Interview With Odonata
Have you always been interested in music? What is your story and how did you start making music?
As I explained in the biography of the group, it all began in the current form, by meeting Steff. Which is interesting, because it is quite unlikely, given our diverse musical influences. I’m a big fan of Oranssi Pazuzu for example, while he loves The Clash.
Before Odonata I played in Tood, in England. This group has brought me a lot of things. I loved what we were doing: dark and heavy sound and soaring at the same time. An almost esoteric world. That’s really all I like. Music that has the power to drop off your brain… ahah
I’ve been playing in bands for years. And each group brought me something. It was like a slow construction over time and in the sandstone of musical aspirations and encounters.
For a very long time I have loved everything that is psychedelic because it opens up a space of infinite freedom. I had my 1st clicks by discovering bands like Can, Iron Butterfly, The Seeds, the Music Machines… Then I had a Soul and Reggae phase with Jackie Mittoo, then I landed in the world of Status Quo, Deep Purple, to stop seriously on Black Sabbath, and Pentagram, but when I started listening to Sleep, Acid King and Kyuss and then never came back thanks to the sublime Italian band Ufomammut, I definitely found the way.
What are you working on now? Any future releases we can look forward to?
We are already thinking about recording a new album. The ideas come and since our songs are pieces of about 10 minutes, we can claim to have an album with 5 songs … ahaha
We also have concerts in preparation and so, between the album that comes out in September, its promo, the concerts, and the preparation of a new recording, we can say that it is full.
What Is Your Ultimate Goal In The Music Industry?
I have no expectations about the music industry, except to act as a relay to share our music and receive that of others. The ultimate goal in music is sharing, much like a great mass. I love gigs where the public is one entity, we feel the power and it’s wonderful. We come out strengthened and that is precious. The music industry for me, must serve as a tool to connect the music people
What Has Been The Biggest Challenge In Your Career Thus Far?
My biggest challenge is to combine all different areas of life: family, music, drawing, video, food work, every day.
How do you go about writing a song? Do you have a melody in your head and then write the other music for it or what’s Your typical songwriting process?
At the beginning of the process, I have 2 or 3 riffs that I found at home, I make them progress the necessary time, until they become interesting. If they don’t pass the course, 2 weeks later, and in hindsight, it simply means they are not that good so I throw them away .
If it turns out that it holds up, I bring them to rehearsal and we test them. Thus Steff is looking for a guitar line to put on it and a song (when it is he who sings of course), and choirs. We decide on the structure together and then we look for a drum pattern. However, we need to step back to decide when we no longer touch general ideas. It takes time.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
The Internet has completely revolutionized the music trade. I quite like this idea of speed in the diffusion and the time saved in the discovery of various styles. Everything is at your fingertips. On the other hand, everything is even more ephemeral, one thing replaces another. You have to be able to hold on. That said, thanks to the internet, you can develop your band more easily, because you can deploy everywhere. It’s still quite great to be in direct contact with the same musical people but on the other side of the world, to exchange culture while being so far away and yet feeling so close.
List some famous musicians currently on your playlist?
Ufomammut, a brilliant italian band, with an huge and cosmic sound ( one of my favorites on planet Earth!)
Dark Buddha Rising
Oranssi Pazuzu
Wolves In The Throne Room
My Sleeping Karma
Yob, power and delicacy. It’s a sublime doom metal, I don’t know how to say how much I love it.
Absent In Body
Black Cobra
King Buffalo
Red Fang
Acid King
Can a sublime German experimental band from the 60s, 70s, with an ultimate groove.
Iron Butterfly, it was a shock for me for a long time
Joan Jett
What Did You Do Before You Started Making Music?
I was doing an art school. It taught me a lot, especially in the approach of things. What I learned in painting serves me a lot in music strangely….(the rhythm, the full and the voids, the hues, the color chords, the landscapes…)
Would you have any advice for young people wanting to follow in your footsteps?
I don’t think I can’t give advice to people. I did what I could. That said, I think the most important thing is to keep your flame intact. As long as the energy of dreams is there, many things are possible. And then maybe you have to find a good team, with people who generally want the same thing as you. For me, most of the work is based on energy and synergy.
How do you feel about originality?
I like creations that bring something personal, with a strong identity. Creations that follow the standards too much, that do what is agreed, tire me. I generally appreciate creators who shake things up that everyone agrees on without thinking too much.
That said, there are traditional works that are sublime, and that contain so much the spirit of each and even the elders, that one feels an incredible strength. I love baroque music, for example. So, I would say that it depends on the case by case finally.
I think you shouldn’t try to be original. We don’t care, we have to be either, it’s more important. we have to be true. It is in the truth that we can touch, and therefore in the end, we must find ourselves. Listening to music helps to find your way, it is an effective way to reconnect with oneself and others. It’s magical a bit, isn’t it?
In conclusion, we don’t care about originality. I prefer to think in terms of power, strength, cosmicity, fraternity, communion.
Links to Where Your Music Can be Purchased
open.spotify.com/album/62pwyoOVrZth5uqD7jtHFl?si=zctUel49QjaZaDY36wPiVg