Odesza (; stylized as ODESZA) is an American
electronic music
Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroac ...
duo originating from
Bellingham, Washington
Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (locat ...
. It consists of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, known individually as Catacombkid and BeachesBeaches. They formed in 2012, shortly before Mills and Knight graduated from
Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
.
Their debut album, ''Summer's Gone'', was released later in 2012 to acclaim in the underground electronic music community. After their debut
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. (EP), ''My Friends Never Die'', in 2013, they released their second album, ''
In Return'', on September 9, 2014. It was the duo's debut release on
Ninja Tune
Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others.
Inspired by a visit ...
and its imprint, Counter Records. In 2016, "Say My Name" (
RAC mix) gained the duo their first Grammy nomination (
Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical
The Grammy Award for Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical is an honor presented to producers for quality remixed recordings at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Honors in sever ...
) at the
58th Annual Grammy Awards
The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 20 ...
. ''
A Moment Apart
''A Moment Apart'' is the third studio album by the American electronic music duo Odesza, released on 8 September 2017 through Counter, Ninja Tune and the duo's own label, Foreign Family Collective. It is the duo's first album in three years aft ...
'', their third studio album, was released on September 8, 2017.
It reached number three on the
''Billboard'' 200, while topping the Top Electronic/Dance Albums Chart. It was nominated for
Best Dance/Electronic Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...
, with "Line of Sight" also nominated for
Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...
, at the
60th Annual Grammy Awards
The 60th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on January 28, 2018. The CBS network broadcast the show live from Madison Square Garden in New York City. The show was moved to January to avoid coinciding with the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongc ...
in 2018. ODESZA released their fourth studio album,
The Last Goodbye, on July 22, 2022 on Ninja Tune. The album was nominated for
Best Dance/Electronic Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...
for the 65th Grammy Awards.
The duo was also nominated in 2017 for Producer of the Year at the
Electronic Music Awards The Electronic Music Awards is a music award show focused on electronic music genres that debuted on September 21, 2017 in Los Angeles. It was created by Paul Oakenfold and entertainment company Hunt & Crest and produced by Live L!ve Media. The sho ...
. They have founded and operated their own record label, Foreign Family Collective, which distributes songs as well as visual art from artists. Furthermore, ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' named Odesza as number 10 on their 2018 ranking of dance musicians, the ''Billboard'' Dance 100.
History
Early career
Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight met during their freshman year at
Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, succeeding a pri ...
. The two did not share the same educational interests. Knight studied physics and mathematics while Mills studied graphic design.
They did not begin collaborating musically until their senior year in 2012 after befriending their early influence into music, DJ Maul-IE.
As a child, Knight was classically trained in piano and later learned guitar.
Name
The band's name is taken from the name of Mills' uncle's sunken vessel, which was named after the Ukrainian city of
Odesa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrative ...
. Only his uncle and one other crew mate survived. Since the spelling "Odessa" was already being used by a Scottish synth band, they instead chose to use a form of the Hungarian spelling,
replacing the "ss" with "sz". The correct spelling in Hungarian is: Odessza.
Individually Mills is known as Catacombkid, and Knight is known as BeachesBeaches. In reference to how Mills got his nickname, he says, "I got into
Aesop Rock
Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerge ...
and he has a song called 'Catacomb Kids.' I thought it sounded cool."
On the other hand, regarding the story behind Knight's nickname, Knight says, "Honestly I was high in my bedroom making music one day…"
2012–2014: ''Summer's Gone'', ''My Friends Never Die EP'' and ''In Return''
![Odesza 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Odesza_2014.jpg)
The duo quickly released their debut LP, ''Summer's Gone'', on September 5, 2012. On November 9, 2012, Odesza performed their first show, opening for Teen Daze and Beat Connection in Bellingham, WA. Odesza was booked to open for
Pretty Lights
Derek Vincent Smith (born November 25, 1981), known by his stage name Pretty Lights, is an American electronic music producer. Pretty Lights was originally a music project consisting of Smith and Michal Menert, who left after the release of their ...
on his Analog Future Tour in the fall of 2013. Their first headline tour kicked off on March 12, 2014.
On October 17, 2014, Odesza's ''In Return'' North American tour sold out 28 shows. Thirty-one Odesza tracks have reached the top on
Hype Machine
Hype Machine is a music blog aggregator created by Anthony Volodkin.
History
Hype Machine was originally a music database created in 2005 by Anthony Volodkin, then a sophomore computer science major at Hunter College.Heilemann, JohCapturing the ...
, including "How Did I Get Here", "Memories That You Call", "Lights", "All We Need" (Autograf Remix), among others. Their first festival performance at
Sasquatch! Music Festival
Sasquatch! Music Festival was an annual music festival held at The Gorge Amphitheatre in George, Washington, United States. It took place on Memorial Day weekend, running for three to four days.
In 2018, it was announced that the festival was ...
in George, Washington was followed by slots at over 20 festivals, including
Coachella Coachella may refer to:
* Coachella, California
* Coachella Canal, in California
* Coachella (festival), an annual music and arts festival in California
* "Coachella – Woodstock in My Mind", a 2017 song by Lana del Rey
See also
* Coachell ...
,
SXSW
South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...
,
Hangout Festival
The Hangout Music Festival (commonly referred to as Hangout Fest or Hangout) is an annual three-day music festival held on the white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama. The main stages are the Hangout Stage and the Surf Stage (located on opposit ...
,
Lightning in a Bottle
Lightning in a Bottle (LIB) is an annual music festival in the Central Valley region of California first held in 2006. It is presented by The Do LaB, which seeks to promote sustainability, social cohesion, and creative expression. The Do LaB ...
,
Governor's Ball Music Festival,
Bonnaroo Music Festival
The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in ...
,
Firefly Music Festival
Firefly Music Festival is a music festival produced by AEG Presents that was first held on July 20–22, 2012, in Dover, Delaware. Firefly takes place in The Woodlands of Dover Motor Speedway, a festival ground, over the span of three days. Ma ...
,
Free Press Summer Fest
The Free Press Summer Festival was an annual two-day music festival held in Houston, Texas at Buffalo Bayou's Eleanor Tinsley Park.
Other activities include fireworks, interactive art installations, a paint slide, music workshops, a 30-foot wat ...
, and
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...
.
2015–2016: Foreign Family Collective and touring
In March 2015, Odesza launched Foreign Family Collective, an outlet for musicians and visual artists alike. Their goal is to help upcoming artists gain more exposure by releasing one-off singles. As of December 2017, there have been 29 released singles.
On November 11, 2015, Odesza launched their official mobile app on iOS and Android.
Following their sold out In Return Fall Tour, Odesza released the video for "It's Only" (featuring Zyra) on January 18, 2016.
2017: ''A Moment Apart'' and 2017 A Moment Apart Tour
On April 25, 2017, Odesza released two digital singles, "Late Night" and "Line of Sight" featuring WYNNE and
Mansionair. On June 12, 2017, the duo released two additional digital singles ("Meridian" and "Corners of the Earth" featuring
RY X), and announced a September 8 release date for their third studio album, ''
A Moment Apart
''A Moment Apart'' is the third studio album by the American electronic music duo Odesza, released on 8 September 2017 through Counter, Ninja Tune and the duo's own label, Foreign Family Collective. It is the duo's first album in three years aft ...
''. An additional single ("Higher Ground" featuring
Naomi Wild
India Rain Quateman (born July 29, 1995), known professionally as Naomi Wild, is an American songwriter and singer, based in Los Angeles. She is best known for her guest vocals on Odesza's "Higher Ground", and on Machine Gun Kelly's '' Hotel Di ...
) was released after having been leaked online. Following the release of the album, a world tour was announced with dates across Australia, Europe, and North America.
The 2017 A Moment Apart Tour was met with great response, selling out large venues such as Staples Center and Barclays Center.
Tracks from A ''Moment Apart'' have been widely used across the media; "Across the Room" (featuring Leon Bridges) was used on ''
Grey's Anatomy
''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...
'' S14E05, "Danger Zone"; "A Moment Apart" in GoPro Hero6's commercial and as a song on a radio station in
Forza Horizon 4
''Forza Horizon 4'' is a 2018 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on 2 October 2018 for Windows and Xbox One after being announced at Xbox's E3 2018 conference. An enhanced version ...
; "Late Night" for Acura. "La Ciudad" was used as one of the background tracks to
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" ...
’
FIFA 18
''FIFA 18'' is a football simulation video game developed and published by Electronic Arts and released worldwide on 29 September 2017 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. It is the ...
.
On October 26, 2017, Odesza made their debut television appearance on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' performing "Line of Sight" featuring WYNNE and "Higher Ground" featuring Naomi Wild. On November 28, 2017, ''A Moment Apart'' was nominated for
Best Dance/Electronic Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...
at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards; their single "Line of Sight" featuring WYNNE
& Mansionair was nominated for
Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...
.
2018–2019: 2018 A Moment Apart Tour, "Loyal" and Sundara
On December 4, 2017, Odesza announced the continuation of their A Moment Apart Tour, kicking off February 2, 2018 at Laneway Festival. On January 2, 2018, Odesza announced they would be joining the Coachella 2018 lineup, playing on Sunday night before Eminem. On January 9, "Corners of the Earth" was chosen to be used as the Winter Olympics Anthem.
On September 12, 2018, Odesza released their 11th single, “Loyal”. “Loyal” is also on A Moment Apart (Delxue Edition). It peaked at 19th on the
US dance chart
Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...
. “Loyal” gained more popularity when it was featured on
Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...
’s
Apple's Big News in 108 seconds and
iPhone Xr advertisements, these adverts also premiered on the same date as Loyal suggesting that Apple and ODESZA had an agreement to release the two at the same time. Additionally, "Loyal" was used in an advertisement for the
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
Juke.
“Loyal” was also used in the release trailer for the ''Fortune Island'' expansion of the 2018 video game ''
Forza Horizon 4
''Forza Horizon 4'' is a 2018 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios. It was released on 2 October 2018 for Windows and Xbox One after being announced at Xbox's E3 2018 conference. An enhanced version ...
''.
On October 16, 2018, Foreign Family Collective announced its first Odesza-curated festival, Sundara, held at the all-inclusive Barceló Resort in
Riviera Maya
The Riviera Maya () is a tourism and resort district south of Cancun, Mexico. It straddles the coastal Federal Highway 307, along the Caribbean coastline of the state of Quintana Roo, located in the eastern portion of the Yucatán Peninsula. ...
, Mexico. The four-day festival ran from March 13–16, and featured major acts like
RL Grime
Henry Alfred Steinway (born February 8, 1991), better known by his stage name RL Grime, (previously known as Clockwork) is an American record producer and DJ. RL Grime specializes in trap and bass music and is a member of the Los Angeles electron ...
,
Rüfüs du Sol
Rüfüs Du Sol, stylised as RÜFÜS DU SOL and formerly known as simply Rüfüs (stylized RÜFÜS) from 2010 to 2018, is an Australian alternative dance group from Sydney, that consists of Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt. Their debu ...
,
Alison Wonderland
Alexandra Margo Sholler (born 27 September 1986), known professionally as Alison Wonderland, is an Australian electronic dance music producer, DJ, and singer. Her debut album, ''Run'', was released on 20 March 2015, which peaked at No. 6 ...
,
Jai Wolf
Sajeeb Saha, known professionally as Jai Wolf, is a Bangladeshi-American, New York-based electronic music producer. He is best known for his singles, "Indian Summer", "Like It's Over", and "Starlight". He is currently signed to Mom + Pop Music ...
, and many more.
2020: Bronson
On April 26, 2020, Odesza announced on their social media that they had completed a collaborative album with Australian producer
Golden Features
Thomas George Stell (born 1991), known professionally as Golden Features, is an Australian deep house / dance DJ and producer currently signed to Warner Bros. Records. Three singles, "Tell Me" featuring Nicole Millar, "No One" featuring Thelma ...
. On April 27, it was confirmed that both the project and the album would be titled ''Bronson,'' and that it would be released on July 17, 2020, with the first two tracks "Heart Attack" and "Vaults" available the following day.
On June 30, 2020, the third track "Dawn" was released, with the duo announcing that their album would be pushed back to August 7, 2020.
2022: ''The Last Goodbye''
On February 2, 2022, Odesza released an Instagram clip hinting at further music. Their website was also updated to include a phone number and email entry form which when filled out, had the message "Welcome to The Last Goodbye".
Odesza released their first new music in over four years with the release of their new single "The Last Goodbye" on February 8, 2022, which samples the vocals from
Bettye LaVette
Bettye LaVette (born Betty Jo Haskins, January 29, 1946) is an American soul singer-songwriter who made her first record at sixteen, but achieved only intermittent fame until 2005, when her album ''I've Got My Own Hell to Raise'' was released to ...
's 1965 hit song "
Let Me Down Easy".
In March 2022, Odesza announced that their fourth studio album was also called ''
The Last Goodbye'', and will be released on July 22, 2022.
On June 8, 2022, Odesza released their fifth single, "Wide Awake", off of ''The Last Goodbye''.
The album was nominated for
Best Dance/Electronic Album
The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several categ ...
for the 65th Grammy Awards.
Discography
Studio albums
Collaborative albums
Extended plays
Remix EPs
Singles
Other charted songs
Remixes
Notes
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 2012
Electronic dance music duos
American electronic music duos
Musical groups from Seattle
Progressive house musicians
Future bass musicians
American DJs
Ableton Live users
Counter Records artists
Ninja Tune artists
DJ duos
2012 establishments in Washington (state)