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On the wall in Brandon Theis’ office/rehearsal space/recording studio/spare bedroom, near a framed watercolor of a saxophonist and a statue of the water spirit Yemọja, hangs a white plaque with navy matting. The Guinness World Records emblem dominates its upper half, followed by handsome, sans serif text declaring, “Most Digital Singles Released By a Music Act in 24 Hours.”
The impressive title is just the most recent feather in Theis’ signature black felt fedora, but it’s the one he’s proudest of. Known as the Orchestrator, the Lakewood resident’s diverse musical repertoire includes saxophone, guitar, keyboard, and vocals (rap primarily) and spans a wide range of genres, from jazz, soul, and Brazilian bossa nova to clubby genres like EDM, trip-hop, and lo-fi. Even Rolling Stone magazine, which called him a musician to watch last October, seems to struggle to pin down his sound. “There’s value in my music because there’s independence behind it,” says the musician, who will turn 30 this year. “I’m transitioning into things, figuring out who I want to be as an artist.”
Arguably, as a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Brazil, Theis has been indecisive since birth. When his family settled in Baltimore (Theis was six), hallmarks of Brazilian culture like futbol and bossa nova came along too. Soccer stuck, at least for a while, though by age 12, he decided competitive sports didn’t fit his vibe. Skateboarding took center stage, and the hours (and hours) he spent kick-flipping and nose-grinding earned him a brand ambassadorship and free boards. At 15, his attention shifted yet again, much to his mom’s relief. “I was getting hurt and my mom was taking out insurance premiums on me,” Theis laughs. “When I started playing guitar, she said it was a dream because I wasn’t getting hurt and I wasn’t jumping around, and I was home.”
His mom’s dream morphed into his own. Theis learned the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” using YouTube, played in a high school band, and in 2015, keen to leave Baltimore behind after getting robbed a second time, moved to Denver to play music with a friend. The duo didn’t work out, but when his pal gave up the horn in 2017, Theis picked it up.
Leaning largely on fortitude—and YouTube again—rather than lessons, Theis practiced his Jean Paul sax at home when not working his two retail jobs. Only one of his neighbors minded—though she minded a lot. “She would call the police on me all the time,” Theis remembers. “The sheriff would come, and I’d say, ‘Listen, it’s 4 p.m. If I was a child in fourth grade, what would I do?’ I wasn’t bumping bass music. I was just playing sax.”
By teaching himself, Theis could control the whole process. In addition to playing instruments and learning looping technology, which allows the music to repeat in his headphones, he mixed and mastered an ever-expanding repertoire of instrumentals (Theis calls it “trap house jazz”) and house music.
He also began booking his own solo shows using the stage name the “Orcastrator,” an ode to an animal to which he feels a profound connection. Unfortunately, the purposeful misspelling made it difficult for listeners to find his music on digital platforms. Theis also worried that people might think he was trying to profit off orcas (he’s not, as evidenced by money he’s donated to the Orca Conservancy). What finally drove the sea change, however, was talking to virtual assistant Alexa. “She was like, ‘Playing the Orchestrator by the Or-CAStrator.’ I was like, ‘Oh no,’ ” he says, “so I had to change it.”
It was a wise move. Since tweaking the spelling in 2021 to the Orchestrator, his now much easier to find hit “Jazz Wobbles,” has been streamed more than 2 million times on Spotify. He’s also sold out major Denver venues like the Bluebird Theater, Marquis Theater, and Meow Wolf with shows featuring him moving from the DJ role to playing saxophone, piano, and guitar.
Read More: 16 of the Best Venues for Live Music in Denver
Despite the success, Theis is frank about his disillusionment with the music industry and the constant grind of making the right connections. He mentions it’s especially hard to be in the room where the deal happens as someone celebrating five years alcohol-free this January. “It’s a constant battle of trying to be a musician and trying to keep up with this image of the community,” he says. “The community is, I think, self-destructing.”
That frustration with the music industry led him to start researching Guinness World Records last spring. “I wanted to do something that showed that you can achieve things without anyone’s help,” he says. “For me, there’s more value in being home, in being a practice-obsessive person at my house, putting out music than catering to people to be a part of the party.”
Many world records, including Kenny G’s ability to hold a note for nearly 46 minutes, were way out of Theis’ reach, he says. The achievement for most digital singles released in a 24-hour period, which at the time was 160, felt attainable—especially since Theis already had more than 100 what he calls “drafts” nearly ready for release. By May 2024, he’d finished the considerable amount of upfront paperwork necessary to simply attempt a Guinness World Record and was ready to begin digging into his archives. Landing on a title for his old songs was almost as difficult as writing new ones. “I ran out of names!” he says, pointing to songs called “From 8 Years Ago When I First Started” and “Back in the Basement When Things Were Easier” as proof.
On Halloween, a day meaningful to Theis and his spirit guide Yemọja, the musician unleashed 200 songs on Spotify to clinch the new world record. Some are brief instrumental beats—“Freshies,” for example, is a two-minute, sax- and piano-forward tribute to Colorado—while others like “IDGAFNK (I Don’t Give a Funk)” highlight Thies’ proficiency with rap and hip-hop. The sheer number of tracks is impressive, but perhaps more so is the range of genres Theis spans and the fact that he performed and produced so many of the songs (upwards of 90 percent), entirely on his own. “I wanted people to see I’m that person who can just do it,” Theis says. “I make my opportunities.”
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And he doesn’t plan to stop. Next up: finish his class about licensing placements and work to get his beats in the background of Netflix shows and March Madness games. He also has his sights set on another world record or two (Theis is tight-lipped about them other than hinting they have to do with high elevation), and, despite his skepticism with the music industry, he’ll perform at Ophelia’s Electric Soapbox in Denver on April 4. Theis will lean more into what he calls “raxophone” (rap plus saxophone), though he’s also down for playful cartoon tunes, like his cover of the Hey Arnold! ending theme song, “Stompin’.”
He’ll also leave the door open for more self-made opportunities to come his way—just like he’s always done. “I don’t know where I want to land yet,” he says, but he knows it will have meaning. “The value in it, you put the value in it. You have to talk to yourself and remind yourself that you’re doing it for you.”
3 Songs to Listen To from the Orchestrator
Keen to get a taste of The Orchestrator? Theis recommends three of his tunes to try first.
“Jazz Wobbles”
“It’s very bass-oriented,” Theis says, adding he thinks that’s why the 90-second song has been his biggest hit. “It’s a very good mix of jazz and electronic music. It’s quick, it’s easy, and if you don’t like it, it will be over soon.”
“Yemọja”
“That’s my guardian saint,” he says. “It’s an ode to her, the spirit of the ocean.”
“Back to Japan”
“It’s that raxophonist genre,” he says. “It’s one of me rapping, and I think I’ve got a great flow.”
