[New] ODESZA; THE LAST GOODBYE

One of the most talked about acts in the EDM market, Odesza and their tight-knit touring family bring The Last Goodbye to fans up and down the US. Before starting another round of touring in 2023, TPi takes the time to speak to those behind their audacious live show.

There is no doubt that touring post-pandemic has become much trickier than in years past. With longer lead times, a lack of resources for both equipment and crew, and every aspect of touring becoming increasingly expensive, many up-and-coming artists are erring on the side of caution when it comes to pushing the envelope of a live show. However, despite these notable roadblocks, American EDM duo Odesza are still pushing for progression no matter the size of venue they are playing.

With a visually striking stage show that adds live instrumentation to the traditional EDM setting – most notably with an eight-piece drumline – the production seems to borrow just as much inspiration from prog rock as it does others in the dance music sphere.

With the group taking a break over Christmas, TPi caught up with several of the key decision makers within the camp to learn how they were looking to keep pushing their impressive live show.

Wide Awake

Before going into the specifics of the Odesza tour, Production Manager, Shane Crowl spoke more generally about the state of live touring in 2023. “When we plan a tour, we have to forget about many of the things we once took for granted,” he began. “The price of everything has gone through the roof and I worry that it may start to box in a lot of artists. Many are going to have to decide if it’s worth investing in a new market at a potential loss.”

This background was important because although Crowl painted a rather bleak picture, he explained his joy at finding a camp like Odesza, where everyone involved from the artists to crew have “the right mindset”.

St arting with the band in 2017, Crowl and his fellow Motion Music business partner, JB Blot, were hired by their Tour Manager, Bryan ‘Bronko’ Aiello. Later down the line, Bronko then became the third partner in Motion Music in 2019 and remains the tour manager for Odesza. “Back then, it was an interesting challenge as the venues they were playing varied dramatically in scale with large rooms in the West to smaller clubs on the East Coast,” reflected Crowl. “For that run, we had four different setups. Despite the challenge, I got to know the team and everyone involved including the artists [Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight] who are always willing to problem solve and approach each show with a great attitude.”

For The Last Goodbye, the team brought back several suppliers that the band had worked with previously including: audio supplier, Clearwing; special effects provider, Pyrotecnico; and Lightwave International, which provided lasers.

“A ll our returning suppliers are fantastic,” stated the PM. “All three of them give it to me straight and they are a joy to collaborate with. Gear is gear, but what counts is the people. Odesza is a challenging tour with what we are trying to do in some of these venues, but everyone that came out from the suppliers had exactly the right attitude.” One of the newcomers to the team was Volt, who provided lighting. “They are a great team, but one of the main reasons for going with them was that they didn’t make a single substitution to requested fixtures,” Crowl revealed.

The same went for the tour’s video supplier, Beware. “The product we really wanted for this show was the ROE Visual Vanish 8T,” stated the PM. “Only a few people had it in the US at the time and Beware was one that could guarantee we’d be able to get it.” Finally rounding out the list of suppliers was All Access Staging, which provided the custom set for the tour.

Better Now

The show design came from long-term Creative Directors, Luke Tanaka and Sean Kusanagi. Both Tanaka and Kusanagi’s history with the band goes back a long way, with the four of them going to college together. “Sean grew up with Harrison from the band and we’ve all known each other for a very long time,” stated Tanaka. “Back in college, we always used to push the guys to pursue their music, so it’s amazing to be here a decade later working with each other,” added Kusanagi. “On the creative side, it’s such a rare opportunity to have this level of trust with an artist and it has allowed us to push the creative process even further.”

Tanaka and Kusanagi explained storytelling and creating a narrative were vital to the show. “We wanted to produce a show that would appeal to a massive audience,” explained Kusanagi. “Their music falls into the EDM bracket, but we want the show to cross genres. We often have people who don’t like the genre come to shows and change their mind due to the cinematic nature of an Odesza show – not to mention all the additional elements from live horns and drums.”

There were numerous new design features that both Tanaka and Kusanagi were excited to explore for this latest run – most notably the additional video elements. “As we were sometimes playing to over 22,000 people, we started to experiment with IMAG to translate the show to this larger crowd,” stated Kusanagi. The team worked with Jonathan Beswick during the early stages of the tour, with Sean Smith taking on directing duties later in the run.

Both the designers also highlighted the greater role of pyrotechnics in the show. “We have been working closely with Rocco Vitale for Pyrotechnico for many years; previously we’ve relied on video demos, but this time we went to LA to do some pyro demos and see all the products in person,” stated Tanaka. “It’s hard to gauge how those products are going to look, so it was great to bring in Rocco at the ground floor of the design process and create new pyro looks that melded with the rest of the visual looks.”

When it came to the pre-planning elements, the duo made use of modern VR technology to ensure that the visual design would have the desired impact when finally put together live.

“Pre-visualisation using Syncronorm Depence² is how we ensured the show would have the desired effect when moving it into the various venue sizes,” stated Kusanagi. “The pandemic has meant our timelines have been pushed more and more and decisions are now made a year out. Having these tools where you can make more solid decisions is a huge advantage.”

Light Of Day

Aiding in Tanaka and Kusanagi’s joint vision was Lighting Designer, Kyle Kegan. Having worked with them back in 2017, he was keen to jump back aboard for this run. “Odesza is an interesting project because although they fall into the EDM bracket, their show separates itself from others in the genre,” he began. “My career started in theatre and with Odesza, I get to draw on some old theatre theories and techniques.”

In between the drum lines and high-impact moments, Kegan had to make sure he had the toolbox of fixtures to deal with all the demands of the show. This included Elation Professional Smarty Hybrids, Artise Monets and Artiste Rembrandts. Also on the rig were the GLP impression X5s, JDC Line 500s, Robe Mega Pointes; CHAUVET Professional COLORados, and Acme Pixel Line IPs.

“We knew we needed the hybrid fixtures as we wanted to ensure we got the most bang for our buck. We also made sure every fixture was CMY or RGB colour space, so we could fully colour match the content on the screens.”

Another feature of the rig was the GLP X5. “I think we must have been one of the first to take it out on the road in the US,” stated the LD. “It’s light and powerful and really cuts through as a wash and a beam.”

The X5s were put inside the unique set piece, which mimics the band’s logo. “They were used both as a top light and a back light, which created some really striking looks. Kegan also praised the Acme Pixel Line, which he used to give shape to the stage. “We ended up lining them all along the truss and on the floor, which gave us a lot of dynamic looks during the show.”

Kegan also was keen to compliment lighting vendor, Volt, which provided solutions to enable his rig to be malleable and fit into the smaller venues while still maintaining the impact.

“T hey manufactured our own ladders for the tour, which we could break apart into sections to fit the show into smaller markets,” said the LD. “We never wanted to completely dismantle the rig, so everyone who saw the show still got the desired impact.”

One of the biggest changes for Kegan was the move to the MA Lighting grandMA3 using MA3 software. “We own a few of the consoles in our studios and I have used it on a few shows, but I was keen to try it on a tour,” he stated. “I knew it was going to be a tall order – especially on a show like this that has so many cues – but I spent a few months working out the kinks and, with the support of ACT in the States, we got it up and running smoothly. We will be going on with MA3 in future shows.”

North Garden

Simon Thomas, a TPi Award-winning FOH Engineer, was one of the few newcomers to this tour. While working on Porter Robinson’s campaign [TPi #226] he also ended up running the show for Robinson’s support act for several dates. “During this time, I got chatting to the support’s management team, who happened to also represent Odesza,” stated Thomas. “They gave me a call to see if I would be interested in working with them, so I looked up their Coachella performance online. It It was like watching a Pink Floyd version of EDM! The production value with all the lasers and pyro was very impressive, then you had the huge drum line and brass section.”

For the tour, Clearwing supplied Thomas with an L-Acoustics K1 and K2 rig along with flown KS28S subs and K1 SBs on top of each array. “I’m a big believer in flown subs,” said Thomas. “I think it really makes a difference, and thankfully, I got them in the air in almost all the venues.”

Although the rig fluctuated in size, the hangs comprised 14 K1 with four K2 with four K1 SB on each hang. “The band care about their audio, which was great to discover,” stated Thomas. “They really like the sound of the L-Acoustics PA. I inherited the system when I came on board, but the States for the initial production rehearsals, so we had to find a solution to beam me in from my home in England,” he recalled. “As I was using a Solid State Logic 550 Plus, I made use of SSL’s SOLSA software and remotely mixed the show from across the Atlantic. I was also on tech comms, so it was like I was there in the room.”

Thomas was keen to praise the work of Phil Reynolds for his “top IT skills” that made this remote setup possible. He also wanted to extend his thanks to System Engineer, Joe Spitzer of Clearwing for his work during the tour along with the wider audio team.

“T he other amazing thing about this show is the RF setup,” closed Thomas while giving his final thoughts on the show. “With all the wireless instruments – particularly in the drum line – there are a lot of wireless signals. We are using Shure Axient equipment on all the drums, brass and shout mics and it was an interesting process to get all the channels up and running – just for the tech coms. Shure was also on hand to answer any question that came up.”

The Last Goodbye

Despite the name of the band’s latest release and subsequent tour, it seems very unlikely that this will be the ‘Last Goodbye’ for either the band or their loyal crew.

“We are very proud of this show, but when it comes to the design, there are so many ideas that we’ve not even been able to get to,” commented Kusanagi. “We have the best team within Odesza and from the creative side, we find that everything comes together so naturally.”

The production is currently working on the 2023 schedule and will no doubt continue the upward trajectory of Odesza’s well renowned live show. www.odesza.com www.motionmusic.us