Orange Sky on top of world indie music charts

Orange Sky is hungry. Hungry Like the Wolf, that is. The Trinidad and Tobago rock band’s ska-soaked cover of Duran Duran’s breakout 80s hit has been climbing independent music charts since its October release. It is now number two on the Digital Radio Tracker Official World Indie Music Charts Top 100.

Founding member, guitarist and vocalist Nigel Rojas was full of enthusiasm over the news, a media release said.

Digital Radio Tracker takes its play stats from over 5,000 US and international radio stations, including FM and internet stations, noncommercial and commercial broadcasters.

The Orange Sky cover of Hungry Like the Wolf has also been a fixture on the European Indie Music Chart since its release.

Orange Sky is no stranger to hits. Over its 28-year history Orange Sky has had nearly 30 radio hits and has toured extensively. This year saw the band doing 12 international shows and thrilling Guyanese fans with three performances. With Rojas’ brother, longtime collaborator and band co-founder Nicholas on bass and backing vocals, Dax Cartar on lead guitar, and Dion Camacho on drums, the band has continued to make music in the midst of challenges and even released new music during the covid19 lockdowns, the release said.

The Hungry Like the Wolf cover takes the original synth-pop ballad up by some BPMs and translates it into a throbbing, muscular ska-punk joint. Camacho’s driving drums and Cartar’s sharp licks on lead guitar combine with the brothers’ growled harmonies and Nigel’s ad-lib chanting on the track to make this remake fresh, the release said.

“We grew up with this song,” Nigel said in the release. “That reference might date us because the Duran Duran original came out in 1982. But we think it’s our experience and knowing the song so intimately that gave us the authority to reinterpret it in a new Caribbean voice. You know Orange Sky can’t do ordinary’, and believe me this cover is not ordinary at all. It’s a banger and so far the fans love it.

“We are receiving heavy rotation from radio stations on the West Coast of the US, in California, Oregon and Seattle, and other stations across the US, UK and Europe. TT and regional broadcasters have also picked up the release and are giving it tremendous airplay.

“These charts are based on the amount of plays on world radio and playlists –satellite, online and syndicated– from established and emerging artists, unlike the Billboard charts which are based on sales of music. But make no mistake, ‘plays’ eventually turn into ‘sales.”

The band plans to parlay the song’s initial impact into even more plays.

“We are in the process of making a super video for the single, Hungry Like the Wolf, to fulfill the demand of the new interest and listenership through international radio.” Orange Sky won’t stop there.

“We have plans for a four-country regional independent tour in March 2024 as well as appearances booked in festivals in Europe and the US West Coast and Hawaii.”

The song was produced by Wayne DeSilva and recorded and mixed at The Purple Room at Audio Concepts, St James, under executive producer Andrew Bernard (of Touchdown fame).

Listen to Orange Sky’s Hungry Like a Wolf on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and YouTube.