British-born singer songwriter Orlando Seale was living and working as an actor in LA when his girlfriend lent him Elliot Smith’s old guitar. Then she left him.
He made his way home to London and was struck by the rapidly changing capital, staggering along in the wake of the financial crash.
Thanks to a special collaboration with an orchestra for The Old Vic Tunnels Orlando started collaborating with viola players Patricia Ramirez and Becky Hopkins. Along with bassist Micky Turkington and drummer Andrew Gallop they created The Swell, an attempt to capture the epic sweep of the ‘unreal city’, its caffeinated highs and gin-street lows.
The Swell released a full length album recorded as-live at Assault & Battery studios in London, and a double-A-side single (All Of The Dogs/Filthy Hope).
Then life lurched left and became more like wrestling than dancing. So the band holed up in a condemned rehearsal space behind Denmark Street and began to carve out a harsher, less lyrical sound that reflected the turbulent times. Single ‘Wrestling’ was the first release from this new direction. It received great reviews and radio play from the likes of Tom Robinson (BBC6 Music). To mark the release they collaborated with Welsh chocolate company Nomnom and artist Brit Oh Bones to create a Synaesthetic Chocolate Song-Bar.
The Swell have played everything from stripped-back intimate living room tours, to festival stages including Greenman, Wilderness, Secret Garden Party, & How The Light Gets In. Over the summer of 2016 the band toured in Europe.
New releases are imminent!
Orlando Seale -Acting career
Orlando Seale has had a very carried career, from his time working with the Royal Shakespeare Company to acting in independent films and large Hollywood features films, as well as touring with his own improvisation/clown company.
Orlando studied English and French literature at Oxford University, and acting at The Conservatoire National Supérieur D’Art Dramatique, Paris, as well as at the Ecole Philipe Gaulier.
His first foray into feature films came when Kenneth Branagh handpicked Orlando to be his acting understudy in the academy award nominated film adaptation of Hamlet. Roles in Tim Burton’s Sleepy Hollow, Pride & Prejudice, and Hysteria followed (for which he won high praise from critics for his portrayal of Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott). Other notable films and television credits include Bobby, The Onion Movie, Fred Claus, The West Wing, The IT crowd, Mr Selfridge, Count Arthur Strong, Ghost Whisperer, Krod Mandoon, Lewis, and Bonobo. Most recently seen in the CW series Reign, and in the HBO series Doll & Em.
Orlando was the lead voice for the English language version of Jack et La Mécanique du Coeur, the Europacorp film of Mathieu Malzieu (Dionysos) novel/album. Orlando speaks fluent French and also translated some of the Dionysos songs for the film.
Orlando also works as a teacher, leading acting, directing, improvisation and creativity workshops for all sorts of different groups, both professionals and students.
