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If you’ve been exploring London’s live music scene over the last year, chances are you’ve encountered The Orchestra (For Now). Their name might suggest a classical group, but they are anything but typical.
The band consists of seven members: Joseph Scarisbrick (vocals/piano), Lingling Bao-Smith (violin), Charlie Hancock (drums), Erin Snape (cello), Isobel Nisbett (bass), Neil Thomson (guitar), and Bill Bickerstaff (guitar). They have quickly become a standout act from the Windmill scene, especially after winning the Green Man Rising competition in 2024, solidifying their role as a vital part of London’s emerging musical talent.
Before their headlining return to The Windmill during Independent Venue Week, CLASH had a discussion with founding members Joe, Neil, and Charlie about their formation as The Orchestra (For Now), their new music, and the challenges of remaining a band despite their fears.
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How did you come together to form The Orchestra (For Now)?
Charlie: Mostly, Joe and Neil started playing together several years ago.
Joe: Three years ago. We formed a band right after finishing sixth form.
Neil: We played in a band during sixth form and then moved to London together. [Joe: With our guitars]. With guitars slung over our backs. [Joe: And dreams]. And dreams in our pockets, grins on our faces. We initially began an electronic music project, which we eventually discarded, and opted to create a proper live ensemble. From there, we expanded by reaching out to others.
Joe: I contacted people through my school’s intranet. I only had one class with Lingling, but she was quite reserved. A woman of few words. However, I found her amusing, so I sent her a formal email that night saying, “Hello, I’m starting a new band. Would you like to join?” Her reply was like: “Dear Joe, sounds great! Best wishes.” From that point, she joined, and it was fantastic. Charlie was a friend’s younger brother [Charlie: Yeah, and there was an open call for drummers].
So you began as a duo with an electronic project before deciding to grow. How was that transition?
Neil: We never really talked it out; it just felt necessary to progress. To be honest, when we brought Charlie in, we hadn’t even discussed the absence of electronics.
Joe: I figured we’d still have electronics.
Charlie: In the early rehearsals, we were still doing some quirky electronic things.
Joe: I used to make backing tracks, but once we saw how talented Charlie was, I realized it was silly to make him play along to a click track. That just didn’t make sense.
Neil: We were primarily focused on expanding. Having more people on stage seemed visually appealing, and we wanted to incorporate different instruments. The idea of having a live drummer and bassist excited us, but we thought we could maintain the electronic element too. Eventually, we realized that those elements weren’t blending well, but we were building something good with the new additions.
Joe: We unintentionally fell into our genre; we didn’t choose it. I had no desire for this genre, although I can’t even define it.
Neil: Yeah, it’s true. We’ve never explicitly stated we would create a specific type of music. We’re just trying to play to our strengths.
Joe: We’re working on new material that leans more into electronics, using various guitar pedals and such. [Charlie: Or laptop elements]. Lots of intriguing modulation happening.
It appears to be a promising return to your musical origins, a full-circle moment.
Joe: It’s probably a few years away since we need to tour this music. Although I tend to abandon projects.
What does that mean for the band’s future?
Joe: Well, we’ve had our ups and downs.
Charlie: Yeah, we have.
Joe: I briefly left the band over the summer because everything was going well, but I became overwhelmed and scared. That was the situation.
Charlie: To give you credit, you were managing most of the logistics, songwriting, and gig bookings. It felt like a classic case of burnout.
Joe: It was complete burnout. I needed a dramatic night. I had my dramatic night, and the next day, I was back on board. That was right before Green Man, which was our biggest show to date. I messaged Charlie at about 3 A.M.
Charlie: I was awake, and you sent this long message saying, “I can’t keep doing this, seriously. I don’t know, no one’s stepping up, and I need them to.”
Joe: We do have management now, but we remain independent, meaning we still do a lot ourselves. I don’t want to lose that aspect. Of course, I don’t want it to
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If you've been exploring London's live music scene over the past year, it's likely that you've encountered the name The Orchestra (For Now).