Astonishingly, it's been seven years since electronic duo Odesza graced our cover. Here, we look back on the highlights.
MC: How do you think the electronic music scene has changed in general over [the last] six years?
Clayton Knight: It’s always evolving, the electronic scene. We both talked about this recently, where it’s kind of hit a point of saturation, especially in the mainstream world. Everyone’s waiting for the next thing, and really standing by and hopefully the sound evolves to something new and exciting, and I think it will, but we’re all just standing by to see what that is. We’re actually really keen to get writing again, start experimenting with new stuff, and push our stuff as far as we can. It’s an interesting time, and the future is kinda uncertain, but the next couple of years are going to be really exciting.
MC: You work with so many people, especially vocalists, on the new album. Which is your favorite collaboration?
Harrison Mills: We definitely really liked working with Leon Bridges. It felt almost serendipitous. It was just really quick, easy and fun. He’s such a talented guy, we did everything in six hours after meeting for the first time. It all came together really quickly, and it just felt natural. It felt like the song wrote itself. We didn’t have to think too hard about stuff. Everything felt right, and that doesn’t happen that often.
MC: For the gear-heads, was there any new equipment used [on their latest album]?
Knight: Not so much new equipment as newer techniques—trying to push the boundaries there. Using new plug-ins and whatnot. Just re-recording stuff and layering it, layering it––that was kind of our M.O. We tried to push that envelope a bit more, tried to build these textures and landscapes, soundscapes, that feel really warm and crispy.
MC: In this world of streaming and downloading and instant gratification, is the concept of an album, 12 to 14 songs released at once, still important?
Mills: We really like albums. We grew up on them. I think what’s always helped us is that we release one single and then our entire album. I feel like we built a fanbase really around the fact that we build these cohesive journeys. So I feel like it’s kind of been what we’re known for, and we’ve been lucky. Hopefully, people have the patience to sit through an entire album with us. I believe it is the future, I think it allows people to understand a sound more thoroughly. It’s just more about the ADD culture, if it starts shifting more in that direction.
Find the full interview here.
