Meet the Artist – Odette, singer-songwriter

I am now very much inspired by the public who have reacted very positively to my music

Meet singer-songwriter Odette ahead of her gig at The Jazz Room at The Bull’s Head on 13 February

 

Who or what inspired you to pursue a career in music?

It just happened, really. In my early to mid twenties I was encouraged to start singing again which lead me into a whirlwind musical life of cruise ships, choirs, songwriting, backing vocals and function gigs. Somewhere in all this I met Phil Taylor who encouraged me to make an album after hearing the songs I’d written. We seemed to be a great match, so we got to work and he produced my debut album, ‘A Shake Of The Hand’, with a lot of love and care. Phil definitely gave me a lot of confidence to pursue a career as an artist. I am now very much inspired by the public who have reacted very positively to my music. The live gigs have been fantastic and I have had amazing reviews from both the gigs and my record.

Who or what have been the most important influences on your musical life and career?

I think harmony is the most important influence in my musical life. It’s something I’m very passionate about and it enriches my musical career immensely. It plays a big part in my songs with all the vocal arrangements I do which has become somewhat of a signature sound. I also love the harmony singing groups I run, singing backing vocals in different bands and doing vocal arrangements for clients. I just adore it!

What have been the greatest challenges of your career so far?

As an artist, my career is still in its early stages, so I’m sure I’m heading for some challenges. One challenge I can recall was when I was finishing my album. I had one song left to write as the album was too short. Up until then I had just written songs at my leisure and now I had to sit down and sweat one out! That was challenging as I’d not been in that songwriting mode before. I’m pretty chuffed with the result. I wrote “Silly Happy”.

Which performance/recordings are you most proud of?

I am incredibly proud of my album, “A Shake Of The Hand”. Really proud. It was a long time in the making and I don’t regret a second of over time. It’s so worth putting in the time and effort to get it just as you want it. I really love the track “A Thousand Autumns”. I think that’s the track where the majority of the session musicians are on it. The beautiful Indian vocals by my friend, Kartik, were added at the last minute and it just transformed the track. I love it!!

I’m also really proud of my live band which is quite different to what’s on the album. We’ve basically condensed all that’s on the album into a five piece band. Here is a video of us playing at Whitby Musicport Festival