Round Hill Music has entered into a worldwide administration agreement with accomplished vocalist/writer/multi-instrumentalist Odessa. With a CV that includes stints with diverse outfits such as Old Crow Medicine Show, The Lone Bellow and Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Odessa has crafted a sound that isn’t easily classified, born of folk and pop, blues and psychedelia. Produced by Jacquire King (Of Monsters and Men, Norah Jones, Dawes), songs like “Hummed Low” and “I Will Be There”—featured in Subaru’s 2014 “Flat Tire” ad campaign, as well as on Grey’s Anatomy, Mistresses, Heart of Dixie and the feature film If I Stay, among others—are melancholic, evocative and original, fueled by Odessa’s instrumental prowess, passionate vocals and perspective.
Odessa learned her way around the studio and the stage, schooling herself in the canons of classic rock and Americana. She made early attempts at songwriting, composing her first song on her dad’s acoustic—an instrument she plays to this very day. She spent time in Denver and Europe before settling in Nashville where she rewired her skill set to include fiddle and lead vocals. Odessa was soon fronting a hard touring Nashville bluegrass group, spending time on the road in the U.S. and Europe. From there she traveled north and spent still another year touring and recording with a popular Alaskan folk group.
After her father passed away in 2007, Odessa focused her songs and headed to Asheville, NC where she spent the next six months writing and recording, experimenting with layered vocals, unusual guitar tunings and other outré ideas outside her comfort zone. “I was writing twenty-four hours a day,” she says. Despite this non-stop awakening, Odessa accepted an offer to join another band, this time as both lead singer and contributing songwriter. Stepping up to the front of the stage proved exciting and energizing, but ultimately added fuel to her goals. Odessa eventually landed back in Nashville where she finally tracked her first real deal studio demos.
Odessa's talents had gained widespread attention from several Music City-based acts, including Old Crow Medicine Show, whom she accompanied on 2011’s Railroad Revival Tour with Mumford and Sons and Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros (captured for posterity on the GRAMMY® Award-winning documentary, Big Easy Express). Upon tour’s end, Odessa was playing violin and vocalizing with Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Old Crow Medicine Show’s Gil Landry, and crisscrossing the country in a ’69 Plymouth Valiant with Nashville singer/songwriter Rayland Baxter as both his fiddle player and solo support act.
Determined to concentrate on her own music, Odessa began teaming up with producer Jacquire King for sessions at engineer Brad Bivens’ fully equipped home studio in East Nashville. Bivens guided Odessa through the complexities of recording while also engaging her ambitious creativity.
Odessa endured a near fatal bicycle accident and took time to heal from her injuries. She was improved when the call came to join Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros as full-time violinist and backing vocalist. The next two years were spent touring the world as a Magnetic Zero, as well as contributing strings to Edward Sharpe leader Alex Ebert’s Golden Globe Award-winning score to director J.C. Chandor’s acclaimed 2013 film All Is Lost.
Now based in Los Angeles, Odessa is working on her own songs and a diverse full-length follow-up.
For more information, visit roundhillmusic.com.
