Orenda was born and raised in Birmingham, AL, and Ask The Night is very much a reflection of and homage to her Southern roots - the cultural and familial upbringing that helped to shape her aesthetic. The album, also inspired by traditional American folk music and Southern Gothic literature, is a mix of both her personal experiences and stories told in character.

The songs vary in tone and style, while the instrumentation includes acoustic and slide guitar, mandolin, banjo, accordion, violin, upright bass, pump organ...even saw. From the plaintive, melancholy opener "Why Is The Night Sad" to the evocative "That Certain-Something Spring" to the sweetly doleful closer "The Moon Knows", Ask The Night is a captivating collection of folk songs, woven and intertwined by Orenda's distinctive, heartrending vocals.

Ask The Night was primarily recorded live to 8-track by Stephen Bartolomei (Mal Madrigal) in Orenda's former Omaha, NE, basement (she is now based in Los Angeles, CA), as well as by Andy LeMaster (Now It's Overhead; production on Bright Eyes, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band, Azure Ray) in his Athens, GA, living room.

Track listing for Ask The Night:

1. Why Is The Night Sad
2. High Ground
3. Sister
4. That Certain-Something Spring
5. The Garden
6. Wind
7. Alabama
8. The Mural
9. Half-Light
10. The Moon Knows