The Oddness is an Australian DJ and producer who also heads up Smash Bang Records.

The Oddness has a love of mid-tempo grooves and downtempo electronica that incorporate organic sounds.

He is a talented DJ known for his sets at leading Australian events such as Rainbow Serpent, Elements and Let Them Eat Cake. Also producing his own music, The Oddness boasts tracks and remixes on scene-leading record labels ranging from Bedrock to Sol Selectas.

His epic 333 podcast showcased the diversity of his sound and skills at mixing music, and he also took the time to run through a few questions…

How did you find the format, what was the vibe/energy you were trying to capture?

“I loved doing this long mix. Usually, when I do a podcast or a guest mix I’ll concentrate more on the latest music I buy or create, but when I can include this much music I really enjoyed going back through the music I’ve collected over the last few years, and re-discovered some bombs. The mix starts at 95bpm and ends at 122bpm, and to stretch that progression out over three and a half hours was really great to do.”

Tell us how you first found your love for music, electronic or just in general?

“I moved to Melbourne in the middle of a really exciting time here, the music scene was so insane in the early 2000s, and my first job here was working in clubs, so I was thrown right into it. Discovering the rave scene was integral for me, and the first time I went to the classic Melbourne party ‘Every Picture Tells a Story’ my mind was completely blown by DJs like Will E Tell and Jeff Tyler. I fell in love with electronic music instantly, saved every spare dollar I had to buy records, and spent all my time on dancefloors”

Who are some of the artists that inspire you and how have they influenced your own style?

“The people who influence my music are contemporary artists that are killing it in the mid-tempo / organic house scene. Some of them are Mula, Unam, Zuma Dionys, Kermesse and Okuma.
I’m also really inspired by a couple of my peers like Kasey Taylor and Jamie Stevens, both of those guys have had long successful careers in music, while always staying contemporary due to their amazing work ethics.”

The places we grow up in, various locations and cities can have a powerful effect on our creative energy. Tell us a bit more about where you grew up and how it may have influenced your sound and direction?

“I grew up in a small country town in South East Victoria during the 90s so my access to music was at first a bit limited. Me and my friends were really into heavy metal music, and later discovered Hip Hop, but I was always really into the songs that not many others liked, as I would always play the B-Side first, and I think my current musical direction was born then.”

Can you tell us a bit about your label, Smash Bang? Totally love the name by the way!

“Smash Bang was first started around 10 years ago by Luke McD and Esan Gelsi, and has been a big part of the underground music scene here in Melbourne. I first started getting involved with the label around 5 years ago, and it was kind of a collective project run by myself, Timmus, Luke and Daktari. We were really concentrating on releasing music by young Melbourne artists, and a lot of the time it would be their first release, but a lot of these artists have gone on to have real success with their music. So, it has been really rewarding to put out their music.

“After a bit of a break, I relaunched the record label earlier this year and changed the musical direction to mirror my own sound. I’m also branching out to include overseas artists who are making music that I absolutely love, while still trying to have an Australian artist on each release, either from a remix or the original tracks. I’ve allocated a lot of my time to developing the label and have some really exciting releases lined up.”

We would like to invite you to add 2 tracks to our Flow Suggests melodic house playlist, songs you can’t stop listening to? (Embeded playlist)

“These two songs have been stuck in my head constantly for the last couple of weeks are ‘Ashes of Snow’ by Parallells, and Catori’s remix of ‘This is the way’ by ITAI.”

Outside of DJing and producing music, how do you spend your time?

“I work full-time as a motion graphics designer and animator for a major TV network, and this takes up a lot of my time, but getting to do something creative every day is amazing. I also do animation work for record labels and festivals, and it’s great combining my two worlds like this.”