B-Side Guys

There’s a moment in every great recording when vulnerability transcends performance. For Ormella’s “Why Do I Need You, Man?” that moment came unexpectedly, as tears in the studio transformed into the kind of emotional authenticity that can’t be manufactured. The East London artist’s latest single captures lightning in a bottle – the precise instant when personal catharsis becomes universal truth.

Fresh from her debut EP ‘STICK THE KNIFE IN’, this track showcases Ormella’s evolution from her atmospheric pop roots with Takk to a more stripped-down, confessional style. Her classical training reveals itself not in technical showmanship but in the controlled delivery of uncontrolled emotion, walking the delicate line between polish and raw authenticity.

The production, crafted with collaborator Katie May, creates a healing space around the central wound of the lyrics. Written just two days before recording, the song maintains an immediacy that serves its subject matter – the persistent pull of an ex-partner long after the relationship’s end. The hope embedded in the arrangement provides a bittersweet counterpoint to the questioning at the song’s core.

Ormella’s vocal performance carries echoes of her cited influences – Florence Welch’s theatrical power, Fiona Apple’s emotional precision – while remaining distinctively her own. The classical foundation of her training provides the technical control necessary to let go completely, allowing moments of vulnerability to land with devastating accuracy.

Her approach to arrangement demonstrates remarkable restraint, stripping away the reverb-drenched guitars and classic synthesizers of her previous band to create something more immediate and intimate. This musical minimalism serves the narrative, forcing listeners to confront the raw emotion at the song’s center without the shelter of excessive production.

The visual component, filmed in Epping Forest with actor Tom Hunter and director Sean Rey, extends the song’s emotional landscape into physical space. While the video exists as its own artistic statement, the song stands firmly on its own, creating vivid imagery through sound alone. The forest setting of the video feels like a natural extension of the track’s organic, unvarnished quality.

What elevates “Why Do I Need You, Man?” above simple confession is its exploration of love’s paradoxes. When Ormella questions why two people who love each other can’t be together, she taps into a universal experience while maintaining the specificity of her personal story. This balance between individual experience and shared emotion gives the track its remarkable resonance.

The song’s connection to Ormella’s larger artistic journey, including her recovery from chronic pain and her evolving approach to happiness, adds layers of meaning without overwhelming its central narrative. Her observation that “being able to walk to Tesco pain free is the truest happiness” brings a grounded perspective to the emotional heights of the performance.

With “Why Do I Need You, Man?” Ormella has created something rare in contemporary folk music – a song that feels both timeless and urgently present. Through careful attention to emotional authenticity and musical restraint, she transforms personal catharsis into shared experience, continuing the evolution of her artistry while remaining true to the raw emotion at its core.