Photo by DYLAN LONG
Odesza is the Seattle-based duo of Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, who make lush, downtempo EDM. They are also wildly popular, selling out not just one but two shows at Union Transfer last night, where they appeared in support of their latest release, In Return Deluxe, an extended version of 2014’s In Return that includes three live tracks and a new song called “Light (feat. Little Dragon).” After East Coast cats Louis Futon and Jai Wolf warmed up the crowd with stellar beats infused with futuristic synths, wild tempo fluctuations and even some recent hits like Drake’s “Hotline Bling,” it was time for Odesza to grace the UT stage. Accompanied by a horn section, live drums, synth pads, and sample-stuffed laptops, Odesza spent the next 90 minutes spinning a dreamy aural web of luscious synth textures, glitched modulations of beautiful vocal samples calibrated to their signature slow, sedated tempo. Heads were passionately bobbing all night long as the duo fired on every cylinder, playing out all their hits, including “Say My Name,” “How Did I Get Here,” and their remix of Pretty Lights’ “One Day They’ll Know.” Walking out of the Union Transfer, Odesza’s blissful guitar melodies and vocal samples echoed in my mind, leaving me with no questions as to why these two gentleman have come to represent the pinnacle of EDM circa 2015 — DYLAN LONG