You've added an item to the cart! ×

Orange Spotlight: WARPSTORMER

Who are WARPSTORMER?

WARPSTORMER is Adam Davies (guitar), Simon Doggett (bass + backing vocals), James Loh (drums) and Richard Morgan (vocals). We’re scattered fairly loosely across London but the band’s nominally headquartered in New Cross. 

The name’s a nod to the science-fantasy universe of the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop wargame, in which spacefarers unfortunate enough to be beset by “warp-storms” are sucked into a hellish, messed-up realm of chaos where humanity’s worst impulses are given form as demonic creatures that prey on their souls. Very metal, eh? 

The band started out as a studio project that Richard put together with a couple of pals – original drummer Matt Folley and Green Lung finger-wizard Scott Black on guitar – lending a hand in a temporary capacity. This resulted in the Here Comes Hell EP, which was self-released in 2022 with the intention of using it to recruit a full band line-up. Upon hearing about the new project, Simon (an old pal of R’s)  said he might be interested “if the record doesn’t suck”. Luckily, it didn’t, saving anyone the trouble of singing and playing bass at the same time. 

The EP continued to serve its intended purpose as a recruiting tool – by early 2023 Adam and James had come on board – and since then, we’ve been playing in and around London wherever and whenever anyone will let us, and working on new material as a full band.

While we definitely have one foot in the Sabbath-influenced doomy/stony camp, all the members share a love of punk, hardcore and thrash, and it seems we’re chronically incapable of playing slow enough to stick to the template. Tom Templar from Green Lung once referred to us as “Stoner Thrash”, but maybe we’re Speed Doom – take your pick

What inspires WARPSTORMER?

We all have a ton of influences and quite diverse favourites which, while we might not agree on some things, definitely keeps things interesting and varied when we’re putting music together. Some of the stuff we’ve been enjoying and drawing on recently includes High on Fire, mid-era Mastodon, early Baroness, and Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of War of The Worlds.

As you might expect given the name, we draw pretty heavily, lyrically, on sci-fi and fantasy themes, but in such a way that they serve as a sort of creative vessel for exploring the more psychologically-harrowing aspects of 21st century life. Just the very act of getting in a room and making a dirty great noise through a dirty great amp can be, in itself, an immensely cathartic experience and we’re aiming to harness that in such a way that the form and content of our music complement one another. 

The other great aspect of getting out and playing music with your friends is that it’s nice to get away from a screen for a protracted period of time, and do something fulfilling out in the analogue realm. 

The London Doom/Stoner Scene is in a really cool place right now, and has been incredibly welcoming to us and supportive of what we’re doing. There are a load of sick bands kicking around and that sense of community and creativity is a really inspiring thing to have swirling around.

What Orange gear is important to WARPSTORMER?

We have a pretty eclectic mix of gear we’ve accumulated over the years. The key Orange components of our current arsenal are Richard’s old Bass Terror, a Bass Butler, and a big old PPC412. The Bass Terror might be the MVP of our backline rig – it’s currently serving as one half of our bi-amped guitar setup and, along with the Butler, was the key element of the bass sound on the Here Comes Hell record, which is something we’ve had a lot of compliments about – almost all the dirt and nastiness in the sound of that record came from the bass; for Scott’s guitars we just went with a pretty straightforward overdriven sound. 

When we were tracking bass for our new record, we spent ages fiddling around with all sorts of amp setups, but in the end we ended up going back to the Butler/Terror combo; it just really nailed the clangy, growly attack we wanted. And then just to kick it up a notch even further we chucked a Fuzzrocious Secret C (the limited edition Cave In signature model) in front of that – the results are pretty gnarly.

Future Orange amps?

Since coming into Orange HQ and playing with all those wonderful toys, everyone’s gear shopping list has expanded exponentially. Particular favourites were the OR-30, which really played up to our shared love of classic 80s thrash (which to be honest wasn’t something we associated with Orange amps before then!) and the swirly, psych-y clean sounds we conjured up running the retro Phaser Pedal into a Pedal Baby. Adam also really loved the MK-Ultra – an unforgiving, but very responsive and rewarding amp to play through. 

Our theoretical ultimate Orange amp would be a high-gain monster with a foot switchable second channel – something we currently rely on live to make Adam’s lead parts really pop out with a volume and saturation boost – but that was somehow magically small and light enough to cart around as easily as our Bass Terror – or even fit on a pedalboard!

What does Orange mean to you?

Orange has been synonymous with a lot of the bands we grew up watching and listening to – it’s instantly recognisable onstage even from the back of a big room. 

We never really set out with a gear shopping list, or an intent to use a particular amp or brand, but in the course of cobbling together our shared pool of gear and carving out the WARPSTORMER sound, we’ve found the bits of Orange gear that have made it into that pool to be a significant contributing factor to that sound. 

We don’t get to use our big cab as much as we’d like outside the rehearsal room, as most shows we play has bands sharing backline, and it’s a bugger to move the thing around, but it’s always cool and reassuring to pitch up somewhere and see you’re going to be plugging into an Orange cab as we know it’s going to be able to handle whatever we’re blasting through it.

What’s the most memorable WARPSTORMER moment?

Following some initial line-up setbacks towards the end of 2022 – just as we thought we had everything in place TWO members of the band ended up moving overseas – we brought Adam and James in at pretty short notice. Our first show with them was in April 2023 and they really hit the ground running after only a couple of rehearsals. The show went great and there was a tremendous sense of relief and excitement at landing on our feet with these two guys, which created a wave of momentum that we’re still currently riding.

What’s on the horizon for WARPSTORMER?

We’re currently in the middle of recording our next release with producer Wayne Adams, the busiest man in UK underground music. It’s the first with the full lineup, and we’re pretty excited with the results so far!

Our other current exciting upcoming thing is that the organisers of Desertfest London have been kind enough to include us on the line up this May – you can catch us at The Dev on the Friday night! Building around that and getting the new record out, we’re aiming to get ourselves out of London as much as possible in the coming year, and make as many new pals as we can in the process. See you in the pit!

Gear Currently Used

Listen

Poster by Holly Watts

Orange Jams is a series of live sessions hosted by Orange & Jam in the Van which features Orange ambassadors from across the globe. This session features Orange ambassadors Deathchant live at Jam in the Van’s LA headquarters.

Thank you for tuning into our Speed of Light Orange Jams session, we hope you loved it just as much as we do. Check out the rest of our Orange Jams sessions here, and visit Jam in the Van’s website and socials for more music and comedy.

Can you name a band or artist that inspired you to get into music in the first place?
Robin: I started rolling around in tin foil and tennis rackets in 1976. Shin guards. Fangs. Whatever it took. That Kiss thing gripped me good from five. I was done for. Eventually at six or seven I opened up to ‘regular groups’ from my Dad’s collection, like Yes and Steely Dan. Blue Cheer. The Jimi Hendrix Experience. But it was the bald guy with the push broom mustache and cigarette breaks at a family wedding that made it all real. Jewel light. Dangerous electric buzz. The pushing and pulling of strings. So that’s what that is. Tuning. Never heard of it. The existence of the celluloid tortoise shell ‘pick’. Felt like I had put a little piece of the spaceship in my pocket when no one was looking. I sat cross legged in front of him all afternoon into evening. He probably thought I was adorbs. I was not. I was flipping the fuck out. 

Can you share a recent musical discovery with us?
Robin: Intergalactic dream journey escape genius. Lisa Bella Donna.

What can you tell us about your playlist?
Robin: I keep a playlist of Sabbath inspired desert dirge doom core close. With outliers. Global and of the ages. I love every track. Thanks be to them. This all hangs out the window to and from Joshua Tree, California. I can get there, and back, in about 50 songs. It’s also what I reach for when I want to stop thinking and just play and play loud. And yes it roars on the Orange Box. Best of its kind!

Orange Jams is a series of live sessions hosted by Orange & Jam in the Van which features Orange ambassadors from across the globe. This session features Orange ambassadors Speed of Light live from Jam in the Van’s LA headquarters.

Thank you for tuning into our Speed of Light Orange Jams session, we hope you loved it just as much as we do. Check out the rest of our Orange Jams sessions here, and visit Jam in the Van’s website and socials for more music and comedy.

Orange Spotlight: Troy The Band

Who are Troy The Band?

We are a London-based four-piece, composed of Sean Durbin on bass, Sean Burn on guitar, Craig Newman on vocals, and Jack Revans on drums. We are best described as a mix between stoner-doom, shoegaze and post rock. 

We formed in 2021, after Sean Durbin put an ad out seeking members to form the band. Our original drummer, Dan England, who recorded drums on the EP and our album, stepped down after recording the album. After that we were lucky enough to have our friend Jack, who had already been sitting in on our live shows quite a lot, join on a permanent basis. 

We also had a few other guitarists that we jammed with before Sean Burn joined. Sean and Sean actually knew one another from New Zealand, and it was a chance meeting on the street in London at a time when the band was in need of a new guitarist that led to them joining. When you think about it, it was a pretty serendipitous set of circumstances that led to them joining, which in turn had a vital impact on the trajectory of our sound that just wouldn’t have happened with the other guitarists we had initially been playing with. 

What inspires Troy The Band?

We’re inspired by a lot of different genres and bands; both consciously and unconsciously. Obviously we fit broadly within the stoner-doom genre so there are bands that will influence us from that end of the spectrum, but all of us tend to enjoy a broad array of musical styles which will inevitably make an impact on the way we approach a specific piece of music. To name a few bands whose names often come up for us: High on Fire, Khruangbin, Operator Generator, Acid King, All Them Witches, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Rush, Melvins, Big Business, Jesus and the Mary Chain, Joy Division, Black Midi, Smashing Pumpkins, Bossk, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, The Horrors, Deerhunter, Women, My Bloody Valentine, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra among others. 

We aim to make music that first and foremost we enjoy and find interesting, and then try and bring others along for the ride.

What Orange gear is important to Troy The Band?

Sean Durbin uses an Orange Terror Bass and also splits his signal into a guitar amp, which is currently an Orange Tiny Terror valve amp. Both work well for our sound, and they are also pretty portable and indestructible. Plus they look cool sitting on top of the stacks next to each other. 

This dual setup has evolved over time. Initially, Sean started splitting the signal through a bass and guitar amp because when the band first started we didn’t have a regular guitar player and splitting the signal helped fill out the sound in the rehearsal room more. 

When Sean Burn joined, rather than just mirroring the bass, they brought more atmospheric and complementary style of playing to the existing riffs, so we made a conscious choice to keep the bi-amped bass setup, where the bass is doing the work of a bassist and rhythm guitarist that holds down the main riffs of the songs, while Sean B adds harmonic layering over the the top of those riffs. 

This might be somewhat surprising, especially within a genre that extols the virtue of monstrous amps, but Sean Burn uses an Orange Terror Stamp which is mounted at the end of the signal chain on a very elaborate pedalboard setup. 

They purchased Terror Stamp initially due its affordability, but it has been an incredibly reliable and great sounding piece of equipment. When we went to record our album, even with a wall of mega-powerful tube amps at our disposal, Sean opted to record with the Terror Stamp since it sounded great and all their pedals were already calibrated to it. 

It does have its limitations in some live situations, trying to compete with the other Sean’s Terror Bass and Tiny Terror, but these are easily overcome. We either just mic it up, or use it like a preamp and slave the power section of whatever house backline head is available to achieve the necessary volume. But the tone all comes from the terror stamp and accompanying pedals.

Future Orange amps?

One of the problems with Orange Amps is that they are so bombproof and consistent that there isn’t much need for constant GASing. However, the Orange fur coat fuzz with octave up is likely to replace the current octave-up/distortion configuration on the guitar side of Sean Durbin’s bass signal, and replacing the Tiny Terror with a Pedal Baby might be on the horizon too. 

For Sean Burn, The Orange Pedal Baby or something similar will also likely make its way into their set up to provide the volume we need for our shows.

As much as we’d love to have a wall of big beautiful all-tube heads behind us, it is not always practical for a band that often travels via public transport, so it’s nice to be able to capture the Orange tone that we love in more accommodating packages. 

What does Orange mean to you?

For us, Orange Amps are kind of synonymous with the heavy music we play. They mean great tone and reliability. 

Orange is also a big supporter of the underground music scene in London, providing the backline for a lot of venues and festivals that we’ve been a part of which is great. And we always see Ade and Joe at shows, not as representatives of Orange per se but as fans of the music, which is always nice to see. 

What’s the most memorable Troy The Band moment?

We’ve had a few memorable moments, but perhaps the most memorable was an all-day show we put on to launch a beer we brewed with Old Street Brewery in East London called Troy The Beer. It was an outdoor mini-festival with six bands playing throughout the day, that we held in August. The weather had been great leading up to it, but it’s London so you never really know. 

The morning of the event, the sky was blue and the weather report looked good. There was meant to be some light drizzle in the afternoon, but nothing major so we made the call to keep the event outside and set up some tents for the bands to play under just in case there was a bit of rain. 

It turned out the weather report wasn’t entirely accurate and we were hit with one of the most intense thunderstorms we had ever experienced. What was particularly surreal was that the thunder storm arrived while one of the bands, Purple Kong, were playing their song “Blood Lightning” which has the repeated refrain “Blood, Lighting, Earthquake and Thunder….” So it was pretty fitting. All that was really missing in that moment were earthquakes and blood, and thankfully it stayed that way. Fortunately the rain ended up dissipating completely for the rest of the bands but for a minute there we were worried we were about to be responsible for organising Fyre Fest Part 2. 

What’s on the horizon for Troy The Band?

A lot! 

Bonebag Records are putting out our debut full-length album Cataclysm on February 2nd. We are kicking off a tour supporting it on the 9th of February. 

We’re also working hard on getting our second album ready and will head back into the studio this summer to record that, among a few one-off dates that we have in the calendar this year. 

So there is lot’s to look forward to. 

Gear Currently Used

Listen

When he’s not performing on stage, Scott Holiday has taken on the responsibility of DJ duties on the Rival Sons tour bus, where the Orange Box plays an important part. Here, Scott shares one of his earliest musical heroes as well as a recent musical discovery, as well as a playlist he has created for our listening pleasure.

“The Box has been dubbed the “Lunchable” by everyone on the bus. They know when I break out the Lunchable, shit’s about to get real..”
– Scott Holiday

Was there a band or artist that influenced you as a player or to get into music in the first place?
Scott: David Gilmour / Pink Floyd 

Can you share a new band or artist you have recently discovered?
Scott: Dina Ögon

I make playlists all the time. I come from the era of the “mix tape”…and then “burning cd’s”… And now, it’s “Playlist”.  This particular one was created while touring Europe. Its soul purpose was to use on the bus for something the crew calls “roadie friday”. I think it’s self explanatory.  After playing so much rock n roll, I find it necessary to dive into other genres on days off-or time home. At home, for me it’s a lot of jazz. For Roadie Friday, it’s heavy on the funk and soul. But plenty other stuff snuck into this playlist. These are all mostly artists that have profoundly influenced me as a player and what I consider to be greatness in the genres. Masters. This playlist will absolutely lift your spirits and keeps the party going. Solid hour and 40min of musical love. 

Orange Spotlight: Acid Throne



Who are Acid Throne ?

Band members:

We are Chris Kemp, Chris Farrar and Matt Stembrowicz

How did you meet?

Chris K actually joined a hardcore band that Chris F & Matt were already in to do vocals. That band ran its course and from it Acid Throne was born.

Why are you called Acid Throne? 

We basically wanted a band name that encapsulates the type of music we play but also something that wasn’t already taken by loads of others. So after approximately 10,000 whatsapp messages, we landed on Acid Throne

How/when did the band start?

We officially started late August of 2021 and started writing heavy riffs straight away!

Where are you based?

We’re from Norwich, UK

How would you describe the music you produce?

Heavy and miserable with groove!

What inspires Acid Throne?

What’s your favourite band?

There are so many from each of us. I suppose our top bands would be Monolord, Dark Throne, Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats and Thou.

Is there a reason music is important to you?

Music is a cathartic outlet for all of us. Something that keeps us sane, whether that’s spinning a record at home, getting together in our practice space or playing shows. Music has helped each of us in so many ways.

Do you take inspiration from things other than music?

Musically and lyrically, our Debut album ‘KINGDOM’S DEATH’ is inspired by the overwhelming feelings of anger and despair that result from living in the 21st century.

Is there something you’re trying to achieve or convey in your music?

We never set out to convey any sort of rhetoric or achieve anything but make heavy music that we relate to. It’s just definitely an added bonus if other people are into it!

What Orange gear is important to Acid Throne?

What Orange gear do you have?

Chris K has Dual Dark 50w as his main amp, a Supercrush 100h as his back up and an Orange crush series 4×12 and Matt has a Rockerverb 50w MKII and a Fur Coat distortion pedal.

Why do you like it?

Because it’s generally awesome, there’s no other tone like it!

How do you use it?

Chris uses his Dual Dark as his main source of distortion. His main guitar sound is just channel A dimed, with the bass rolled back a touch. And he uses channel B as his ‘clean tone’! Matt runs his Rockerverb on the clean channel as the clean headroom of the amp is perfect for using pedals with, mainly his Orange Fur Coat. Matt went for the MKII as it has the mid controls on it.

What was your first orange amp and when did you start using it?

Chris’s first tube amp, in an old band of his, was the Tiny Terror. Since then, it’s been a search for tone! We started using the Supercrush heads in Acid Throne as the clean headroom is an amazing pedal platform. But hard to come by tube amps are what we desire, so when Chris found the Dual Dark, there was no looking back!

Future Orange amps?

Is there Orange gear that you know you want in the future?

Are we allowed to say full backline?? four 4×12’s and an 8×10 please!

Is there existing Orange gear that you want to try?

Definitely an 8×10 for Matt’s bass sound!

Are you saving up for a specific Orange product

Next on the list is definitely a PPC4x12 – in black.

What does Orange mean to you?

When did you first see or hear Orange amps?

First time actually realising a band was using an Orange amp might have been TSOL back in the late 90s/early 00’s! But looking back now on the bands we all heard growing up, SO many used Orange (we’re big fans of ‘The Mac’)!

When you see Orange on a stage how do you feel?

I love seeing other bands using similar gear! It makes you curious as to how the get THEIR sound from the gear we all share.

Do you associate the brand with anything?

Loud, heavy music. And heritage!

Is there a reason that made you want to play Orange in particular?

Sleep & Boris. Is that a good enough reason?

Are there other bands you saw playing Orange that inspired you to try Orange gear?

Along with the above, there are so many bands that use Orange and bands that inspire us. Be that Monolord or our friends Old Horn Tooth & Red Eyed Cult!

Is there something positive you associate Orange with?

Actual talent. The Orange roster is stacked with killer killer artists.

What do you like most about Orange as a brand?

It’s aesthetically pleasing, it sounds great and it should never change.

What’s the most memorable Acid Throne moment?

So far, our band highlight is probably that time (August 2022) we played the Jaeger Stage at Bloodstock Festival. Which was our ninth show, ever! We owe Simon Hall and the Bloodstock crew a lot for giving us that opportunity and platform.

What’s on the horizon for Acid Throne?

Are you touring now?

We have just had a 9 day run with the Cancer Bats alter ego BAT SABBATH, a handful of shows coming up and we’re planning a small run in May too!

When’s your next gig?

That’d be February 3rd at Helgi’s Bar in Hackney, then we have March 18th in Norwich with Conan then DESERTFEST!

Where do you want to be in the future?

We just wanna play shows, record album 2 and have fun… all with the help of Orange amps!

Are there projects the band is working on now or want to do in the future?

At the moment, we’re just focusing on spreading the word of Acid Throne, and trying to play as many shows as we can and get ‘KINGDOM’S DEATH’ into as many ears as possible! Oh and writing album number 2!

Gear Currently Used


Listen

BRENT COBB
ORANGE JAMS WITH JAM IN THE VAN

Orange Jams is a series of live sessions hosted by Orange & Jam in the Van which features Orange ambassadors from across the globe. This session features Orange Brent Cobb & band live from Jam in the Van’s LA headquarters.

Thank you for tuning into our Brent Cobb Orange Jams session, we hope you loved it just as much as we do. Check out the rest of our Orange Jams sessions here, and visit Jam in the Van’s website and socials for more music and comedy.

We’re regularly asked about our endorsements and what we look for in qualifying artists. Although there’s no right answer to this question, we’re going to run through a few key points that are taken into account when looking at applications, as this can be a confusing concept. In a perfect world, being an awesome guitarist/bassist would be enough, but it’s unfortunately more complicated than that when you take the business perspective into consideration. So, before you spend hours crafting your ambassador application, please give the following a read for some Orange A&R inside info:

  1. Are you an established band or artist?
    As much as we’d love to support aspiring musicians on their road to stardom, that is unfortunately not something we can do via endorsements. While we don’t expect you to have a long year career behind you, we need to see evidence that you/your band are serious about what you do and have built something that exists outside your rehearsal space. Ambitions are great, but we can’t consider a band based on their ambitions and plans if there’s little happening in the present.
  1. Have you released any music?
    You have to have released some actual music. If your reaction to that is “hell yeah I just released my debut single last month” or “not a problem I released an entire album in 2013”, the chances are that that’s not enough. We need to see that you’re actively working, writing and creating, and one song or an old album followed by silence isn’t going to cut it.
  1. Are you touring and playing shows?
    Playing to a full house at your local pub on the third Friday of every month is great, but have you ever tried non-local shows, touring overseas and expanding your audience beyond your family and friends? No? Then we recommend you do that for a bit and re-visit this idea at a later date.
  1. Are you signed, working with a manager, PR rep or agent?
    We have so much respect for DIY artists, so kudos to all bands and artists doing everything themselves—and don’t let this one put you off. It’s not a must, but evidence that a label has shown interest and is willing to spend time (and maybe even money) on you, or that you’ve got someone onboard to help out with the admin side of things might also be an indication that this is something you’re serious about taking to the next level, and not just a hobby.
  1. Are you promoting yourself?
    Being an artist in the digital age is hard: you’re expected to master your instrument, kill it at marketing, social media, photography, copy-writing and content creation, and create something of an image or social approach. We totally understand that this isn’t for everyone. Hell, social media can be the devil at times, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s something we unfortunately have to take into account as it plays a vital role in the modern industry. If you’re not a touring/gigging artist but have a huge social media following or online presence, we still might be able to work together, as at the end of the day, our goal is to have our amps be played in front of as many people as possible. That might be on a festival stage, but it could also be in a viral TikTok video. The industry is changing, along with its requirements.
  1. Can you actually play?
    This one brings us back to point 1—as much as we’d love to offer our support to every Orange-playing artist out there (and would actively encourage aspiring ones to pick up an instrument via Orange Learn), being able to actually play is a must. If you’ve just picked up the bass or guitar and have been playing for a couple of weeks, you’re still a while away from industry endorsement. But, if you keep at it, you might be the pride and joy of our roster in the future. We’d be so lucky! That being said, although technical abilities and virtuoso vibes are definitely our cup of tea, they’re not a necessity. If you can’t play along to Rush’s La Villa Strangiato, we won’t hold that against you; different types of music require different abilities, and you need to play well enough to master your music.
  1. Are you here with a genuine wish to work together and a hope to be a part of our global artist roster, or just hoping for freebies or discounted gear?
    Artist pricing is one of the awesome perks of being an Orange ambassador, even more so in this current financial climate with the ever-increasing cost of living. But if the main selling point in your application is wanting a free Rockerverb, which you “promise to promote the hell out of” to your social following of 112 people, that’s not gonna work—we are looking for artists with whom to build mutually beneficial relationships. So, instead of focusing on all the amps you want to add to your collection and trying to convince us these should be yours for free, focus on working hard, and getting yourself or your band to a place where we’d be proud and honoured to have you representing Orange.

Now that we’ve laid this all out here, you should hopefully have a clearer image of what we’re after, and if you or your band might qualify. If you think you do, then awesome. To send in your application, please visit our ambassador page here.

You might feel tempted to resubmit your application three times a week for the foreseeable future and follow up by phone to make sure we’ve seen it, and as much as we love the excitement, we can assure you that’s not necessary. Ambassador applications are reviewed regularly, and successful applicants are contacted. Due to a high number of applications, we are unfortunately unable to respond to them all, but we sincerely appreciate each and every one, and want to thank you for your support.