INTERVIEW: Odette to perform at Party In The Paddock: "Look forward to seeing a grown woman throw herself around the stage like a wounded snake!"
Australian singer-songwriter Odette (full name Georgia Odette Sallybanks) released her debut album To A Stranger last year. A heartfelt collection of soulful, jazzy & R&B tracks with a contemporary edge and raw lyrics, it brought Odette instant acclaim including two ARIA Award nominations and a top 20 Australian chart placing. She has spent a lot of 2019 touring the world including a headline tour across Europe and the UK and next year will be performing at the final ever Party In The Paddock festival in Tasmania. We recently caught up with Odette to find out more about her 2019 and what she has in store for us next year.
Hi Odette! Thanks for chatting to us today. First up, how is everything in your world?
It’s chaotic and insane but I’m always having a good time.
Around this time last year you had just been nominated for two ARIA Awards for your debut album To A Stranger. Off the back of that, how was your 2019?
I mostly just hid in the corner of my room like a wild animal, huddled over a keyboard until I got to be a decent human being again. I played shows in front of people I love. I played Splendour! It was bloody ridiculous. 2019 has genuinely been the year of people letting me hold their babies and, whilst it is very stressful holding a baby because they’re so small, it’s been really beautiful.
Looking into next year you are performing at Party In The Paddock in February, what can we look forward to seeing from your set?
Oooh spoilers! Look forward to seeing a grown woman throw herself around the stage like a wounded snake. And also I’ll probably need my Ventolin. The best gimmicks are those that ease your inflamed bronchioles.
Creatively, how does your performance differ from when you are playing at a festival as opposed to a headline show in a more intimate venue?
I’m not sure it is different. Everyone wants you to bring the energy for a festival show, and I try to, but mostly it’s all the same because it’s all different all the time. I can’t ‘bring the energy’ because there are so many different kinds and also I don’t fully know what ‘bring the energy’ means.
Is there a particular song of yours that you love to play live the most?
’Lotus Eaters’. I feel the pain I felt in my heart when I wrote it every time I sing it. When I see people crying it makes me cry because they understand how devastated I was. It’s delicious.
There are some amazing acts on this year’s Party In The Paddock lineup, who are you keen to see perform?
Honestly I’m ready for Matt Corby to heal my heart. I’m also super keen for Broods, Cosmos Midnight and Hermitude.
There has been so much talk over the last year or so about gender equality and female representation in the music industry, especially with festival lineups. What are your thoughts on sexism in music?
I want everyone to stop talking about the topic and start having nuanced conversations about artists without the added ‘wow this amazing we’re talking about women’. Women have been out here for DECADES and DECADES creating next level, groundbreaking art and I’m really tired of people circle jerking about how politically aware they are when they know maybe two female pop stars.
Pop feminism in its current stage is simultaneously giving me a reason to live and grinding my gears so that’s where I’m at.
The lyrics to your songs are very personal and intimate, is there a particular message you want listeners to take away from your music?
No message. I wish I had a message because then I’d have some sort of reason for doing this. Music is communication and all I have to say is that I love my painful life!
What else is on the agenda for Odette in the new year – can we expect new music?
Absolutely. I’m bursting at the seams to reveal my really cool new baby. The old one’s still cute too but this one is like Jack-Jack from The Incredibles. Album on the horizon!
Party In The Paddock will be held at White Hills, Tasmania (20 mins drive from Launceston) on 6th-8th February. Tickets are on sale now here.
To keep up with all things Odette, you can follow her on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
