Sep 3, 2026 · 43 min · 11 segments
Ora Cogan is a Nanaimo based indie singer-songwriter known for her uniquely psychedelic and cinematic folk rock. Over her 10+ year career, she has collaborated with several international artists and…
Ora CoganGuest
James OlsonHost
And that actually ties into something I picked up on listening through to your catalog is that, you know, I hear like an otherworldly, almost mystical quality to your music.
Yeah, just curious like how the supernatural, broadly speaking, plays into your work.
Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, if anything, like, you know, I wouldn't tell anybody how to experience the music or assume, you know, that they would get anything out of it or how they should get something out of it.
I really... want um good things for people you know like i i know that we live in a very troubled world and you know the skies are orange with forest fire smoke and we're witnessing um you know and complicit in really you know like uh say this with a heavy heart as i'm jewish and you know and and see it you know as here in canada is living in a another settler colonial state but like just witnessing a genocide happening in her lifetime you know like the the times that we're living in right now are bleak and um and uh heartbreaking and you know and it's hard to feel it's hard not to just like want to dissociate, you know, or, you know, it's hard to want to stay in your skin without jumping out of it when you're paying attention to the atrocities that are happening and the pain in the world.
So when I sit down to write music, I do aim to do something that's going to lend to my sanity and stability and peace and groundedness as a human so that I can move forward and be a part of something good.
you know, doing something that's cathartic, that, you know, whether it's something about, you know, those heartbreaks, or something silly and lighthearted, or whatever it is, that it's good energy for people in troubling times.
And that's a meditation that I have when I'm sitting down to do what I do, you know, whether whatever emotion is, if it's, you know, angry or, um, lashing out about it or grieving or, um, you focusing on the more beautiful, um, elements of life, whatever it is, it's, it's that I want good things for everybody and I want justice and peace and I want to do some witchcraft to, um, create a force field or an energy that lends itself to to people that whose spirits are hurting right now and are wanting to move forward for that collective liberation and justice so whatever that's worth you know it's I don't I don't know if we'll solve the world's problems with psychedelic folk but You do what you can in every way, I suppose.
So, you know, like it's, you know, for me, I came back to music from more kind of serious pursuits just out of feeling very brokenhearted and needing to do something soulful.
And that actually ties into something I picked up on listening through to your catalog is that, you know, I hear like an otherworldly, almost mystical quality to your music.
Yeah, just curious like how the supernatural, broadly speaking, plays into your work.
Yeah, I mean, I think that, you know, if anything, like, you know, I wouldn't tell anybody how to experience the music or assume, you know, that they would get anything out of it or how they should get something out of it.
I really... want um good things for people you know like i i know that we live in a very troubled world and you know the skies are orange with forest fire smoke and we're witnessing um you know and complicit in really you know like uh say this with a heavy heart as i'm jewish and you know and and see it you know as here in canada is living in a another settler colonial state but like just witnessing a genocide happening in her lifetime you know like the the times that we're living in right now are bleak and um and uh heartbreaking and you know and it's hard to feel it's hard not to just like want to dissociate, you know, or, you know, it's hard to want to stay in your skin without jumping out of it when you're paying attention to the atrocities that are happening and the pain in the world.
So when I sit down to write music, I do aim to do something that's going to lend to my sanity and stability and peace and groundedness as a human so that I can move forward and be a part of something good.
you know, doing something that's cathartic, that, you know, whether it's something about, you know, those heartbreaks, or something silly and lighthearted, or whatever it is, that it's good energy for people in troubling times.
And that's a meditation that I have when I'm sitting down to do what I do, you know, whether whatever emotion is, if it's, you know, angry or, um, lashing out about it or grieving or, um, you focusing on the more beautiful, um, elements of life, whatever it is, it's, it's that I want good things for everybody and I want justice and peace and I want to do some witchcraft to, um, create a force field or an energy that lends itself to to people that whose spirits are hurting right now and are wanting to move forward for that collective liberation and justice so whatever that's worth you know it's I don't I don't know if we'll solve the world's problems with psychedelic folk but You do what you can in every way, I suppose.
So, you know, like it's, you know, for me, I came back to music from more kind of serious pursuits just out of feeling very brokenhearted and needing to do something soulful.
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