet at Scala. Between soundcheck and doors, we slip into a booth with lead singer Joseph Scarisbrick and new bassist Millie Kirby to talk through everything from their “intense” online fan community to why 6 Music critics were so upset by their new EP.
Their second EP, Plan 76, landed a couple of weeks ago – an aptly titled follow-up to their well-regarded debut, Plan 75. The two projects mirror one another closely, but Joe says they didn’t even want to be making EPs in the first place. “We didn’t want to do another EP, we didn’t want to do the first one. But when you’re an unsigned independent, it’s the most cost-effective thing.”
Whether reluctantly assembled or not, the double-EP strategy has clearly worked. They’ve sold out a UK tour, won Green Man Rising, and begun attracting a surprisingly intense level of scrutiny – something they’re still getting used to.
“On the 6 Music roundtable, one panellist said she was ‘scared and upset’ by it. Really scared, comma, 6 out of 10’. Another guy said he was confused and angry. We’re angering music experts now,” Joe says, laughing at the memory.
The EP’s atmosphere owes as much to the locations where it was recorded as to the songs themselves. The band split time between a church in London and a barn on the Isle of Wight – an unusual pairing that suited them well. Joe explains that the Isle of Wight sessions mostly happened because their producer, Bolasz, “got a great discount,” but beyond the budget, the remote location changed the band’s headspace entirely. “We were there for three or four days. Up until three or four in the morning, then waking up early again because you’re on the Isle of Wight, by the sea. It was nuts.”
Millie adds that being outside London helped her focus in a way she hadn’t experienced before.“Location changes my mindset a lot. When we recorded in Cornwall for Big Red, being somewhere countryside-y meant I could focus completely, nothing else. If I recorded in London, it would feel like just another day.”
Joe laughs about the distractions in the capital: “You’ll be tracking vocals at 11pm and get a text saying everyone’s at the George Tavern – and suddenly the vocals can wait. It has an impact.”
Although Plan 76 continues the sounds and themes of Plan 75, the band approached it with far more precision. “It was more focused. We actually wrote those songs for a Green Man set. We had 25 minutes and needed 40. We spent more time on pre-production than we ever had before – arrangements, tones, everything. We’re probably happier with it.”
It’s also a far more emotionally open record, a shift Joe insists was intentional. “We’re going in a much more earnest direction. Early on I was having loads more fun, taking liberties, putting in stuff for shock value. Now I want it to move people.”
The EP’s lead single, Hattrick, is the clearest bridge between the two projects: frantic but controlled chaos. It was also, by far, the hardest track to finish “We obliterated the structure,” Joe says. “The original version is unrecognisable. We took it apart, stitched it back together. That song should not exist. It makes no sense. But it does – that’s pure magic.”
Another standout, Impatient, contains the lyric “It’s Halloween” and was released on Halloween. Was that planned? Joe smirks. “Everything’s intentional.” After some prompting, he adds: “We just knew nothing big was coming out that day. Originally it was Christmas. Then Easter. Halloween worked. ‘It’s Easter time’ wouldn’t have sounded as good.”
The band have spent the last year writing constantly, and their debut album is nearly finished. Millie’s arrival has influenced it more than she expected. “I had no part in writing 75 or 76, but I’m writing on the album. Some songs are more built around the bassline now. It’s more of a leading element.”
Joe writes obsessively fast – “insanely quickly,” in his words – but the collaborative nature of the band slows the process in a good way. Fans get to hear some of it early anyway: the band has a habit of performing unfinished material. “Tonight we’re playing four new songs. They’re complete but not quite there. The themes of the album are locked in, but not the details. We work a lot of it out in front of people. Maybe we shouldn’t, but I think listeners love hearing things evolve.”
The current headline tour has taken them to cities they’ve never played before, which both seem relieved about. “It’s amazing to get out of London,” Millie says. “It’s nice not to work a part-time job. And I haven’t seen a lot of the UK, so this is really exciting.”
Joe says they’re writing constantly while travelling: “We’re doing a lot of fine-tuning at soundchecks. If this comes out before the tour’s over: come to soundcheck. It’s basically a writing workshop with us.”
The day of our interview marked exactly one year since they released Wake Robin, their debut single. Joe checks his phone in disbelief. “Is it today? That’s nuts. We played two shows at St Pancras Old Church around that release. It was surreal actually putting something out. We really didn’t want to do that until the moment felt right.”
Since then, they’ve developed a fervent online following – one that can be overwhelming. “It’s been a bit of a learning curve. I try not to read the forums. From the first single, there was a magnifying glass on everything, whereas before we released music there was no evidence.”
That process of scrutiny has also changed how they write. “We’re more aware now. Once something’s on streaming platforms, people dig into it. With Wake Robin, we didn’t care — there were no stakes. Now we think about listeners a bit more. Not in a bad way, just… we know people are there. What we create in a dingy university rehearsal room is going to be heard by loads of ears in people’s bedrooms or on public transport.”
Despite only just finishing their EP cycle, the band already have an eye on 2026. “Next year we’ll have an album out, probably another one ready. Personally I write insanely quickly, but it takes a bit longer because there are so many voices in the band and so much fine-tuning. But we’ve got lots of new music.”
Words: Donovan Livesey