tunesday – seven questions with odette

Odette is going out on her own with her first independent album release, Blink. Ahead of the album hitting our eardrums, we got chatting to the top-notch muso about how it came to be.

Describe Blink in a sentence. A beautifully mangled living thing.

What was the hardest song to finish on Blink? Probably “Blink” itself. Throughout the whole process I felt like it was missing something ethereal and right towards the end – I’m talking just before we sent the entire album for mastering – I added these harmonies which start the song and come in in the final chorus. They make me feel so light and beautiful and happy! It was a bit of a process though because Kiah (Gossner) was in London and my at-home setup is not as sophisticated as I’d like it to be (whoops). I think it sounds incredible! Kiah did a fantastic job of finishing her!

Do you think of Blink as a marker in time of a particular moment in your life? If I were a rock climber out on a big cliff-face (which I wouldn’t be), Blink would be those little metal hook things that I clip into. It’s me making a new baseline for my life that is jettisoning me into the future. This might be a shit metaphor but I’m not deleting it I don’t care. It’s more than a marker in time for me – it’s a point of reference and an active component in how I make my choices now, always remembering the chaos and doing literally anything else. It’s moving all the time with me – every time I put my headphones on to listen to it, my music always reminds me to tell the truth in all my relentlessly human pursuits.

What’s the song from the album that you’re most looking forward to performing live? “Blink”! It makes me feel like I’m soaring in the clouds and running through traffic with no serious consequence (do not do this)! Also “Don’t” is calming in a dreamy, dissociative way. I can’t wait to bring every song to the stage. Also “Reverence”, which is epic.

How does it feel to release your first album as an independent artist? Pretty insane and a bit scary. It’s miraculous and crazy that this is happening at all. It still doesn’t feel fully real yet and I’m not saying that to sound naïve – I think this is one of the greatest albums of all time – but I’m so excited for people to hear it (I hope they do anyway). It’s just weird! Kiah and I kept this dream of releasing the album going for so long, sometimes I still feel like I’m going to wake up and be a shaved-headed, reluctant alcoholic crying in his studio and being embarrassing. Time is weird and I don’t think anything ever really goes away. Even writing this for people to read is all one big wonderful, incredible gift. I hope people love the album as much as I do. It’s special.

Who were your musical influences when making the album? I’m always listening to a lot of music. Joanna Newsom, OutKast, Dirty Projectors, Fiona Apple, Laura Mvula, Mk.gee, The Cranberries, James Blake – I can go on and on and on. There are many influences. Kiah and I also had a love for mish-mashing different styles from a range of genres like folk, jazz, pop. It’s a big, beautiful cohesive collage with real meaty lungs.

After four years of working on it, how do you feel now that Blink is done? I feel so excited and really anxious that people are going to think I’m a bit rotten or something, I don’t know. It’s been a transformative period and I’m talking pretty openly about what’s happened to me and the lessons I’ve learnt, which have been rough. I think this period has definitely been by far the most important for me. I want to inspire people to try. I’m operating on a strong and insatiable urge to show people we can transcend what keeps us stuck in harmful cycles and to encourage people to try something new. It’s a very big world and there is so much potential. I feel like it’s everywhere and undeniable.

For more ace music chats, have a squiz at our chinwag with rad rocker Maia Toakley or take a gander at Babyccino’s perfect playlist. Plus, sign up to our newsletter to stay in the music loop.