Orla Joan Gartland is an Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist from Dublin who gained popularity from posting cover songs on her YouTube account. At present, her YouTube channel has received over 15 million views in total. Gartland describes her music as folk pop, most heavily influenced by Joni Mitchell, Regina Spektor, Imogen Heap. She frequently refers to herself as a "music makin' ginger nutcase." In 2012, she released her debut single, "Devil on my Shoulder", which entered the singer-songwriter iTunes charts in Ireland. On 11 November 2013, Gartland released a four-song EP Roots. On 24 November, the Irish Mirror featured Gartland in a full-page article and stated "last Tuesday on iTunes her debut EP, Roots, hit No1 in the main Irish albums chart, 15 in the main UK albums chart and No2 in the US singer/songwriter chart." On 24 May 2019, Gartland released a four-song EP Why Am I Like This?. On 1 November 2019 she announced she would be releasing an EP, titled Freckle Season, featuring previous singles Did It To Myself, Figure It Out, and Heavy, which she released on 21 February 2020.
Life and career
In an interview by Campus.ie, Gartland is quoted "I played violin, fiddle, and trad and Irish stuff from the age of about five years old...my parents got me into lessons and the guitar at about 12 years old and it went from there." She posted her first YouTube video at age 13 about which she stated "I had been playing guitar for just over a year and wailing alongside the chords. I hadn't a clue how to sing; the breathing or any of the technical stuff – so just wanted some feedback on that really!". In 2011, Broken Wall Films made a video of Gartland's song "All The Little Details." The video was shot in a coffeeshop which remained open for business during the filming. In 2012, Gartland opened for Britain's Got Talent contestant Ryan O'Shaughnessy at The Academy and for Scottish singer-songwriter Nina Nesbitt at Bewley's Cafe Theatre. She released her debut single "Devil on my Shoulder" on 17 June on iTunes where it reached No. 2 on the Ireland singer-songwriter chart. The single was launched at a sold-out show headlined by Gartland at The Academy in Dublin. In March 2013 Gartland announced her first tour, headlining five shows in the UK and in Ireland during July 2013. On 11 November 2013 Gartland released her four-song EP Roots on iTunes. The titular track "Roots" was named Apple iTunes "Single of the Week" in the UK and Ireland. She toured in support of the album in February 2014 visiting ten cities in Ireland and in the United Kingdom. Gartland contributed the song "Cast Your Stone" on the album Simple Things, a compilation album released on 15 November 2013 by Niall Breslin in support of suicide prevention in Ireland. She participated in a group performance of "Simple Things" musicians on RTÉ programme, The Saturday Night Show. The Irish Daily Star selected Gartland as one of "20 music acts to watch in 2014." The Irish Independent selected Gartland as one of "Ireland's most influential teens." GoldenPlec selected Gartland as their "Plec Pick" of 2014, chosen as one of the best solo artists in Ireland. Gartland, along with Greta Isaac, performed the song "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" which they contributed to the compilation album It's Coming on Christmas. The album raised funds for the breast cancer charity, CoppaFeel!. Gartland has played alongside Dodie Clark in all three of her EP release tours, and acted as a supporting act in Clark's 2019 'Human' tour. On 2 May 2018, Gartland released her first single in three years, "I Go Crazy", and on 2 November 2018 she released a new single Between My Teeth, which she announced were both standalone singles. On 8 February 2019, she released a new single "Why Am I Like This?", followed by "Flatline" on 5 April 2019, both of which formed a part of her EP "Why Am I Like This?", released on 24 May 2019. On 6 September 2019 Gartland released a new single Did It To Myself, followed by Figure It Out on 1 November 2019, and Heavy on 15 January 2020, all of which appear on her EP Freckle Season. She has also been included in the writing process of K-Pop superstars BTS's "134340" off the album ‘Love Yourself: Tear’. "Heavy" featured in the BBC Three trailer for the 2020 adaptation of Normal People. In 2020, Gartland was part of an Irish collective of female singers and musicians called Irish Women in Harmony, that recorded a version of the song "Dreams" in aid of the charity Safe Ireland, which deals with domestic abuse which had reportedly risen significantly during the Covid-19 lockdown.
