An interview with Tom Odell

Tom Odell is one of the more compelling singer/songwriters to emerge from England since the early 2010s. Discovered by Lily Allen, he put out debut album Long Way Down - which went to No. 1, sold more than 300,000 copies and spawned the top 10 single “Another Love” at home - in 2013.

Long Way Down also netted the young pop/rock pianist prestigious BRIT and Ivor Novello Awards. It wasn’t long before Odell’s emotional and poignant songs were regularly being heard in American television dramas like “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Blacklist,” “Reign” and “The 100.”

On excellent third album Jubilee Road, Odell stripped the production down slightly, so the music centered more on piano. He often took an observational lyrical approach (much like cited influences Elton John, Randy Newman and Bruce Springsteen), with some situations gleaned from former neighbors at an East London house. The results ended up being what the musician calls his most honest recording to date.

We caught up with Odell, 27, in Portland, Ore. amid a brief solo acoustic jaunt through North America.

Question: While looking over your past tour itineraries, I saw some far-flung locations like China and Russia listed last year. Was that your first time performing in those places?

Tom Odell: In China, we’ve done two tours now. One last year and one in 2014. It’s a really interesting place to tour and a very different experience from touring Europe or the States. Ultimately, I think what’s so fascinating is how universal music is - how it transcends languages and cultures. We were right at the center of China. I remember being some place where you wouldn’t expect people to know the music for miles and they knew it. I think that’s what’s so wonderful. We’ve gone so many places. We did our first show in Africa last year as well. I think we’ve done six of the seven continents now.

Q: You co-produced Jubilee Road with Ben Baptie, who worked on your first album. Did you want to be more “hands on” in the studio this time around?

TO: Yeah, I think that’s just the way I like to work. I trained [in classical piano] for many years and have a fairly good grip on music. I say that in terms of being different from being an artist. There’s a knowledge one has to have if they’re going to produce - understanding how harmony and rhythm works. It just feels natural for me to do that.

I was more involved than ever with this new album and I was playing, if not in the room, every single note. Every single bit of this album feels inherently mine. In some ways, that is quite indulgent, but this was the album I wanted to do that on. It feels very personal, this album.

Q: Was using less instrumentation a reaction to the dense soundscapes on your last album Wrong Crowd?

TO: I certainly wanted to get the song across. In some ways, it also focuses more on the piano and the drums and let the band I’ve played with for many years shine through. I think there was a [feeling of] ‘OK, we’re gonna really set some rules here.’

On all the tracks, it’s pretty much just the four-piece playing, if not just piano and vocal. I didn’t want it to be distracting. I wanted the production to not be the [first] thing that people remember. I wanted the thing that people remember to be the songs, the lyrics and the melodies. That’s ultimately what I want people to take away.

Q: Were many of the new songs initiated from a piano melody?

TO: Pretty much all of them. Whereas on the second album, there were a few songs written on guitar. I tend to write always a bit on guitar as a bit of a change. If I’m working on lyrics, I might play the song on guitar. But mostly on piano. A huge part was I felt that the songwriting was steered by the piano. The songs are as much about the vocal melodies as they are melodies immersed within the piano. Which is an interesting experience. I spent a huge amount of time in the studio really working on a piano part, much like one would a lyric or a melody. I spent a huge proportion of the time doing that.

Q: Hearing brass for the first time on some of these songs was a pleasant surprise. Even Dave Guy, trumpeter from The Dap-Kings, contributes. How did you decide to augment your sound with those type of instruments?

TO: I wanted a particular texture that would not be in the way but could help with the rhythm and with the harmony slightly. I’d never worked with horns before. It was completely unknown to me how they worked. That excited me - the idea of something new. I’d done quite a lot of work with strings, but I wanted to try something different. I’d say it’s very light, the horns. We recorded far more. I ended up taking a lot of them out. They were on a few other tracks. The one that probably inspired the whole thing was ‘You’re Gonna Break My Heart Tonight.’ I wanted this big saxophone solo. It felt like a very dramatic moment and when I wrote the song, I wrote that solo. I had it on the piano, but I knew I wanted it on the saxophone. It naturally ended up we put horns on the other tracks as well. I think if there hadn’t been a saxophone solo on ‘You’re Gonna Break My Heart Tonight,’ I’m not sure we would’ve ended up with them on the other tracks.

Q: There is applause on “Go Tell Her Now.” Was it recorded before an audience?

TO: The studio we recorded a lot of the album in is also a bar in East London. We were recording the song and we took the microphones outside and were recording people drinking. I thought it would be interesting. You can sort of hear the bar in the studio. It’s a little bit fake, but then it’s not, because they were there the same night when we recorded that.

Q: “Don’t Belong in Hollywood” immediately drew me in. At your September acoustic show in Los Angeles, you mentioned from the stage how it was about you “taking the piss” out of yourself. Are you singing about the price of fame on that one?

TO: In a light way, yeah. There’s a mix of humor and sincerity in that song. I’ve always been into very humorful writers such as Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson. Lots of English songwriters as well – Chris Difford from Squeeze. I wouldn’t say there’s often a lot of humor in my lyrics. I’m always trying to find that delicate balance. I feel I found it in that song. There’s humor to it in the sense of mocking myself for some almost Spinal Tap moments when you just fall into the stereotype of the singer/songwriter having success. It’s more making myself laugh.

Again, it’s coming back to this point in a lot of the songs, which is just be yourself…There’s a huge amount on this album that’s saying accept who you are. I hope I’m finally coming to that place. I noticed with a lot of people in their 20s, my friends as well, that’s one of the things that’s a big challenge. Some people have it early.

Q: How did you navigate the success of the first album and all the acclaim?

TO: I think I dealt with it quite well. I certainly don’t think I went off the rails. It did affect me. Undoubtedly, it would affect anyone. I pretty much have the same friends as I had before. I have a relatively balanced life when I’m away from the touring. I think that’s been similar since Day One. There were a few months when I really enjoyed the [music industry] parties. I learned very quickly that wasn’t why I got into this [business]. I don’t enjoy large groups of people. It was never particularly appealing to me. I value my friendships. I’m fortunate to have a good family as well. There’s no one in my life that would blow smoke up my arse. I’m not ever in a position where that would be apparent. I’m sure I have my moments…

Q: The title track on Jubilee Road is very picturesque, particularly the way you describe some of the characters. Have you always been inspired by songwriters like Chris Difford, Billy Joel, Bernie Taupin and Elton John?

TO: Massively. That’s really the music that got me into this mess in the first place [laughs]. Particularly ‘70s music. Observational songwriting, I love. I love lyrics. That’s increasingly the thing I’m drawn to in music, the words. I find that becoming the focus more and more within my music. Chris Difford was actually one of my tutors when I was at [BIMM Institute in] Brighton. He’s a good man. 

Q: Could you envision the song “Wedding Day” being played at people’s future nuptials?

TO: You know what? I do have a song that’s played at a shitload of weddings in the UK – ‘Grow Old with Me.’ People always come up to me and say they used it as their first dance or something. I weirdly don’t think that ‘Wedding Day’ would be used.

Q: Why?

TO: It’s melancholic and more observational. It mentions dead relatives and is more anticipating a wedding than celebrating one. To some degree, I actually wonder how much the song is about a wedding and perhaps how much more it’s about family. That song is really a devotion to my sister. I wrote it with open arms to her and telling how proud I am of her, which is probably something I haven’t ever said with words.

Q: How did Alice Merton, whose “No Roots” single topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart in 2016, end up joining you to duet on “Half as Good as You?”

TO: I was a fan and she supported me [in Germany] last year. That’s how I got to know her music. Then when I was making the album, I had that song and it wasn’t a duet. I kept hearing her song ‘No Roots’ on the radio. I contacted her and said, ‘Do you want to do it? She said, ‘yeah.’’ She’s pretty amazing and fabulous. A real talent and dedicated to her music. It was nice to have another voice halfway through the album to break it up.

Q: Did you do it together in the studio?

TO: Yeah, we were together. Again, I’m old fashioned, I don’t like any of that recording by proxy.

Q: You’ve often had a gospel-type choir presence on your albums that gives the songs a joyous vibe. Jubilee Road has it too.

TO: Funnily enough, a lot on this album, it’s me and [drummer/backing vocalist/co-songwriter] Andy Burrows. We used some gospel singers on ‘Son of an Only Child.’ Maybe ‘China Dolls.’

Q: On your social media sites, you often share your current music playlist and reading material. Do you actually scan all the replies?

TO: Yeah. I have to say I’ve read quite a few books that have been recommended to me on social media. Totally. It’s a really wonderful thing. That shows you the drive behind why I share them because I want something in return. I really do. I’m a ferocious reader. I read, particularly at this stage of the process, when I’m traveling and touring, I lean very heavily on reading. Gets me through a lot of it. There’s a lot of waiting around in airports. I spent as much time packing my suitcase of clothes as selecting the few books I’m going to take on the road with me. I’m old fashioned. I do not like the Kindles or tablets. I like the printed page, the feel of the page, the physical thing I can hold. Sometimes, I write things in them as well. That wouldn’t really work with a tablet!

Q: You also spotlight charities that you’ve been involved with on your socials. Help Refugees [www.helprefugees.org] seems to be the most important to you. Is that fair to say?

TO: Massively. We’ve done a lot of work with Help Refugees. I do as much as I can for them and support them. I visited a refugee camp in [Calais, France] a couple years ago. Since then, I’ve been doing what I can to help. That is still a big issue in the UK and Europe. It’s not going away.  

2019 U.S. TOUR DATES

April 17 - Atlanta, GA - The Loft

April 18 - Carrboro, NC - Cat’s Cradle

April 19 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts

April 20 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club

April 23 - New York, NY - Irving Plaza

April 24 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall

April 26 - Montreal, QB - Corona Theatre

April 27 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix Concert Theatre

April 29 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues

April 30 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall

May 1 - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theatre

May 3 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theatre

May 4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Grand Room

May 7 - Los Angeles, CA - El Rey Theatre

May 8 - San Francisco, CA - August Hall

May 10 - Portland, OR - Wonder Ballroom

May 11 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore

May 12 - Seattle, WA - Neptune