OdetteGeorgia "Odette" Sallybanks is one of those new musicians that both excites and infuriates. A bloody talented young woman at a time when the Australian scene in particular seems to be producing a cluster of new voices — adding to the noise with an unusual blend of raw vocal and piano-based music, supported by strong contemporary production.
Her spoken word is captivating — delivered with a cool urgency that reminds of artists like Ani DiFranco and other genre-defying greats. While she's happy not to be categorised, there is one label she rejects for her style. "Um, R&B," she says without hesitation. "I think it's quite easy to be pigeonholed into that category, and people are like, 'Oh, [you] rap,' and I'll be like, 'No no no, I can't rap.' Rap is freestyle, I don't do that."
Lead single Watch Me Read You draws attention with its genre exploration that moves from spoken word to a chilled dance vibe, sampling Maya Angelou for good measure and more than a little depth. Then throughout the album, To A Stranger, this love of a good lyric (musical and poetic) drives, but is delivered with a clarity and nuance that doesn't get nearly enough space in mainstream music these days.
"I got signed to my manager when I was 14, I was very much a young'un, and then I guess I got signed to EMI when I was 17," Sallybanks explains of her rise from triple j Unearthed hopeful to major label contractor. "I was like, 'Let's take it slow, I'm still in high school, I want to finish high school, ideally,' and so yeah. It was kind of, to be honest, because I met my manager when I was quite young, I was ready. I was like, 'Ok, I've learned my stuff, let's do it. Let's be business-y.'
Once the business came into it Sallybanks didn't muck around. Writing reams of lyrics and strings of songs, through what she calls "a process of elimination", she developed the album. Writing or co-writing every track, she's been clear to keep a handle on the direction of each. "I don't really think about it to be honest, I just write," she says of the coherence of the end result. "And I guess the thing about my writing is there's different songs with different styles, but they're all still kind of me because they're all kind of about the same thing. And I've asked people and they're not sure what to put me in, indie-pop or pop-alternative, and I'll just go with it."
A big part of the story so far is Sallybanks' ability to collaborate, particularly with unusual production combinations. For example, working with Paul Mac she's developed cracker tracks Pastel Walls and Lotus Eaters, while programmer/mod synth player Damian Taylor has helped elevate what was already solid vocals and piano into something new. "Yeah, Paul Mac I actually worked with a couple of years ago, three years ago actually. When I took songs into the studio to Damian we kind of did it all in one take to make it as live as possible, so the actual take on the record is me singing and playing at the same time. And they just added production over the top of it, and that was really exciting for me because we could bring in that raw performance element as well as the product element, which was cool."
Dear reader, if you're thinking it's a special kind of performer who can commit to record on one take these days, you'd be right. But there is something about the superhero here, anyway. Sallybanks does have a bit of a Clark Kent/Superman thing going on with the stage name and 'real name' divide. Although she enjoys the relative privacy this divide gives (and no doubt will continue to as her star rises), the story behind it is also pretty super. "It was just that I literally liked Rihanna. I went up to my mum at ten years old and said, 'Mum, Rihanna goes by her middle name, what's mine?' And she said, 'Odette,' and I was like, 'Bam, done.' And it's stuck with me," she laughs.
