The Oddness - New EP "Distant Voices" - Interview with MinimalMag
Hailing from Melbourne comes the talented Warwick Ferguson, otherwise known as The Oddness.
Not only a producer and performer, but he is also the head of Smash Bang Records.
He has been gaining some serious momentum remixing the likes of Satin Jackets, Franz Matthews & Local Suicide and has recently released his own EP ‘Distant Voices’ via Eskimo Recordings.
The 3 track EP is a refreshingly unique take on club music and takes you through eclectic soundscapes from the funky and hypnotic to the psychedelic.
We had the chance to catch up with him for a chat.
Hello The Oddness, thanks for joining our interview series. Could you please introduce yourself to the readers who might not be acquainted with your work?
Thanks so much for having me.
I’m a producer and performer from Melbourne, Australia.
I’ve made music under a few different aliases and genres for about 8 years now but started The Oddness 3 years ago.
My music is mid tempo, chuggy and bass heavy with layers of funky percussion.
When I perform, depending on the gig, I either play live solo, or with a 3 piece band.
Let’s start from the very beginning. What kind of music did you listen to when you were a kid? And what was your first encounter with electronic music?
Like most teenagers I went through phases, First, it was heavy metal, I loved bands like Ministry, Kyuss, and Helmet, but in my late teenage years, I had a huge love of Hip Hop, stuff like The Beastie Boys, De La Soul and Public Enemy.
I grew up in a rural part of Victoria, so didn’t really discover Electronic music until I moved to Melbourne when I was 19 and started working in nightclubs, so was lucky to be introduced to good underground House music from the start, Frankie Knuckles, Derrick May, etc.
The Oddness - New EP "Distant Voices"
What kind of music do you listen to nowadays when you are at home? Any tracks you’ve had on repeat recently?
I listen to a lot of Funk and Hip Hop when I’m at home.
I’ve had Luca Musto’s podcasts on repeat recently, He mixes those two genres with nice low slung house.. Just my vibe 🙂
What do you enjoy the most besides music?
I also work as an animator and motion graphics designer, and do a lot of work for Music Festivals and record labels, which I really enjoy.
Eating great food with my beautiful wife is also on the top of that list.
You are from Melbourne. What is the electronic music scene like there?
I’m in two minds about this. The House and Techno scene is huge, and the people putting on parties and club nights are extremely hard working and packed full of credibility, It’s really healthy.
But if your music is outside of that scene, it’s hard to get a crowd, There seems to be a reluctance to take risks.
The festivals are a whole different story though, The lineups are diverse and those performers and Djs that don’t fit into the club mould are front and centre.
The Oddness - New EP "Distant Voices" on SoundCloud
How are things in Australia at the moment? Are there events happening? And how do you see the future in music given the covid19 situation?
It’s actually pretty exciting at the moment, we’re on top of Covid here and all of the parties, festivals and club nights are back on, but without touring international acts, so the local artists are in for a big year… touch wood.
How did you spend 2020 and the lockdown times?
Writing heaps of music! I finished off my second album and worked a lot on my live show. I do work for a Television Station here in Melbourne, so was still working constantly through it, which was great for my sanity.
You just released the amazing EP Distant Voices on Eskimo Recordings. Could you please tell us more about it?
I was really excited to do an EP for Eskimo, They are such a rock solid label, really professional and great with their promo etc.
It was quite a while in the making, I’d already done a couple of remixes for them, which thankfully they liked and I think it was about a year ago we started working towards doing the EP.
It was specially written for the label too, I wanted to get more of a disco vibe melded into my music at that time, and loved the process of doing this, and them appreciating it.
What’s your studio set up like and what’s your favorite piece of kit? What key pieces of gear/software are you using to define your sound right now?
It’s pretty simple as I like to use the same equipment to make music as what I use to perform live.
I’ve got a Moog Sub 37 that is usually the backbone to my tracks, making up most of the arpeggiated synth lines and fat pads.
I also have an Alesis sample pad for playing live percussion, I usually just jam on that for hours and record it, thermn go through and find those little quirky sections that I can loop.
Any plans for the near future? Releases, gigs, streams etc that you would like to share with us?
I’ve got a remix for Zuima Dionys due out soon , as well as a track on TRNDMSK, and and EP coming up on Lndkhn.
I’m also doing a gig in late May where I’m performing with the three different vocalists which appeared on my last Album which I’m really excited about.
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