Odette

Our Rating: 8/10
This is the debut single by Odette, an artist with a rich musical history but little of it at the front of stage. Just Listen is Odette's time to shine but as it contains only the one track it's difficult to get too much of a rounded opinion on what else may be in store.

Even so, as a first impression, Just Listen is a very good one. Poppy, infectious and bettered by a aparkling guitar line, there is enthusiasm here that is only enhanced by a maturity both lyrically in the songcraft. Memorable melodically, the track brings to mind the female fronted rock that became popular in the 90's and continues to slowburn in the charts to the day.

If you're a fan of Meredith Brooks, Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morrisette or even the likes of Avril Lavigne, then there is a lot to admire here. As much for fans of pop as it is for anyone of the rock persuasion, Odette deserves your attention.

A fine debut. What comes next will be her biggest test.

author: lizharvs
- www.whisperinandhollerin.co.uk

ODETTE - Just Listen: This is the debut single from a lady who has rediscovered her love from music after signing to a major label with her band then taking time out studying and working in business. What you get here is a catchy pop song that would certainly be a number one hit if this was released by a major pop star. Forget all those diluted pop songs that you hear in the top 20. 'Just Listen' is a well crafted song that is a pleasure to hear. The music is spot on and Odette's voice is the cream of this release. This is a lady who has passion and isn't prepared to compromise in anyway and that is why 'Just Listen' is a song that everyone should be listening to this autumn when it's finally release. 8.5/10

Marbles Records

Release Date: 21st September 2009 - blogs.myspace.com/streetvoiceuk

Odette is something of a new name to me, she's a singer songwriter, who originally hails from Rome but now resides in London. She first started becoming interested in music at the tender age of five when she started learning piano, by the age of nine she was writing poems and at fourteen she started writing her first songs. By Odette's late teens she had joined her first band and signed a record deal.


After a brief period away from music, studying and working in the business world, she's back with her debut single Just Listen and an album entitled Just Me (which is to be released September 21st).


The single is a pretty good introduction to Odette's blend of soulful expressive rock, her vocals are strong and clear, there are hooks aplenty and the chorus is an infectious sing-a-long that'll have fans of female fronted rock fans hollering along in delight.


Sure this may not be the most original of sounds or styles but when you have a voice like Odette's that hardly matters, it's an impressive implication of what's in store on Odette's album and if everything on there is as equally contagious and enthralling we could have a real talent on our hands. As the single implies "just listen" and I'm sure you'll enjoy this stunning debut.


www.marblesrecords.com


Rhythm & Booze Rating 8 - www.rbfanzine.co.uk

Odette Albani Interview
Today 15:00

As Odette Albani prepares to release her beautiful new single, Just Listen, I caught up with the saucy Italian to chat about music, life and working at MTV.

Hello there, what are you up to at the moment?

Spending most of my day figuring out how to best launch my CD, and then just doing it. I talk to a lot of people, spend hours online looking at ideas, and sing new song ideas into my iphone recorder in the breaks.

Tell us a bit about your new single release...

"Just Listen" is a pop/rock song with an edge. It's about being with a guy who doesn't listen (anyone been there? :-)). Seriously though, being in a relationship also means being able to share your problems with someone and it's tough when they don't want to hear these problems or belittle them...

What made you choose to release that one first?

I had 3 or 4 potential songs in mind as a first release, among which was 'Just Listen'. I took advice from my radio team as to which one would be the best one for the UK market initially. I'm satisfied with this choice because I think this song reflects quite closely where I am at the moment with my music as this was one of the last ones I wrote before we recorded the album.

If you could recommend just one song from the album for us to listen to, what would it be?

Ooh, that's really difficult because I think you would need to listen to at least 3 songs to start to get a flavour of the album as the songs are all quite different from each other....'Just Listen' is a good one to start with, but then you would need to listen at least to 'My Friend' and 'Ride Your Bike' to get a clearer picture of what my music is about!

To anyone who hasn’t heard of you yet, how would you describe your sound?

I would say it's a mix of country/rock from California and of Indie Rock from the UK. I lived a part of my life as a child in the US and I think this somehow influenced the part of my brain which deals with creativity. I've lived a large part of my adulthood here in the UK and listened to loads of UK music while growing up in Italy. Anything from Beatles to Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin to Tears for Fears.

The result is that a lot of my music is guitar based and 'acoustic' and some of the songs have a slightly more 'psychedelic rock' twist to them. In general I think my music positions itself within the female pop/rock singer/songwriters sound but is not as clearly definable as US or UK origin as most.

If you could cover another band’s song, what would it be?

Either 'Kiss from a Rose' by Seal or 'Revolution' by the Beatles

And can you sum up your good selves in just five words?

Creative, Determined, Sensitive, Intuitive, Kind

You know we’re having a bit of an economic crisis here at the moment, if people wanted to spend their last £10 on a cd this weekend, why should they buy yours?

Well...for one 'Just Me' is packed with great songs, none of them a copy of the other (so good variety all within one cd!). Secondly, it's 'hand made' in that each song was crafted on the piano, wrapped in a lot of emotion and all the instruments were 'real instruments' played by real live amazing musicians (not computer generated samples!). Most importantly I think 'Just Me' will strike a chord with people and hopefully donate a few extra colours to the palette of their day to day lives.

What three bands would you have to headline your dream festival?

Led Zeppelin, Eagles, Police (can you imagine hearing these 3 bands one after the other? Like sweet and sour and hot in quick succession! :-))

What has been your favourite musical memory to date?

Seeing Sheryl Crow who played for just a few of us in a green room while I was working at MTV...She was a great performer and very personable as well. The real thing.

If all of the bands equipment was on fire, what one piece would you save and why?


My notebook with all the random ideas for my songs. If you work hard enough you can replace all the instruments but ideas are irreplaceable.

If you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be?

I would hate that as I don't enjoy repetition and I get bored quite easily. Probably the only one I wouldn't want to destroy after 3 months would be "The Best of the Beatles"

Okay, now we want to ask you some random questions;

Tell me about the most terrifying experience of your life…

I was in Kenya on a safari and sleeping in a 'luxury tent' in the middle of nowhere. In the middle of the night I heard a loud grunting noise just outside of the tent near the bed. 2 seconds later the whole tent started shaking and I thought I was about to be eaten alive by a lion. It turned out that there had been a small earthquake (very rare in Kenya!) and the grunting noise was from a resident hippo that liked to eat the grass next to our tent.

What’s the most stupid purchase you’ve ever made?

I have done so many of those....probably those that I make because I feel embarrassed not to buy anything after 2 hours in the same shop...

Why go to the top of a tall building, only to put money in binoculars and look at things on the ground?

...because nobody can see what (or who) you are looking at.

FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison - Female First Magazine

Odette Albani is more that just a stunning woman. This Italian born / London based artist has an amazing which instantly has you hooked. I find it hard to believe that Odette isn't topping the music charts but now that secret is just about to be uncovered with a brand new single 'Just Listen'. With this new single relesased and an albumbeing released soon I had to interview Odette to find out more about here. Here's what this wicked artist had to say for herself.

Street Voice: First off can you teell our readers a little about yourself please?

I am a singer-songwriter, compose my songs with the help of a piano and am currently learning how to play guitar (my songs always sound the best when played on a guitar!). I was born in Rome, Italy and lived large parts of my life in New York and in London, which I am in love with and where I have now lived for more than 10 years. I come across as very secure and confident but in reality am very thin skinned and vulnerable while at the same time able to bounce back and be strong when needed.

Street Voice: You've recently come back into muisc after giving it up to go to university and take up a career so what inspired you to get back into music?

I am a fairly eclectic person and I did lots of stuff in my life and have changed my life many times because I just couldn't settle with just one thing, just one role. My love for music started very young as I started playing the piano at 5, singing in choir at 9 and writing songs at 14. Since I was a child the most fun, inspiring and elating activities always gravitated around music and self expression. It's just part of my grain, it's who I am. I decided to leave the music scene in Itay after a number of crushing disappointments. I was too young, too scared and just couldn't deal with the situation anymore. So I gave it all up and went to the safe haven of university and then from there started working in the business world. My last job was working as head of business development for MTV. It was all pretty cushy and I should have been satisfied with my life, but something was terribly wrong. For example, every time I went to a live gig I would cry. The better the gig, the bigger the tears. I spent all my free time (when I wasn't partying!) writing songs at home and all my Saturdays were spent recording demos of these songs. All of this was for me tremendously more interesting and fulfilling than my 'job'. What really gave me the last push was when I had my daughter and I realised that I would no longer have time to do my music (with the job and the baby as well!) unless I gave up my 'day job' and committed to it fully. That was the long answer. The short answer is: I finally found the courage.





Street Voice: Your debut single 'Just Listen' is set to be released in September so are you looking forward to see what the response is to this release?

Of course I am! It's terrific when I think this is actually happening! I'm terrified too though...it's sort of the "moment of truth", all the work of these past few years will be put to the test.

Street Voice: So how did it feel to have the finished product in your hands?

There were two 'finished product' moments but the first one was more emotionally important. When all the songs were 'mastered' and we had approved all the last versions of all 15 songs I left the studio feeling numb, and oddly sad. Yes it was 'done' but I also knew that the most fun,creative, part of the process (recording the album) was also 'done' (now I look forward to doing some live gigs which are the other fun part of the process!). When I received the physical CDs in my hands was another 'finished product' moment but that just felt like a great relief as it had taken a lot longer than I thought to actually get the CDs printed!

Street Voice: Has it been hard getting everything together as you have a child which in itself takes up a lot of time?

Actually I have 2 kids. Yes sometimes I feel like it's an acrobatic juggling act to get everything done especially as I am quite a perfectionist! Most days I get to spend at least a couple of hours of quality time with the kids. During the recording process there were periods when I was in the recording and mixing studios 12-14 hours per day, often back after midnight. The next morning I would get up about 7am to spend time with the kids before school. It just meant that I slept less than the "recommended 8 hours", but because I loved what I was doing the adrenaline kept me going.

Street Voice: Now the single is almost set to be released when is the release date for the album?

The date for the album release has not been fixed but it looks like it will be around end of January 2010.

Street Voice: Can you let our readers have some information about the new album please?

There are 15 songs on the album. It was recorded with real live instruments, real drums, lots of acoustic guitars. Since my music influences range from US country-rock (i.e. Eagles, BeachBoys) to UK bands from the 70's (Led Zeppelin, Beatles, Pink Floyd) to modern pop/rock and singer-songwriters(Oasis, Pearl Jam, Green Day, Razorlight, The Feeling, The Hoosiers, Kelly Clarkson, Shery Crow etc...) my songs tend to reflect this. Some of them have a more 'country-rock' feel to them ("Ride Your Bike", "Weaker Side of Me"), some a more Psychadelic-rock feel to them ("Here We Go", "Just A Kiss") and some a more pop/rock flavour ('Just Listen', 'My Friend'). They sort of all fit together because I wrote them and because of my voice, but this is certainly not one of those albums where the next song is the same as the one before with just a couple of chords changed and slightly different lyrics!





Street Voice: Where do you get the inspiration for the lyrics that you write?

My inspiration comes from what I see, do, hear, experience, read, imagine, dream. I never know what I am going to write about until I sit at the piano and just let everything loose. The words sort of just start spilling out of my mouth with bits of melody as my hands put together chord progressions on the piano. Then I will hit on something that will move me either from a musical or a lyric perspective and I record it. Usually at that point the song is in a sort of embrionic state and I go back to it to develop it later. Some lyrics I can tie back to precise personal experiences in my life ('Ride Your Bike', 'Just Listen', 'I Needed You', for example) and others are the result of a mixture of emotions and things I experienced second hand.

Street Voice: You're a well travelled lady so what made you decide on settling in England where on the whole it's pretty wet and misrable?

London is a great city. I choose to live here because I feel free and inspired. I think that there is no single rational explanation as to why someone feels right in a certain city and not right in another. It's such a huge combination of things (and yes, weather is certainly a factor but just one dimension within the larger picture!).

Street Voice: Do you get to play many shows or are you just into releasing your music?

I am looking forward to gigging later this year. For a singer/songwriter gigging is very expensive as you have to pay the musicians that play the gigs with you. It becomes more realistic when your fan base is large enough that you can cover costs of the gig with ticket revenue. I'm planning a few small acoustic sets during the autumn, (maybe with Cafe Nero as they are currently playing my songs in their cafes) but the larger concerts will be organised after the album launch by end of winter. I'm planning on a launch showcase at MIDEM, the music festival in Cannes in January.

Street Voice: Asides the music and family stuff what do you like to get up to in your spare time?

I try to keep myself fit by playing tennis, rollerblading, love to go out to eat asian food and obviously go to gigs. I am also partial to good wine and lemongrass martinis. Oh, and shopping (too much of that, actually...).

Street Voice: You blow away other female artists with your looks and voice so do you hope the general public will think along the same lines and give you a fair listen?

You are being very flattering right now! I think I am OK looking and my voice is distinctive so people will recognise it easily. I don't think looks and voice are enough to get heard though. I really count on the strength of my songs and the originality of my sound to get heard. I also think I'm not the typical 'new artist' as I have more years behind me and experience pre-music than most people have when launching their first album. This is an advantage as I think there are many 30 year olds that have difficulty identifying with the barely-20 year olds that are predominant in the charts at the moment.





Street Voice: Aside from your music have you been up to anything cool this summer?

I spent a couple of weeks on a beach in Italy (I need to soak up some sun every one in a while to neutralise the London rain!) and then a few days in Rome where I filmed some live, acoustic, footage of 3 of the songs of the album. We filmed them in a very old part of town, in a beautiful square. It was 40 degrees so scorching hot and quite draining to sing in this condition but still very fun (and the tourists were staring as they assumed I was some Italian diva with 2 cameramen, an audio guy and a photographer following me around!). I also took up tennis again and have been playing non stop.

Street Voice: And if one of our readers sees you in a bar what's your favourite drink?

Lemongrass Martini please!

Thanks to Odette for doing the interview and a big thank you to Kate Chaundy at Quite Great for arranging it. Odette Albani just has to be heard and proof of what a great pop artist she is can be heard on that single 'Just Listen'. Check it out! - Street Voice UK