After the success of her sophomore LP Dance Therapy, Ora The Molecule has been a name on everybody’s lips. Ora (Nora Schelderup) has been a sought after live performer and DJ, travelling the world from her home base just outside of Oslo. From NRK to Beats in Space, she’s been making an impact globally with her unique space-aged Disco sound.
Dance Therapy followed Human Safari underpinning a sound taken from Italo Disco and Norway’s Space Disco scene, where together with stars like Todd Terje and Prins Thomas, Ora the Molecule now makes up the firmament. Her musical journey travels through space and time touches on distant worlds where nostalgia and her distinct pop sensibilities form the fabric of an indelible sound.
An acclaimed artist and performer, Ora The Molecule is also an adept DJ, and after a move back to Norway, she’s been a regular fixture in DJ booths across town. Tying that red thread between her own music and the music filling her record bag, she took on the Jaeger Mix with her usually Disco charm.
From Lindstrøm to Hannes Bieger, she charted an intergalactic 2 hour journey from our sauna. Recorded during the last of the hazy summer days this year, it leaves with a bounce in our step and a song in our ear as we listen back to her mix today. We touch down in Ora’s world to grab a few quotes from the artist and DJ as she continues to chart a trajectory to the stars.
*Catch Ora the Molecule at Rinse FM next Friday.
Welcome to the Jaeger Mix. I’d like to start with a question we always ask. What is your earliest memory of a piece of music?
My earliest memory of music I think was this kids album «Blekkulf og den mystiske flaskeposten» by Geir Holmsen. It was released in 1996 and I was 2-3 years old at the time,forcing my mum to play it in the car’s cassette player every time we drove anywhere. To me – it was the biggest hit. I knew every word by heart and I still think it is a masterpiece.
At what point do you pick up a guitar and start making your own music?
Very young. I was playing with what I had at home from when I was 3-4 years old. But it all was very jam based and just playing around. Guitar and drums. I wrote my first full song (verses, chorus, bridge) when I was 8 years old.
What was your introduction to electronic- and specifically club music and who or what have been your strongest influences in that regard?
When I was 16 I discovered Nina Kravitz on YouTube. It was not even her set, it was just a little documentary following her talking about her love for electronic music. So I got curious. And went to bandcamp. And that’s where it started for me. YouTube and bandcamp. And then the vinyl shops in Oslo and then I made it a habit to visit vinyl shops every time I traveled somewhere. It’s the best thing and to me, the best way to see a new place – find the local record shop and start there.
As I understand it DJing came later when you were based in LA. Do you mind telling that story again?
I knew I was a composer/songwriter from very early on. I originally went to LA for family reasons and then I ended up driving uber for a living while I tried to get a band together. I was still obsessed with music and would play a lot of music in the car while working. Once I drove a DJ and that uber ride ended up lasting 3 hours as we got stuck in traffic. I played him so much stuff and at the end of the trip he asked if I would be interested in DJing and that he could offer me lessons if I gave him music. So we made a trade deal. That’s how I learned to DJ. And then I asked for a job at this club called Tenants Of The Trees and the owner offered me a DJ residency. I was not the best DJ but I had a good collection and to me, good taste. So that’s how I got to practice and develop.
You seem to be DJing more since moving back to Oslo. What has spurred you into the booth and what are the records and artists filling your DJ bag today?
I play a lot of Lindstrøm, Giovanni Domico, Small Talk, Modula, Giorgio Moroder, Nadeem Khan, Olefonken, Prins Thomas, Rigopolar, Bjørn Torske, TERR, Sam Ruffillo, Ursula Rucker, Hannes Bieger, Red Axes, Enflure to mention some.
Well, before Covid happened I was giving my everything to a band. I wanted Ora the molecule to be a band. But when I ended up alone in Norway I was kind of forced to be alone and so Ora the molecule became a solo project. I’ve always been DJing ever since that Uber ride in LA 10 years ago, but the circumstances made it possible for me to dig deeper into the music that I loved and gave me the time to focus on music production as well.
Give us an introduction to this Jaeger mix… It has this breezy summer vibe throughout. Was that the intention and what else were you trying to convey through your selections?
I’m trying to convey a sense of timelessness, the feeling you get from old cinema. I like music that gives the brain space for imagination. I’m aiming for DJ sets that are a proper journey and not too repetitive. I feel that in today’s global political climate – we need music that holds space for optimism and opens another door than what the media feeds us. I’m so worried about the mental crisis of today and that people are feeling stuck. We need optimism more than ever now – to look for new possibilities and alternative futures.
What’s the track in the mix that sums it up for you?
I would say it is the first track – Another Station by Lindstrøm. That’s what I’m trying to create with the music- another station. Not the one we are expecting, but another alternative reality.
Your last LP – and I feel it’s very much present in your mix too in the syncopated rhythms, synthesisers and plucky bass – reflect your love for the sounds of the seventies. As somebody born well after that decade, from where does the appreciation for that musical decade stem?
I lived in Italy as a child and was introduced to Pino D’Angio and Lucio Battisti at an early age. And then later – actually, I’d have to credit Amy Winehouse for opening up my curiosity for Motown music. I was 12 years old when she topped the charts. There’s something so timeless and pure in the songwriting of these records. Discovering Motown, set me off to the most incredible music journey and led me to Marvin Gaye and then Sister Sledge, Donna Summer, and then Giorgio Moroder and Cerrone.
What specifically is it about that era of music that resonated with you during the creation of Dance Therapy and your sound as a DJ lately?
My interpretation of the music from this era is that it’s playful and naive. To me, it sounds so sincere and honest without trying to be cool or in «fashion». I gravitate to that.
Listening back to the mix now as a recorded mix, what do you hope the listener gets out of it?
A sense of wonder and connection to themselves.
We see you’re playing a few other places soon, including at Jaeger during Rinse FM, but what else is on the horizon for Ora the Molecule in the near future?
I’m just recovering from creating this sci-fi universe and musical composition for Oslo Fashion Week. Then I’m going on tour in the USA supporting Cut Copy in October and November. I’m very excited about that! I’m also going to play at this legendary Bob Baker Marionette Theatre in Los Angeles on Halloween. I think they play puppet theatre while I’m playing my concert, so very excited to see that!