Orla Gartland

Born in Dublin in 1995, Orla Gartland initially developed her project in an acoustic and folk-pop register, releasing covers and her own songs on YouTube from her teens while performing on the local scene and busking around Ireland. Based in London from 2015, she shifted her writing toward a more nervy independent pop that blends indie pop, indie folk and pop rock, featuring direct melodies, prominent guitars and an often introspective tone. After the EPs Laughing at My Own Jokes (2011), Roots (2013) and Lonely People (2015), she refined this turn on Why Am I Like This? (2019) and Freckle Season (2020). Her debut album, Woman on the Internet, was released in 2021 on her label New Friends, co-produced with Tom Stafford, followed by Everybody Needs a Hero in 2024. Alongside her solo career, she co-wrote the track 134340 for BTS, took part in the collective Irish Women in Harmony and joined the group Fizz with Dodie, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown in 2023 for the album The Secret to Life, released the same year. Orla Gartland’s trajectory thus links internet culture, the UK independent circuit and a pop songwriting with a strong personal dimension.