Since forming in 2012, Seattle two-piece Odesza have gone from viral onliners to bona fide mainstage headliners.
Last in Australia for October’s Listen Out Festival, Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight make their triumphant return next month for a string of headline shows in between regional appearances as part of Groovin’ The Moo.
It’s not bad for a group whose last album was released in 2014, but the longevity of sophomore album 'In Return' demonstrates just what a connection Odesza’s brand of deep, dreamy, atmospheric electronica has made with fans.
Tracks like the hauntingly beautiful 'It’s Only' featuring Zyra, the emotive 'All We Need' featuring Shy Girls, or last year’s stunning new single 'Light' featuring Little Dragon have showcased a knack for tight songwriting, a love of melody underpinned by thundering percussion and deep bass, and a talent for matching their productions with eclectic guest vocalists.
Speaking from Brazil, where Odesza has just wrapped up a South American tour, Harrison Mills says 'In Return' saw the duo “dive into the singer-songwriter stuff because we really never had before”, but that future productions wouldn’t necessarily follow suit. “We’ve grown to really love adding vocals; I think they add another layer to the song but I don’t always think they need to be there,” he explains.
“Clay and I definitely come from a love of instrumental music and I think that’s where we really started. On 'In Return', probably our favourite thing was creating a balance between those two and we’d love to replicate that on the next album.”
The mere mention of album number three will have fans salivating, even if it currently consists of just a “tonne of demos”. That said, Harrison is determined for Odesza to avoid repetition, attributing he and Clay’s success to “a lot of trial and error” in the studio, an approach that has seen the duo’s output transcend the simplistic EDM label so divisive in the US. “Electronic music used to be producing with a laptop and using synths, but now it’s so much more,” he says.
“Everything is blending into one; it’s becoming a melting pot of so many genres [and] that’s what Clay and I are about when we’re producing: trying to make things that maybe shouldn’t work come together and sound like they fit. If we weren’t pushing ourselves to go into uncomfortable places, we wouldn’t find the things that do work.”
So, while fresh material this Australian tour seems unlikely, what local fans will experience is an all-new Odesza live show. “We’ve recreated 70 per cent of the music we play live; a new version of that song made for the live show,” Harrison reveals.
“This is the first time that we’ll have the whole, live band with us. It’s really special for us because we’ve worked really hard to make these songs work with the live performers and create space within the tracks themselves for those people. It really changes the dynamics of the show.”
Harrison and Clay’s burgeoning Foreign Family Collective label, meanwhile, continues to bolster its roster, recently signing local masters Rüfüs for a dark house remix of 'It’s Only'.
Coupled with similar reciprocal remix work for Future Classic artist Hayden James, the duo’s excitement of returning to Australia is two-fold. “Australia feels very much like a second home because not only do we really love the music scene but we’re really close friends with people down there,” he says.
“[Fellow Groovin’ The Mood artist] Golden Features, Hayden James and Rüfüs are some of our closest friends. It will be really nice to go and hang out with those guys.”
GTM Tour Diary
Sat 23 Apr - Groovin the Moo @ Maitland Showground (NSW)Sun 24 Apr - Groovin the Moo @ University of Canberra (ACT)
Mon 25 Apr - Groovin the Moo @ Oakbank Racecourse (SA)
Sat 30 Apr - Groovin the Moo @ Bendigo’s Prince Of Wales Showground (VIC)
Sun 1 May - Groovin the Moo @ Murray Sports Complex – Townsville Cricket Grounds (QLD)
Sat 7 May - Groovin the Moo @ Hay Park (WA)
Odesza Tour Dates
Wed 20 Apr - Metro Theatre (Sydney)Thu 21 Apr - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Fri 22 Apr - Metro Theatre (Sydney)
Fri 29 Apr - Forum Theatre (Melbourne)
Wed 4 May - The Tivoli (Brisbane)
Fri 6 May - Metro City (Perth)
