5 Remixes by ODESZA That You Have To Blast Immediately

The name, ODESZA, has become synonymous with trance-y ebbs and smooth, ambient flows that will make any stoner slide back in his or her chair the instant a melody is repeated. We will be lining up five of ODESZA’s best and diverse remixes that you definitely need to hear!

5. Sia – Big Girls Cry (ODESZA Remix)

Sia – Big Girls Cry (ODESZA Remix)

Sia has been an artist that has always been involved with the trip-hop, alternative, and ambient music scenes with much of her early work with Zero 7. While much of her less popular work has been forgotten in favor of her new, mainstream friendly tunes, ODESZA’s 2014 work on the limited-release second single off “1,000 Forms of Fear” shows that they are definitely not afraid to take Sia back where Sia came from. Much of the original melody is stripped from the track, bringing the song back to her early days when abstract ambiance ruled over catchy hooks. While almost all of the original lyrics, melody, and vocals are stripped from the number, “Big Girls Cry” comes in at number five for its clever limited use of Sia’s vocals with an entirely reworked melody that will make any long-time Sia fan yearn for her old days.

4. Hayden James – Something About You (ODESZA Remix)

Hayden James – Something About You (ODESZA Remix)

The original composition of Hayden James’s “Something About You” gives a very Divahouse approach on the backbeat that makes the questions the vocals ask, almost playful. While the original can be blasted in almost any club-setting and get the crowd ready, the ODESZA remix of Hayden James’s groove begins in an entirely different mood. Bringing in the classic ambiance we are all used to from ODESZA, a female voice asks us if it’s okay to “have a hit of your love.” Going from the former’s vocals, which featured a more playful, beat-orientated track, ODESZA’s remix of the song and dominance of artificial strings throughout the melody paint an almost playfully tragic picture of the lyrics being portrayed. As the mantra-refrain continues to be repeated, it shouldn’t be uncommon for the listener to develop almost a haunting feeling as the custom bassline draws to fading close. ODESZA’s rework of Hayden James’s “Something About You” is coming in at number four, but should be one of your top songs to chill to in 2016 after a long, hard day.

3. Charli XCX – Break the Rules (ODESZA Remix)

Charli XCX – Break the Rules (Odesza Remix)

What can be said about Charli XCX? Most famously making her debut in Iggy Azalea’s “Fancy,” one can almost mistake her for a Gwen Stefani cover band with her similarly crooned dramatic vocals that don’t seem to have as much as an emphasis in her melody as Gwen makes in her own voice. Admittedly, this is a song I was not a fan of at all, be it radio edit form, or otherwise. With childish lyrics, a lazy pop bassline, and what seems to be the musical incantation of a wrinkly studio executive’s hand reaching and fondling the young masses to buy a pseudo-rebellious song that encourages American kids to go to the “discotheque.” While we aren’t a stranger to “getting high and getting wrecked,” no one gives a shit what a discotheque is.

ODESZA’s 2014 remix of this sugary pop tune starts off way better than could ever be anticipated for where this song could go. Including an insanely morale-boosting and bass-y march beat that introduces the tune, the lyrics almost sound less painful with this better execution. While still possessing the ambient and “far-out” feelings of a typical ODESZA remix, this particular mix is directly in-your-face with its intent: changing an ordinary pop tune into a banger that won’t embarrass you on the ride to work.

2. Pretty Lights – Lost and Found (ODESZA Remix)

Pretty Lights // Lost and Found (ODESZA Remix)

In its remix form, Pretty Lights have found much success with ODESZA’s remix of “Lost and Found”, which also happened to be included on the Divergent soundtrack. While the remix has definitely made a splash with both EDM and film-goers alike, the original includes a diverse instrumentation that evokes that “retro-indie” effect to the ears that almost every band who follows trends wants to buck onto. In including a good range of brass, strings, and representations of very raw, real instruments, the lesser known original track of the remix captures a nostalgia that millennials have been chasing for the past decade. Similar to Pretty Light’s take on Pink Floyd’s “Time,” ODESZA’s Lost and Found goes against their own grain as more natural and organic production techniques are used in this remix. Hearing bits of the melody being reused along with artificial instruments that take the place of the more organic, original instrumentation, some of the more natural production techniques that were kept reflect sounds we almost hear in our daily life, a fair nod to the original work that Pretty Lights had already done. Remixes like these are hard to find – one that challenges the style of the original tune and said-person who is remixing, but still keeps to the original theme while giving small nods to the old and new.

1. Porter Robinson ft. Amy Millan – Divinity (ODESZA Remix)

Porter Robinson ft. Amy Millan – Divinity (ODESZA Remix)

It has been no secret that there had been a wish from many internet listeners who have been wanting a musical collaboration between Porter Robinson and ODESZA before this mix dropped. 2015 had delivered a bag of many wishes, and Electronic Santa Claus delivered one of the most skin-crawling ambient tunes that will satiate the need of eardrum sex for the next year to come. This will be the only entry that will disregard the original almost entirely, for the 2015 Remix of Divinity had been entirely reworked to reflect an entirely different composition. While differences have been mentioned between original compositions and their respective remixes from ODESZA, Porter Robinson with Amy Millan and ODESZA changed a ground-shaking mix, ODESZA once again brings back some more typical drum-set beats that mix with Amy’s vocals in an enchanting and indie playland. After the more organic production choices take their place, we hear some Porter Robinson-esque melodies make their way back into the composition, slowly riding against ODESZA’s soft beats, while also softening some of Porter’s more “lit” choices against Amy’s soft, techno-friendly vocals.

While this only scratches the surface of ODESZA’s catalog, let these songs take you on a smooth journey, whether you’ll be stalking that ex-girlfriend, or enjoying a nice quiet evening out on the town. If you’d like to hear more ODESZA’s work, follow the links below:

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