Odi-lé!

Not many people can claim to augment their music career with modelling assignments and bit-parts in Emmerdale, but that’s what’s happened to Wexford-born, Leeds-based Odi.

“I was faffing around for a long time after I graduated,” admits 26-year-old Odi (Claire Odlum to her nearest and dearest). “I stayed in Leeds after I finished studying in nearby Huddersfield, did a bit of travelling, tried acting, that kind of thing.” The modest gal she is, she fails to mention that she was also a model – but never underestimate the mighty Googling powers of HP’s own Duan Stokes.
Still, it’s all in the background now, as her music career is on the verge of lift-off. It’s been a long time coming, she reflects.
“Music’s always been in my family. My grandmother was always playing music, my dad was in The Roach Band [late ‘70s local legends fronted by playwright Billy Roche], my aunt’s an opera singer, so it was inevitable.”
Again, it takes prompting before she admits to having contemporaries as extended family: both ex-Frames man Dave Odlum and his brother, producer Karl Odlum, share her family’s creative genes.
“We’re somehow related, but God knows how,” she shrugs. “I don’t meet them at family get-togethers. I’ve only met Dave once during his time in The Frames. I went up to him and said: ‘Oh, we’re related but I don’t know how,’ which is totally embarrassing. But I’m actually hoping to work with Karl later on in the year, so we can get the family tree out then.”
Does she ever think about moving back to her family and friends in Wexford? “I’ve always planned to go back but I suppose it depends how it goes in the next few years. At the moment it feels good to be able to dip my feet into both sides, and actually Leeds is great for music at the moment. I love Four Day Hombre and the Gary Stewart Band.”
And sharing the same city, I expect she’s best mates with all of the Kaiser Chiefs?
“Oh yeah, me and Ricky Wilson are best buds,” Odi jokes. “I do see them around sometimes. But I’ve never spoken to them – they have this aura about them. I’m sure they’re normal. But it’s a bit strange, seeing them on telly and then walking past them in the street.”
Does she find that being Irish in Leeds has helped been a help or a hindrance?
“It’s never affected me negatively. People seem to warm to you if they know you’re from Ireland. And also, I’m pretty sure there are no other Irish female singer-songwriters in Leeds at the moment, so it helps stand you out from the crowd which is crucial at the beginning stages.”
And the beginning stages they are. This month, she releases her debut single ‘Crawl’. An atmospheric three-tracker, it displays her vocal talents in all its genuine glory, to a background that fans of Beth Orton and Alanis Morrissette will appreciate.
Particularly poignant is the last track, ‘Don’t Let Me Fall’, which contains heartfelt lyrics along the lines of “Rain’s coming down/Tears wash away/I can’t seem to choose/Or find my own way”.
“It’s actually about the time after I graduated and I felt a little lost and wasn’t sure how to progress,” she says. “We all go through stage when we’re not happy, and it’s a plea to someone to help you get out of that rut. But generally, my music’s about anything and everything. I could be watching a film and I’ll find the plot makes great subject matter.”
And there’s a growing number of people who don’t disagree. Her profile across the pond has been raised by some major appearances, her favourite of which was a beach festival in Scarborough (“You were literally playing out to the sea, and people were dancing all over the place,” she enthuses). Just don’t mention ‘radio’ to her – she shudders when she recalls her appearance on BBC Humberside’s Raw Talent show.
“It was on a Sunday evening, and I’d been in my pyjamas all day so I just threw on an old jumper, not caring because it was radio. So I get in, and your man asks me if it would be okay if we film it for the web. I was like ‘err… yes?’. So from now on, I’m wearing full make up and gladrags when I do ‘radio’.”
‘Crawl’ is released on April 27, with a full Irish tour to support it – see www.myspace.com/odimusic