Somewhere in an old 1960’s apartment building in Toronto, Canada, a well worn pair of cherry red cowboy boots wait by the door. About a half foot from those boots sits a guitar case, brightly decorated with glittery stars and images of Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo. A little down the hallway and towards the bedroom, a Johnny Cash record is spinning away. On the bed is a journal with a bird on the front cover and the saying “Go Slow, Life in Progress”.
Sitting on the floor with a bottle of merlot and a red flower in her dark hair is where we find Lindi Ortega. It’s rather obvious from her appearance that Miss Ortega, with her ruby lips and Mexican/Irish background, is the kind of gal that would stand out in a crowd, but she prefers to be standing in front of one. She’s no stranger to the stage, having toured across Canada and the United States, Ortega has performed for all kinds of audiences. She opened for the UK band Keane in North America, as well as a successful Midwest run with movie star Kevin Costner and his band The Modern West.
Ortega released a four song EP in 2009 on Interscope/Cherrytree records called THE DRIFTER EP. It was met with critical acclaim. Toronto’s ‘Eye Weekly’ gave it a glowing four star review and called it “The perfect EP” and “A terrific teaser”. UR Chicago Magazine remarked that Lindi’s voice “undulates with absolute splendour”, and Feminist Review said of Ortega “If you heard her singing in a bar, you’d probably be forced to put down your beer.”But Lindi wouldn’t want you to put down your beer, she would encourage you to order another round while serenading you with her arresting vocals and unique brand of alt country, a genre she describes as “a roadside motel love affair between old school outlaws and country darlings”.
Lindi Ortega has just completed a new full length record produced by Ron Lopata and set for release on Last Gang Records in the winter of 2011. The record will be a collection of songs that aims to speak to the desperado in all of us.Be sure to keep an ear out for that sweet vibrato and an eye out for those little red boots because it won’t be long before Canada boasts of a brand new country darling.
