Odonis Odonis are as charming as they are abrasive. While the Toronto trio are quick to capitalize on the more inviting aspects of synth-pop and electro (analog-ish drums, deep low-end, swirling choruses), they often throw in distorted, squelching guitar riffs to work against the grain. With this natural inclination toward feedback and dissonance (and some occasional scream vocals thrown in for good measure), Odonis Odonis make themselves akin to both noise and punk scenes, ultimately leaving them at an unexpected though incredibly compelling crossroad of sound. This curious dichotomy that their work follows, in which ambient dance elements are just as valuable as dialing in the right in-your-face distortion, is exactly what makes Odonis Odonis thrive, and their latest album, Hard Boiled Soft Boiled, is slowly shaping up to be a testament to that, in both name and the tremendous sonic differences between the two released tracks.
Odonis Odonis sat down with us so we could pick their brain about process, inspiration, and Johnny Cash.
Dean, seeing as you were going through a rough personal time during the recording of Hollandaze do you think the idea that “suffering makes the greatest art” is true?
In a way, yeah I do. Music has always been a cathartic experience for me. I usually gravitate towards artists that allow some raw emotional quality to come through.
Hard Boiled, Soft Boiled has been around for a while, but isn’t being released until now. I assume you have a ton of more music written as well — is it safe to say that material will be heard sooner rather than later?
I really hope so. At this point there is such a backlog of material that I feel like the traditional “record cycle” is too slow to keep up with our output. When we started the project I was hoping to pump out a record every 6 months, but being in the industry a while you have to accept that things just take time. That being said we have at least another EP and full-length in the works.
Dean, in addition to your music, you’ve also directed videos for the band and others. For some of us, just doing one or the other would be enough work. How do you stay driven to work creatively?
I think it’s genetic; my dad is the same way. I just don’t feel right unless I’m creating something. I always tend to spread myself thin, but I’m just a multitasking kind of guy. In addition to the things you mentioned, I’ve been keeping busy with co-running BUZZ RECORDS with my buds and I’m trying to get a video game done before the end of the year.
You’ve mentioned problems with stage fright, which I was pretty surprised to read to be honest because when I saw you at CMJ last year you all seemed pretty at ease with each other. So have you gotten used to the stage?
Yeah that was a while ago, I grew up having stage fright and it kind of prevented me from playing shows for a long time. I’m pretty over that now… I really trust my band, so it’s more about delivering what we’ve been working on, than having unsure feelings when hitting the stage. I think stage fright comes from not being prepared; having things fall apart in front of crowd a people can be a scary thought. Now it’s actually a lot of fun and I’m really looking forward to finally touring this record.
What’s been the biggest influence in your lives?
Weed, haha. That’s a loaded question. Probably weed.
What record do you listen to when you want to feel better and which one do you put on when just want to break shit?
Ministry for both 🙂
You’ve covered Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire.” Any more covers up your sleeve during this tour?
Probably not for this record but we do a have a couple more up are sleeves that we’ll blast out at some point. We did a Nirvana cover last fall of “Radio Friendly Unit Shifter” and we have some remixes in the works. So that should keep yah busy.
Odonis Odonis’s Hard Boiled Soft Boiled is out tomorrow on Buzz Records.
Story by Justin Davis.
Interview by Alex Martinez.
Photo courtesy of the artist.
Odonis Odonis
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