Ortolan

Distinguished from a Celtic ensemble sharing their name, Ortolan formed as a female indie pop quartet of three sisters and one sister-in-law. Their origins trace to 2007, when songwriter Stephanie Cottingham first performed at a church coffeehouse accompanied by an acquaintance. Positive audience feedback prompted Cottingham to schedule further appearances there, routinely joined by her older sisters Lara on drums and Brianna on bass. After witnessing one of these sets, Ken Fabianovicz arranged an introduction to local producer Daniel Smith, founder of the New Jersey label Sounds Familyre. Once demo material had been tracked in Smith’s studio, the lineup expanded with the addition of keyboardist and vocalist Jill Cottingham, and the group formally signed to the Sounds Familyre roster. Those recordings surfaced in 2009 as the Ortolan EP, followed early the next year by the full-length album Time on a String.