New Horizon plays on alternating Fridays in Bree and has been a constant fill in for BBR at Vydor’s Thursday Jukebox. They play at many of the various Round Robins, and have been featured at Ales and Tales. They have also filled in many times for the Breeland Bywater Revival at the Thursday Jukebox. I caught up with their leader, Orsuil and asked him a few questions.
Q. Let us get the most obvious question out of the way first. How did you choose your band’s name?
Choosing the band name was not easy. I finally settled on a song name from Brian May, guitarist of one of my favorite bands, Queen. That song name is Last Horizon and I changed Last to New as I not wanted to copy the whole name. I remember I asked Erendriell about it and she liked it so the name was born.
Q. Have you had the same band name from the start, or has there been a change?
Band name was after I decided to get my own band. I played some solo tunes on the square at times, and when I met Erendriell at that time she helped me to get started forming a band; how to change instruments and so on. How to use Songbook as a band and some insights on Maestro. Not long after, I made our official debut as a 6-man band at Teedee’s RR.
Q. Of any of the locations you have played in Middle Earth, is there a special spot you love to play, and why?
Not directly to play. We like most places to play and have no real favorites, although the big shows like Weatherstock, Greenfields, and Winterstock are always kind of special. But the last Greenfields, 2023, is the place that has such good memories for me. That is where Araquiel and I got very close.
Q. What would you say is your most requested song?
To be honest, we don’t get much requests. At this time, we’re covering for Vydor and we wanted to stay close to his format, so Araquiel setup a Jukebox webpage so the people can choose a song for us to play out of the 50 we have selected. It is too short a time to really be able to tell of a most requested song. I noticed however that many are more the upbeat kind of songs which get requested. And of course, we invite a guest band to play with us, just as Vydor does.
Q. Do you have a favorite of all the songs you play?
Hmmm… This is not easy but will try my best. A real winner I don’t have, but can list a few I love to play. Edward Elgar – Nimrod. A newer song we not have that long, Bee Gees – First of May. Ennio Morricone – Your Love, “Jills Theme” from the movie Once Upon a Time in the West and I love the score and the movie. Evanescence – My Immortal. Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit, a bit slowed down version with the focus on fiddles. And last, a special one for Araquiel and me. Ara asked me to find the midi and arrange the song for her just after last Greenfields and when we played it (Ara was not yet in the band) she suddenly started to sing along and I was stunned as I not saw that coming at all. Yes, I teared up a bit. From Jesus Christ Superstar – I Don’t Know How to Love Him. All the songs I mentioned have a special kind of meaning to me, but we love to play all our songs.
Q. What would you say is your favorite style of music to play?
We like about all styles from Classical to Rock. Only thing I not really into is RAP. I find Classical more appealing in LOTRO because the instruments in LOTRO are setup for that music. But we arrange all kind of music so our song list is from Classical to Rock and lots in between.
Q. You have played many events and stepped in to cover many acts. Is there any other show or time you would like to play?
We like to play about anywhere. Timewise is more dependent on Araquiel; we are very happy we got Lassie’s Bi weekly spot on Fridays and the time is perfect for Ara. RR’s are very nice but with many bands playing it can take a while before you can play a song again. Having your own spot means we can also play longer songs. As some maybe have noticed, we play less RR to give bands without a spot more room to play without it being too crowded. Ara and I will still play once in a while at an RR but not as much as before.
Q. With more and more bands forming all the time, do you get asked for advice often?
Not really, aside from Meri when she started her own band. I am always looking in certain Discord channels and try to help in there if some have questions.
Q. What one piece of advice would you give new bands on Landy?
I had some help when I started, mostly from Erendriell and Zacandil. When I played a few of my first arranged songs as practice with Eren at that time, she was surprised they sounded good. I think I am a kind of natural in arranging, LOL I cannot read a note and do everything by ear. My advice would be, start doing songs you know at heart. Second advice would be, try to think out of the box at times. Try some stuff out you think will never work and then be surprised with the result.
Q. Last Question Orsuil, all of Bree wants to know, Boxers or Briefs?
Briefs, I hope it makes all of Bree happy now that is out.
Q. Orsuil, is there anything you would like to add?
Yes, it is truly a delight my sweet Ara is playing with us, I am happy I could convince her to give it a shot and she is doing so great. She went from Ara alone to 2 extra alts in a few months. Currently, she is even arranging songs. I love to see her having a good time in the game and for me that is so very important.
So, there you have it folks.
New Horizon Will surely have you up on your feet dancing, and bring some real joy into your nights. I am sure the future shines brightly for them.