Philadelphia’s own, OddKidOut has made his presence felt and heard. Releasing his “Solstice” EP on OWSLA, the artist is turning heads with his emotion provoking music. His lighthearted beats have caught the attention of many and most importantly, Skrillex. It wasn’t long until the iconic producer invited the 22-year-old over to Los Angeles and let the creativity roam.
OddKid then tackled the task of sampling some gems from the OWSLA discography. After barreling through a wave of inspiration, this lighthearted 4-track EP was born. There’s a story to this, much greater than music. We were able to catch up with OddKidOut and discuss all things music.
—
How did you get into making music?
“Well almost no one in my family is musical…but when I was young, my dad saw me air-drumming in my car seat. He asked me if I wanted to try drumming and after a few lessons and getting my first drum kit, it was clear that it was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. It consumed everything and eventually, I strictly focused on just music.” -OddKidOut
Looking back to that time, who would you say are your greatest musical influences and do you aspire to mirror any of their styles/sounds?
“I think in my early ages, classic rock and heavy metal were my biggest influences. But as I got into high school, I started listening to electronic music and hip-hop, and that opened up my world. Specifically J Dilla, Pete Rock, DJ Premier…any 90’s boom bap got me super excited. And then more electronic based artists like Sepalcure, Rusko and Caspa expanded my musical lexicon. As far as being influenced for just drumming, Stewart Copeland is one of the main reasons why I play and produce the way I do.” -OddKidOut
Centering your career solely around Hip-Hop/Rap, how did you link up with Skrillex?
“Well OddKidOut is about 3 years old at this point. Up until my release with OWSLA, almost every track was centered around hip-hop. But…the music I wasn’t releasing was much more experimental. I think Sonny was first attracted to me because of my finger drumming videos. That usually draws people in to what I do. But compounded on top of that, the way that I chop samples and specifically vocal samples, is also a big part of electronic music. My first interactions with him were based around creating samples together. I think we just vibed together and he respected my craft and vice versa. It was okay that we created different genres because we both love all types of music. And music is being blended more and more nowadays, so it made sense.” -OddKidOut
Has Skrillex provided any musical mentorship since working around him and his team, if so, can you tell us a bit about that?
“Yes, Sonny has certainly taught me a lot. I spent about 7 months living close to him and OWSLA out in LA. I felt like I learned more in that window of time than I had in the last two years of my life. Sonny gave me the opportunity to chop up the OWSLA discography and that in itself was one of the hardest feats I’ve accomplished yet. I’m used to chopping up soul and funk records from the 70’s…not modern, electronic music. Sonny didn’t even really have to sit me down and teach me his ways so to speak…he rather gave me the tools and forced me to learn on my own, which is a way more productive way to get better. There were a few times where I got to see him work in Ableton and it definitely elevated the way I produce, mix and organize my tracks. But just being in the presence of him and the energy that was felt in that environment…it pushed me to be a better musician every day.” -OddKidOut
This EP samples a number of records from the OWSLA Discography, how long did it take you to pick out which songs to work with or did you already have ideas running through your head when you tackled this project?
“I went into sampling the discography pretty blindly. The task was assigned to me I think maybe 3 days into moving in there. So say mid-September I started going through the tracks and picking out my favorites. It took me until about the end of January to have 4 songs that I felt were worthy of sharing. I made at least 40-50 tracks throughout the process, but only wanted to release the ones that I chose. Eventually, as the final tracks came to fruition, I realized why I chose them…they were the ones that were connected emotionally to my journey in LA.” -OddKidOut
Many artists have talked about a phenomenon called “Studio Mode” when creating an Album/EP. What does it look/sound like when you’re in ‘Studio Mode’?
“I don’t really have a “studio mode”. I have so much fun producing that I feel like I’m always in studio mode. Producing also calms me down so it’s very therapeutic for me to make songs. However, sometimes I get blocks and I take a week or two to not produce. Instead, I’ll practice DJ’ing, I’ll exercise more, I’ll paint pictures or write poetry.” -OddKidOut
If you could describe your sound using 3 words, what would they be?
“Raw, Real and Soulful”
For many who may just be hearing you for the first time, Why should they become a fan of OddKidOut?
“I hope that my music makes people feel happy, or makes them feel happy when they’re sad, or gives them a sense of realness when the rest of the world is being fake. I want my music to make people feel confident and good about themselves.” -OddKidOut
OddKidOut – Solstice EP | Stream
Related Posts
Skrillex & Alvin Risk- Try It Out EP
Kill The Noise – Black Magic Remixes EP 
Skrillex Is Selling Limited Edition “Show Tracks” T-Shirts For 24 Hours Only
Watch Skrillex’s Nostalgic Tour Video For “Mumbai Power”
LISTEN: Skrillex & TroyBoi Unleash Anticipated New Collaboration “WARLORDZ”
Skrillex & Boys Noize Drop Anticipated New Dog Blood EP Turn Off the Lights
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.