Odette Releases New Single & Video “Amends”
Odette releases Amends, the third single from her forthcoming album Herald set for release on February 5 and available for pre-order now. Amends is the follow up to Dwell and Feverbreak with Hermitude, both of which were released last year to critical acclaim.
Produced and mixed by Damian Taylor and with musical arrangements by Kelly Pratt (Beirut/David Byrne/Arcade Fire), the track sees Odette reflecting on the relationship with herself and those around her. “Amends is a song I wrote during a period of unwellness. I was hurting myself and the people I loved with a cruel disregard. This song is about trying and persevering even when you feel like you’ve already failed.“
Also released is the video for Amends, the story and art direction by Odette, directed by Peter Elisha Hume and cinematography by Jack Sheperd.
“This video represents the changes I have experienced over the last few years. It’s a statement about my yearning for guidance and coming to terms with how it feels to be alive in all is complexities.”
On enjoying the process of bringing her world to life for the video;
“I made the clay and fabric puppets for this video, I wrote the treatment and I was involved in the final edit. Working with older women was important to me for this, purely because I wanted to connect and learn. I guess I had this notion that ‘if they can do this, live their lives and still be so ethereal and enigmatic, then surely I can handle what comes my way’. I have a long way to go but this video marks the start of my journey towards kindness.”
Love, heartbreak, grief, anger, self-analysis, accountability – Odette leaves no stone unturned on her second studio album Herald.
“I sabotaged a lot of good relationships, but I wrote this album because I wanted to document it in a way that wasn’t enabling it,” she clarifies. “I originally called it ‘Dwell’ because it was all about ruminating, which is a huge problem for me. But it’s one thing to draw attention to an illness or a thought, or a practice or behaviour that isn’t healthy, but it’s another thing to create an image around it, and I didn’t want Dwell to be the main take-away. I wanted it to very much be about reflecting, self-analysis and then growth. The most important part, for me, is the growth.”
And so she arrived at Herald, taken from the string soaked, theatrically throbbing opening track of the album. “It’s about realising I was in a toxic relationship, blaming the partner, and then right at the end going, actually, I think this is my fault.” After peeling back layers and layers of armour, Odette found she was much more fragile and vulnerable than she was letting on. “I guess I wanted to tell everyone that I am a softshell mollusc, deep down”, she says.
Working once again with famed producer Damian Taylor (Björk, Arcade Fire, The Killers), Odette says Taylor gave her the confidence to experiment further with her sound this time around. “He was like, Georgia, I just want you to let go and deep dive into your world and make something from it”, she says. “So I feel like I was a lot bolder with instrumentation and with experimental sounds.”
The bold and visually striking album artwork is an oil on canvas portrait by accomplished Melbourne-based artist Eben Ejdne. “Eben has been my friend for a long time,” Odette tells. “We met as teenagers obsessed with art and emotion. I’ve been following his work over the years and knew that I needed to bring him on for this project. His portrait series is a beautiful and accurate portrayal of my flesh embodying the waiting place to who I am becoming.”
The eleven track album, released on February 5, will be made available on three different vinyl colours (swamp green, blue and bone), CD and digital download/streaming via EMI Music Australia. Pre-order HERE.
HERALD TRACK LISTING
- Herald
- Dwell
- Trial By Fire
- What I Know Is Not Enough
- I Miss You, I’m Sorry
- Foghorn
- Feverbreak (feat. Hermitude)
- Amends
- Why Can’t I Let The Sun Set?
- Wait For You
- Mandible
