Formed in Boston, Oddbody is a collaboration between beatmaker/instrumentalist Jeff Nicholson and singer/songwriter Gabriel DeLayne
Their first album, Westering, is now available to stream and download for free!
In this interview, we chat with the duo about their new music, influences, and more.
Q&A, links, and the video for Pacific Love below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
G: I’m from Boston, Jeff is from New Hampshire, and we’ve both moved out to Seattle. To sum it up, we make sample-based pop music, that strays to the noisier, weirder side. Jeff comes from a background of experimental and hip-hop music, whereas I have more of a history in folk music and writing. I hear the combination of those different traditions in our songs.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
G: Ever since I was kid, I’ve thought in terms of song. It’s a choice to make writing songs such a focus, but in a way it seems like a given. When I’m writing, it feels like I’m using my wiring to its best creative potential, and I can’t imagine ever giving up that feeling.
J: Yeah, me too. I’ve yet to find something in my life that feels like music does.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
J: Prince, Madlib, Beck, Tom Waits. I’m so inspired by their ability to create many different styles of music all while maintaining their own unique voice.
G: Lyrically, I think I pull influence from artists like Sufjan Stevens, Joanna Newsom, and Justin Vernon. I also enjoy reading Eastern philosophy and I think some of those ideas find their way into the subject material of the songs. Melodically, I think listening to the Beatles so much growing up probably influences senses of phrasing and structure.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
G: This is our first release as Oddbody. It all started with a loop that Jeff sent me a couple years ago. I spent the afternoon writing a song over it, and that song eventually became On Highway, our third track on the album. We didn’t really set out to do anything specific, but as we continued to make music we were excited about, a release seemed like the natural thing to do.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
J: I find it to be a double-edged sword. On one hand, we were able to make an album in my bedroom with a computer and a sampler and a few instruments, which is cool. We’re able to find and be inspired by tons of new music and art all the time online, which is cool. But at the same time, the vastness of the Internet and the never-ending quest for clicks and ‘likes’ can really feel like staring into the abyss.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
J: I feel bad about them! For me, a huge part of experiencing music is the discovery and tangible collection of it. I’m afraid that Spotify (or Apple Music or Tidal, etc.) eliminates the need/opportunity for people to go out to a record store and take a flier on some music they don’t know anything about or even scrolling through a random blog to see what pops up. I understand the convenience of Spotify, but when you have everything, you really have nothing. I think Gandhi said that.
Also almost all the music on our album was built around samples from random records I got at stores, so I definitely have a soft spot.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music:
