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View Winners → Archive Feb 14, 2013
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The typical newcomers to the music industry would never dream of playing a big festival after just four shows, but the boys of Odesza are not your typical artists. Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight make up the latest electronic dream-pop duo to hit the Washington music scene. They are set to play Sasquatch! Festival with the likes of Grimes, Mumford & Sons, and many others. After graduating college and starting up this project last September, could they wish for more? We decided to ask the band how this fast-earned fame feels.
1. You guys are playing Sasquatch! Festival this year. Is this your first festival?
Harrison of Odesza: Yes, it is. It’s kind of like the most amazing thing that has ever happened to us. On the third day of us ever coming together trying to make music Clay was like ‘Wouldn’t it be awesome if we got to play Sasquatch?” and we were always kind of aiming for that. Now we are asking ourselves how we got here.
2. Where did your band name come from?
It was the name of my uncle’s ship that sank. Him and another crew mate were the only ones to get out alive. Our music has a kind of emotional element to it, and this one incident has always really struck me.
3. What bands or other artists inspire your music?
We are kind of strange. We listen to Goodwill tapes of 50’s music. We like Radiohead, James Brown, Fina, and Blockhead. We are inspired by more ambient music as well as classic rock, so it’s really a mix.
4. What besides other music inspires your sound?
We really like the idea of a sound just punching you in the face, really hitting hard. We love when a song just has that drive.
5. What has been your favorite city or venue to play in?
We actually have only played four shows, and they’ve all been around Washington. I guess out of those, our favorite has been our college hometown show. There were 50 of our friends there when the set started, but someone turned on a fog machine and for the first few songs we couldn’t see anything. After it cleared we looked out and the place was packed. That was a crazy moment for us.
6. So what is next for you guys?
We’ll be going on tour with Emancipate and Little People for the next few months. We are also working on remixes and EPs. We are really working our asses off to push forward. Check out their track “How Did i Get Here” below, and look out for the show at the El Rey on March 16th!
