Image Credit: Fabrice Bourgelle
ODESZA have rapidly built up a reputation for putting on some of the most engaging and high octane live shows within the electronic music realm. The Seattle-based duo, consisting of Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills, has gone from strength to strength and their high billing at Coachella last year saw them bring forward a more cohesive and cinematic show that drew much-deserved attention and adulation from everyone present at the festival. Post their landmark performance in Indio, the duo took the same show on the road again, this time as part of the second leg of the ‘A Moment Apart‘ tour. Spanning a major chunk of North America, ODESZA finally brought over the show to Europe in January 2019, playing 8 cities, with London being one of them.
Image Credits: Fabrice Bourgelle
Taking over the iconic O2 Academy Brixton, which has hosted some of the most iconic names in electronic music in the past, including deadmau5, Swedish House Mafia, Moby, The Prodigy, amongst many others, ODESZA were all set to deliver a night to remember to an eager, sold out crowd. With Swedish prodigy Kasbo and French maestro Fakear on support duties, the crowd had started to assimilate as soon as the doors opened, with huge queues forming outside the venue. Kasbo opened the proceedings with a very laid back, chilled out set featuring a number of his own productions, including ‘Snow In Gotherburg‘, ‘Found You‘, ‘Over You‘ among others, as well as an incredible mashup of ZHU’s ‘Faded‘ and Flume’s ‘Tiny Cities‘. Setting the perfect vibe for the rest of the night, the young Swede surely has a bright future ahead of himself, as he continues to dish out some incredible productions and back them up with equally impressive live sets.
Image Credits: Fabrice Bourgelle
Fakear took over the stage right after Kasbo and the French producer brought his own eclectic brand of chillwave to prepare the crowd for the main act for the night, delivering a set rich in textured sounds and evocative hooks that kept the crowd on their feet. However, as Fakear’s set drew to a close, the anticipation was palpable, with the crowd chanting ODESZA’s name during the changeover.
Image Credits: Fabrice Bourgelle
Soon after the lights went off and the LED screens lit up as the intro from ‘A Moment Apart‘, coupled with visuals that straight out looked like they belonged from Interstellar, began a beautiful 90-minute journey for nearly 5000 people present at the show, as their automated “logo set piece” shone bright like a halo. As the show’s intro transitioned into ‘Bloom‘, the stage finally came to life with its stunning visuals and synchronized lights with both Harrison and Clayton in their full element, feeding off the crowd’s energy. The set list for the show ranged entirely of the duo’s expansive catalog, from their debut album ‘Summer’s Gone‘ to their latest LP ‘A Moment Apart‘, as well as some remixes and even some unreleased music. While the duo did not bring the entire 10 member drum-line, they did have two trombone players, who doubled up as drummers for the penultimate song of the night, the VIP Remix of their hit track ‘It’s Only‘. Despite ODESZA bringing the full production to London, we did miss the pyros and CO2 jets which could’ve added a whole new dimension to the show. However, keeping these two minor issues aside, ODESZA put on a show that can only be described as a beautiful journey of music and emotions as Harrison and Clayton brought to life some of their most famed productions to the stage in the most intricate fashion.
Definitely one for the books, we definitely recommend you to go and see ODESZA live whenever you get the chance.