ODESZA: Our Favorite Locals Building From The Ground Up (Exclusive Interview)

[divider]Getting Famous & Keeping Grounded[/divider]

But what has it really been like for ODESZA, having skyrocketed to fame from a small Northwest scene? They took the West Coast by storm when they landed the opening spot on the Future Analog tour with Pretty Lights last year. Now that they’re headlining on their own, other well-known artists are clamoring to win the opening spots for ODESZA’s upcoming tour. Having truly made an imprint on the ever-evolving dance scene, their genre-crossing sound continues to resonate with people across the country.

Harrison: I would say my favorite part about that is that when you play more obscure songs that aren’t known, people are more into them because they’re familiar with your sound. The crowd is more excited.

Clay: But we did our time early on. We’ve played some rough shows. [laughing] One time we played a 7PM slot in a hotel lobby.

So what keeps their sound fresh? Like many of the various genres of dance music, a lot of decadal influences and trends get to be played with and blended when it comes to producing music. In a lot of deep house songs we’ll hear soulful acapella samples from the 80’s. Bass and dubstep producers like Bassnectar and Datsik will often incorporate old-school hip hop.

ODESZA is all about expanding their experimentation, even if it’s picking apart a declining genre like trap (cringe) because Harrison digs those 808 kicks, and it works. The guys masterfully refine samples across multiple genres, articulating layers upon layers of sounds much like if Anthony Bourdain ever created a gourmet version of Epic Meal Time yet as intricate as a buddhist sand mandala. In the end, they never fail to achieve that dream-like orchestrated quality in their production work.

Before wrapping up our interview, we gave each other spirit animals; Harrison got a sloth-wolf creature and Clay a T-rex (but of course with regular sized arms). We also collaborated on how Tinder dating should be improved, with Harrison proposing an added hilarious feature of Tinder actually giving you your numbered hot rating so you don’t stray too far out of your league. But before we dive into things like app development, we’ll have caught the guys second performance tonight at the Showbox before they kick off their Winter tour!

Stream ODESZA’s newest album below, and grab it on iTunes here!