Walking into the green room, Harrison Mills plops onto the corner of a leather couch. Illuminated by the fluorescent glow of the mini fridge, he smiles bright and welcoming. Clay makes himself comfortable across from me and makes a joke about the insane downpour that Seattle has brought to the venue. ODESZA, who have just sold out the entire venue, look like two guys you would want to strike up a conversation with at a college party. Cheerful, laid-back, and oozing cool.
There’s nothing quite like the sounds of Odesza. It’s something so utterly captivating; organic, yet sensational. Every track creates dazzling dreamscapes that transport listeners to a lush and whimsical secret world, suspended someplace between past, present and future. Their style embodies piercing nostalgia, wistful romance, and all the truth of reality intertwining together in the faint breeze of their intoxicating harmonies. It’s satisfying that the producers came from our very own Seattle. Being born in the Evergreen State, their great humility creates a sense of familiarity with the duo.
When asked what they’ve been up to recently, laughter ensued. “Hangin’ out, chillin’, the usual.” Their official tour started this week and they are preparing for the adventure of a lifetime. ODESZA have officially kicked off their mid-west and east coast tour which means the two will be spreading their soul-infused style everywhere. The success of ODESZA is just at the point of boiling, and although they say they don’t realize it yet, the boys are becoming quite a big deal.
Both Harrison and Clay started off working as two entirely different entities. Knight as Catacombkid and Clay as BeachesBeaches. Both entirely different sounds, it was a mystery how the two came together to create ODESZA. They met through a mutual friend while attending Western Washington University in Bellingham. After sharing tracks with each other, they started experimenting with different sounds, and after some fine-tuning, ODESZA was born.
[quote style=”!” author=”ODESZA”]A lot of our musical influences come from hanging out in Bellingham. People listen to Radiohead, Animal Collective…I remember when we first heard Animal Collective, we were like, holy shit this is cool, and we kind of modeled ourselves after the uniqueness of that.”[/quote]
ODESZA gives a lot of credit to Seattle for influencing their music. The diversity in people and local artists have really made an impression on their unique style. From crazy parties in Bellingham to witnessing homeless fist-fights, the duo said they have been having a lot of fun during the growth of ODESZA. It’s a wonder how wildly fast and popular they have become in such a short time. They explain that, like any small business, investments and hard work must be a priority for success. With a laugh, Harrison says to not forget to enjoy what you’re doing.
“We’re going on lots of cool adventures, meeting lots of cool people, we’re having a great time.”
With a unique sound and style comes a unique name. Harrison and Clay both loved the name Odessa, but couldn’t use it as their own due to a metal band already snatching up the particular spelling. Again, showing their playful nature, the boys cracked up when asked how they came up with a solution. “Well, it’s a little embarrassing; we really liked the name so we just kind of stuck a silent Z in there to make it our own.”
It’s amazing how modest yet incredibly enticing the ODESZA team seems to be. They greeted fans, took photos, and appeared to be having a genuinely great time. The duo were all smiles when talking with members of the crowd, and admired the opening acts before them. There’s nothing more wonderful than musicians who truly pour soul into their creations, performances, and fan-base. The fact that these masters of music are grown in our backyard makes us more than proud to reside in the beautiful Northwest. ODESZA has plans of making more twinkling tracks that will reach us deep within and sweep us off our feet. They want to expand their experimental concepts to hit us in the most hard to reach spots. As for us? We can’t wait until we get to open our ears and our hearts fully to ODESZA.
Odesza will be returning to the great Northwest to open for Pretty Lights onNovember 21st in Spokane, WA, and the 22nd in Kent, WA.
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