Elizabeth Caroline Orton (born 14 December 1970) is an English musician known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk and electronica.

Her 2006 album, Comfort of Strangers, was followed by a break during which Orton gave birth to her daughter and collaborated with the British guitarist Bert Jansch.

Orton's music has been featured in the movies How to Deal and Vanilla Sky, and also in the TV series Felicity, Charmed, Dawson's Creek, Roswell, Grey's Anatomy and Manifest, providing her with exposure to a more mainstream American audience.

[5] Her mother died from cancer in 1989, when Orton was aged 19,[6] which led to her travelling to Thailand for a short period, living with Buddhist nuns.

It was roughly at this time that she met Ed Simons and Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers and began the first in a series of collaborations, providing vocals for the track "Alive Alone" on Exit Planet Dust (1995).

In 2018 she and The Chemical Brothers released a long-lost cover of Tim Buckley's "I Never Asked to Be Your Mountain", a collaborative effort dating back from the late '90s, when the three were sharing space in London’s Orinoco studios.

[13] In July 2002, Orton released the album Daybreaker, which again blended the early electronica style, with uptempo pop songs and acoustic ballads.

It featured guest appearances from musicians such as the Chemical Brothers, Emmylou Harris, whom she met at Lilith Fair, Ryan Adams and Four Tet.

It represented Orton's extensive and diverse musical career through previously unreleased songs, B-sides, and rarities (such as "Where Do You Go" from Superpinkymandy), as well as collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers.

The album was largely recorded live, with a band consisting of Brian Blade on drums, Sebastian Sternberg on bass and Rob Burger on keyboards.

Additional guitar work came from Marc Ribot and Ted Barnes, with backing vocals by Laura Veirs and Sam Amidon.

[21] Paste magazine said, "Blessed with great songs, wonderful arrangements and vocal performances that seriously raise the bar in our expectations of what she's capable of, it is a record that shows real artistic growth in every area and is destined to become a classic that rivals Trailer Park and Central Reservation",[22] while Pitchfork called it "10 songs of sweet resilience delivered by a voice of seemingly effortless expression.

"[24] The album release was followed by extensive touring in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, solo and with her band, and included an appearance as musical guest on The Late Show with David Letterman.

Orton's sixth studio album, Kidsticks, was released on 27 May 2016 and marked a distinct turn towards a purely electronic sound, with her playing keyboards and synthesizers instead of acoustic guitar.

The album was produced by Orton herself alongside Andrew Hung from the band Fuck Buttons, who provided drum and synth programming.

The album included contributions from Chris Taylor of Grizzly Bear, George Lewis Jr from Twin Shadow and composer Dustin O’Halloran.

"[25] Orton was criticised over her music video for the song "1973" in which she is shown spray painting a federally protected Joshua tree and other desert plant life.

"[28] Orton's consistent band from 1999's Central Reservation until around 2006 was guitarist Ted Barnes, keyboardist Sean Read, ex-Sandals drummer Will Blanchard and former Red Snapper member Ali Friend on bass.