"The Mechanical Orange"- Colonial Radio, off of The Mechanical Orange, 2010
L. Betancourt-guitars, vox
C. Vidiksis- pianos, vox

The Mechanical Orange

Struck Out

Bio:
I moved to New York in 1997 and have been recording and performing original music ever since.

My compositions incorporate a variety of guitars (12-string, electric, baritone, bass), synths, keys, beats, and vocal styles to create a sort of psychedelic rock/pop/folk/ hybrid. Of course, genre means less and less these days as technology erodes those types of boundaries. The lyrics tend to be impressionistic rather than systematic…words are my favorite part of the process. 

In 2004, I decided to start recording and performing under the name Colonial Radio. The first LP, When Nothing is Moving, was recorded between the summer of 2003 and the winter of 2007 on various home-recording machines. Some of it was recorded in my native Vermont while living in a camper by Lake Champlain. Other parts of it were laid to tape in Brooklyn, where I have spent the better part of the last 11 years. When Nothing is Moving is the first LP I produced on my own and it thus, has a very warm, disjointed, and lo-fi feel. CJ Fernandez appears on the opening track on slide guitar. Rajeev Maddela plays tabla on the title track. The album is dedicated to Kimberly Bourque, my dear friend who passed away in 2004. Her photographs grace the cover.

The second Colonial Radio LP, From the Tops of Trees was a much faster recording process with most of the songs penned, recorded, and produced in my Brooklyn apartment during the winter/spring of 2008.

In 2009, I got married to my lovely wife Michelle, left NYC, and traveled to Peru. Upon returning to Red Hook in early 2010, my friends/long-time musical collaborators Chris Vidiksis, Rajeev Maddela and I began recording a collection of 13 tracks under the name Colonial Radio that would become The Mechanical Orange. Chris co-wrote many of the songs as well as played bass, keyboards, and vocals. Raj laid down the drums, with Ronnie Fell contributing baritone guitar on “Get On!” Four of the tracks were recorded early in the summer of 2009 by our mutual friend Todd Michaelsen. We have since continued writing/performing under the name Colonial Radio. 

I recently released my 3rd solo album under my name and is titled, "if you need an ocean." It is a collection of music that I began recording in Vermont during the summer of 2009 and completed this spring. It is a much more diverse collection of songs that provides a more accurate assessment of the various styles of music I enjoy creating.

Even more recently, I released a 5-song EP entitled, "Frontiers."

In addition to Colonial Radio and my solo project, I play with Avo. My buddy Ronnie Fell and I started Avo in early 2010 after having collaborated previously as Package Thief. Avo is a sort of pop/soul/funk beast. Ronnie plays bass, keys, sings, and writes. I play guitar, keys, sing, and write. Rajeev Maddela plays drums. Ronnie and I released the LP, New Concepts in Food, in 2010 and we recently released our eponymous 8-song debut EP with Raj. 

I also play guitar in the Jalopy Theatre (Red Hook, BK) house band, The Whiskey Spitters, alongside Geoff Wiley, Ernie Vega, Chloe Swantner, and Jackson Lynch. We are currently recording our first album.

Contact:
luis.betancourt.music@gmail.com


The Mechanical Orange

Luis Betancourt

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