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Since the release of their 2014 album, ODESZA have grown into an omnipresent force in dance music appearing at nearly every major music festival and making their way across the globe on an extensive headlining tour. This year has been particularly pivotal for the Seattle duo—they’ve dropped several massive remixes, continued to expand their live set (including a full marching band at Lollapalooza) and launched the Foreign Family Collective. Through Foreign Fam, they’ve helped introduce like-minded artists such as Big Wild and Jai Wolf to larger audiences. As huge fans, the Ninja staff have had the pleasure of covering the Seattle duo’s upward trajectory and interviewing them a couple times along the way. 

In the last two years alone, the TMN writers have probably seen ODESZA a combined 20 times—my best guess for myself is 6. So, going into their show last week, I frankly wasn’t sure there was much more to see and, even if their performance hadn’t evolved, I would’ve admittedly left happy. Once again, though, ODESZA put together an awe-inspiring set fit for Bill Graham Auditorium’s grand stature. As the set began, members Harrison and Clayton emerged with their parallel MIDI and drum setup offering some words about their admiration for the SF crowd, who have shown out every time they’ve come to town. Musically, “Koto,” a gorgeous and low-key track, set the tone before the first high point hit with their remix of Sia’s “Big Girls Cry.” Granted a nearly 2-hour set, ODESZA was able to dig deep in their catalogue playing standouts from their oft-overlooked debut, Summer’s Gone, such as ”Above the Middle” all the way through the fan-favorite remixes of opener Hayden James’ “Something About You” and Zhu’s “Faded.”   Continue reading →