Blog 2: Arranging the songs and finding the 'sound' for the album

I just got the great news that 2 of the songs from my album will be played across all the 'Cafe Nero' locations starting August 1!!! For those of you from outside the UK, Cafe Nero is the National equivalent of Starbucks. I am therefore mega thrilled!

Also- I have updated my album widget here: http://www.reverbnation.com/odette or just check previous blog!) with two more tracks: 'Just A Kiss' and 'We Will Find A Way'. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Here comes Part 2 of the making of my "Just Me" album. Arranging the songs and finding the 'sound' for the album:

Enter stage left: Marco. Marco was the guitarist in the first ever band I played in. I was about 16 and the band's name was 'Puzzle'. We played on stages in high school festivals across Rome doing Pink Floyd covers and original music inspired by Pink Floyd. You can just picture me standing on a stage pointing my finger to a bunch of Italian high school students with a serious face singing "so ya, thought ya would like to...go to the show...!" Ha ha!

Anyway, Marco and I got back in touch 2 years ago thanks to the miracle of Myspace. Aside from remaining a great guitarist, Marco had also become a successful producer and sound engineer in Rome. He loved the songs I had posted there and wanted to help me produce my album. A few months later, in April 2008, he moved to London from Rome and we started the 3 month long creative process of selecting the songs for the album, auditioning musicians, and finding the right sound/dimension for each song. I would give Marco indications of how I felt the songs needed to sound, how I had imagined them as I was writing them on my piano and he would perform the magic of taking my (sometimes vague and contradictory!) indications and make it happen. I think he came close to strangling me a couple times when i had changed my mind one too many times so I am lucky to be here all on one piece!

The collaboration made it so that I tempered his psychedelic rock tendency (he's still a Pink Floyd head) and he softened my country rock inclination and resulted in the unique sound that is "Just Me". So this is now June 2008 and the next step is starting the recording!

Stay posted for part 3!!

Kisses from me.

Odette Xx

Widget updated with 2 more tracks!

Hi guys – still in Italy but just wanted to let you know I have updated by album widget with 2 NEW songs: ‘Ride Your Bike’ and ‘Break Your Heart’, plus don’t forget the free download Mp3 of ‘My Friend’.

Please enjoy them all and let me know what you think! Also, do join my official mailing list (and if you want to get more involved, join my Street Team as its all going off this week!) All can be found on the widget below.

Odette X

Blog 1 : the Songs and Writing them

Hi! I’m still feeling mesmerised by the psychedelic performance by Oasis at Wembley of ‘I Am The Walrus’! What an incredible song by The Beatles and what an amazing cover by Oasis!

As the launch of the first single (music authorities have determined this will be ‘Just Listen! Check it out on my widget (please see my previous blog post!) nears and I’m out here enjoying the sun in Italy, I thought I’d write about how the album came about in the first place. So this is Part 1 of my Blog:

The Songs:

I wrote the 14 songs on the album over 15 years more or less in this order (although some songs were on the go at the same time): I Needed You, For You, Here We Go, Ride Your Bike, Why Did I, Breaking The Rules, Break Your Heart, We Will Find A Way, Just Listen, Just A Kiss, Weaker Side Of Me, My Friend, Do Da Dee Da, Why Do You Hate Me.

The last eight I wrote in the last 3 years when I returned to music full time. Of all the songs I wrote, about one third made the final cut to go on my album. Initially we were thinking of having 12 songs on there but we just couldn’t decide which two we were going to cut!

On Writing:

Writing for me is the most incredible experience… it is the most intense and fulfilling process. I can spend weeks not writing a note or a word and then all of a sudden, I’ll find myself gravitating towards the piano and I’ll lose myself for hours there going through a rainbow of emotions, sometimes sobbing, sometimes feeling as gleeful as a kid, angry, lustful, hopeless, powerful, then eventually, empty. But in a good way. Like I poured all this stuff that was inside me of me out and I feel calm and rooted. I often feel like my emotions act like a lightening rod which is catching all these bits of energy that are flying around in the form of notes and words that I then have to reorder into songs

Enough for now. I’d love to answer any questions on my songs or the process of writing them so ask away!

Love and kisses

Odette X

FREE Download of 'My Friend' !

Hi Guys,

You can now get a FREE download of the summery track 'My Friend' via the widget on this very blog! Just click on the little arrow pointing downwards to download it. It's absolutely free - and for you to enjoy. :)

The widget is here:

Thanks for all your support!

Odette x