The Northwest Music Movement Featuring an Interview with Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills

Odesza, an electronic duo from Seattle brought the heat to This Tent on Friday night from 1:00-2:15 a.m.

Before their powerful and sweaty set, I was able to speak with them about their trip to Bonnaroo, their thoughts on the festival, and upcoming projects they have lined up.

Their live performance was a brilliant mixture of electronic dance music, a strong horn section and a diehard crowd that swelled to a max at one point. Odesza is mainly comprised of Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills. I found their addition of a horn section to layer with their live beats to be smart and exciting.

The crowd continued to push for more as Odesza tore it up Friday night. It was my first time seeing them live, and it will not be the last. They put thought and time into their set, and the audio production during their set was above par.

Have you two listened to Atmosphere before, or you fans?

“Oh yeah, I grew up with God Loves Ugly.” – Harrison Mills

So being this close, (we were currently behind the Which Stage as Atmosphere was performing live,) does it feel like home?

“Is he playing right now? Wow, we need to go see it.” – Harrison Mills

How has your day been so far?

“It’s been good, we have only been here for 20 minutes. It’s hot and we’ve been drinking a little bit.” – Clayton Knight

How was your trip to the festival grounds? Was it a smooth ride?

“Yeah, we flew in yesterday. We kind of hung out in Murfreesboro, Tennessee for a bit. We just drove out around 5 and we are on point.” – Clayton Knight

How would you describe your music to someone that has not heard it yet?

“It’s really hard to do because we try to change up a lot of the things we try. We are always trying experiment with different sounds, and we love so many genres, but I would definitely say it is like indie/soul/hip-hop/electronic/experimental/punk.” – Harrison Mills

What about Bonnaroo that draws you in? What attracts you to this festival?

“The sheer size of it. It has been around for a minute. The buzz about it, and everyone is talking about it. Definitely a place to visit.” – Clayton Knight

Do you prepare different for a festival performance in comparison to an indoor concert?

“I think the show is different in itself because of the setting. So like, if we are in a tent, I think the vibe is going to go more with the lights and sound. If it is enclosed, it is more intimate that way. I don’t think it is so much about how our setup is, but more the setting itself in general.” – Harrison Mills

You two have lived in Seattle for a few years now. How has the music scened changed in Seattle over the past ten years?

“For a long time, it was grunge, and it developed out of there, so heavy rock, Pearl Jam kind of influence. The rock influence was huge out there. It slowly developed into a softer, folky feel, and then hip-hop kind of took the stage with Macklemore and Blue Scholars owning the scene for a moment. So, hopefully we can supply the next avenue for it, which is more electronic.” – Clayton Knight

How would you summarize Bonnaroo in one sentence?

“Sweaty.” – Harrison Mills

Do you have new music coming out soon? Is there anything we should be on the lookout for?

“We have a Porter Robinson remix coming out, an Emanciaptor remix and another one coming out soon.” – Harrison Mills