Local musician Cyrus Robertson Orkish – known professionally as Cyrus R.O. – is a 21-year-old Dal student whose recently embarked on a solo musical venture.
Born and raised in Cape Breton, R.O. moved to Halifax in 2015 to study physics at Dalhousie. He grew up writing songs and playing music; he’s made a name for himself in the local music scene.
R.O. joined local hard rock heavyweights Dali Van Gogh in the summer of 2016, his second year of university, after seeing an ad on Facebook a member of the band had put out in search of a bass player. He’s been playing with the band ever since.
This summer Dali Van Gogh opened for Ontarian rock band The Glorious Sons at the Garrison Backlot Bash in Halifax. Every year the Garrison Brewery brings in a major touring act for the bash, and this year they held a contest to choose one of the supporting acts. Dali Van Gogh won.
“It was awesome. The actual show was definitely one of the most fun performing experiences I’ve ever had” said Cyrus. “Great crowd, great energy, and it’s just cool to play on such a big stage with such a nice setup.”
R.O. recently released his latest single, entitled Black Sheep, a pop-rock piece which is a stylistic jump from the soft rock sound he is known for with Dali Van Gogh. Recorded this summer with multi-award winning producer Jamie Foulds at Soundpark Studios, this is his second solo release of his musical career and his first release under the name Cyrus R.O. His first single, Pulp, can be found on Spotify under the name Cyrus Robertson Orkish.
Although he has been writing his own songs for a long time, it was only recently that, after his plan of employment fell through, he saw an opportunity to forge a career out of his music. While he balances his musical ambitions with his studies, he is making plans for future releases.
This past August was the Cyrus R.O. Group’s first time performing as a unit since their formation this summer, and features bassist Carolyn Curry: a University of North Texas graduate in the jazz performance program, Luke Knopp on drums: a graduate of St. FX’s jazz performance program, and guitarist Stephen Fewer: a graduate-turned-instructor at Dalhousie University’s guitar program.
“It’s totally wonderful and very humbling to be supported by such a talented group of musicians” R.O. remarked. He and his new band celebrated the release of Black Sheep last month at Gus’ Pub in Halifax.
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