ODESZA play the Shrine Auditorium Dec. 12-14 and The Observatory Dec. 29; photo Tonje Thilesen
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been three years since Seattle natives Harrison Mills (CatacombKid) and Clayton Knight (BeachesBeaches), better known as the electronic music duo Odesza, released their breakthrough debut album Summer’s Gone.
Although Mills and Knight originally met during their freshman year at Western Washington University, the two didn’t begin recording together until their senior year in 2012. As a child, Knight was classically trained in piano before picking up the guitar as a teen. The dreamy, melodic sound featured on Summer’s Gone immediately gained buzz online and by the time their debut EP, My Friends Never Die, was released the following year, Odesza had hit 1 million Soundcloud plays.
While Odesza is the Hungarian spelling for the city of Odessa, Ukraine, the band actually took the name from Mills’ uncle’s old sailboat. Mills says he chose his DJ nickname after an Aesop Rock song of the same name while Knight claims his DJ handle came to him one day while he was high on marijuana. As one of the more active electronic music duos on tour, Odesza have performed their hits like “How Did I Get Here”, “Memories That You Call” and “Lights” at festivals such as Coachella, SXSW, Lollapalooza, Outside Lands and Bonnaroo.
When Odesza returned with their second studio album2014’s In Return, they garnered even better reviews than they did for Summer’s Gone. Described by critics as having a tighter, cleaner sound than their previous releases, the duo developed a new live performance to accompany In Return. Time Magazine in particular applauded the work for its unified sound “built on Odesza’s multi-layered melodies, spaced-out beats and cinematic charm.” The album’s use of many guest artists such as up-and-coming vocalists Zyra and Jenni Pots was also widely praised.
Odesza’s music has since been licensed by Adidas, Target, GoPro and Royal Caribbean. Recently, Odesza also released a free app which offers exclusive videos, photos, live streams, merchandise, ticket presale offers as well as all of their music.
Odesza will play three sold-out shows at The Shrine Auditorium Dec. 12-14, followed by a performance at The Observatory Dec. 29.