Some artists work in paint, film, or words. Odd Language sculpts with sound: distortion and rolling basslines, glitched textures and cinematic synths, emotion stretched to its breaking point. Controlled chaos, he calls it. It’s a sound that feels alive.
He grew up in Northern California, started DJing in Arizona’s college club scene, and developed his craft in Los Angeles during the quietness of lockdown. Before pivoting to music, he was a film student, immersed in sound design and scoring, learning how to tell stories through texture and tension. When he stepped into the electronic music scene, his cinematic instincts collided with bass-heavy beats and created something entirely his own.
Odd Language didn’t build his sound from a formula or trend chasing. His early influences, The Prodigy, Daft Punk, and Skrillex weren’t about genre, they were about energy. The kind that pulls you out of your head and into your body. The kind that makes sense when nothing else does.
Catching up with Odd Language
Megan, Electric Hawk: First, can you share a little about your background and how you came to be part of the electronic music community?
Odd Language: I grew up in Northern California, in the East Bay Area. But I started DJing in Arizona while attending college in Arizona. I had been listening to electronic music since middle school through high school. However, it wasn’t until college that I went to my first rave. I was a film major, so I was already doing scoring and sound design in that world. Then, when I went to my first rave, it was such a mind-blowing experience, experiencing producers on stage performing in a different kind of realm of stuff that I was already doing anyway. That was my introduction to all that!
My first ever electronic artist I listened to was The Prodigy. Because I really liked grunge and listened to a lot of Soundgarden and Audioslave, so The Prodigy was in that realm, but more electronic. So that was my introduction to it. And then, of course, My Name is Skrillex and Scary Monsters, Nice Sprites, and all that got me into the whole dubstep, and then Daft Punk and all that got me into broadening my horizons on electronic music.
Megan: Can you walk me through the moment you decided you wanted to become a producer?
Odd Language: I was late in the production side of things because I started as a DJ. I had a couple of small residencies in the clubs in our college downtown row area. But when I was playing those, I always wanted to play my own stuff, and I was dabbling a little bit in FL Studio, but I wasn’t really taking it seriously. Then, around when I graduated, was when I just put my head down and started actually taking production seriously. And I spent that whole year just producing, while my girlfriend was still finishing her last year of college. When she graduated, we were figuring out what we wanted to do, and that’s when Icon Collective was on my mind.
I was like, “We should just move to LA and just try to do this.” That’s how it started. We moved out here right when COVID started in 2020, and we moved here the January before it shut down.
Megan: Oh no, that’s a hard time, but in a way nice because you had an entire year to dedicate to being inside working on your craft!
Odd Language: It kind of helped out, because I was originally going to go to Icon in 2020, but then I delayed it for six months. I still went to Icon, but I pretty much only had one quarter in person. It was the first quarter in the new building, so I never experienced the old building or anything like that.
It was pretty much all online. But that, combined with lockdown, I was just making so much music. From graduation to me going to Icon, I already had a grasp of what I was doing. That by the time I went into Icon, it was more honing into more niche things that helped my production, rather than just learning from scratch.
Megan: As many people know, Icon Collective recently shut down. Can you speak about your experience there? Do you think there is a benefit in going to school vs. YouTube Academy?
Odd Language: I think it depends on person to person. The biggest benefit of going to a place like Icon is collaboration. You had to learn how to collaborate with people in this scene, because it’s so collaborative heavy. Icon puts you into rooms with people, and they force everyone to collaborate. That’s super important.
But the other thing is discipline. 90% you can learn on YouTube, right? But how many people are actually gonna go and create their own curriculum? Like when we’re learning a language in High School, for example, it was so much easier to learn Spanish than if I downloaded Duolingo and tried to learn Spanish on my own. It’s so hard to stick to something unless you have someone giving you a curriculum telling you what to do. I feel that’s something Icon helped give people.
Megan: How would you describe the Odd Language sound to someone who’s never heard Hybrid Trap before?
Odd Language: My friends would like to say it is controlled chaos. Because Hybrid Trap has the elements of trap, but then has the chaotic elements of dubstep, breaks, or other genres. Which I don’t know, ADHD brain, loves it. I just love chaos, but also controlled.
Yeah, I would say that, but my dad would call it “garbage disposal music.” [Laughs] So maybe that is another way to put it.
Megan: Do you feel like your sound is something you’ve built or something you’ve uncovered?
Odd Language: This is something new to me. The first time I heard that was at the Icon Panel that I did at EDC Las Vegas. Connor [LUMBERJVCK] was saying that I have a very distinct sound. And that was eye-opening for me. If I went into the studio right now and someone had a song and was like, “Make this sound like Odd Language,” I would have no idea.
It just comes organically, because it comes from putting in hours and hours, creating hundreds of tracks, building up your own sample packs, and the ways that you process sounds. It all comes together and ends up being your sound, just doing all those little things.
Megan: Your new EP is amazing, which you released on Space Yacht. And you’ve been releasing on a lot of big labels. How have you been managing that between the different labels? Do they work pretty similarly or differently with everyone?
Odd Language: Every label is different. I like to pick what labels I like to release on based on their strengths that they have. Every label has different strengths – one label might stream really well and then another label might not stream well, but have a lot of industry eyes on it. Every label has different kinds of strengths and weaknesses.
Space Yacht are really good people, and I’ve been loving working with them. Definitely got a lot of opportunities from releases I’ve had with them. Even that Valorant opportunity that just happened. That happened because the Space Yacht guys were at their game studios, and they pitched them their whole catalog, and then they ended up picking up two of my tracks for Valorant, which was crazy!
I didn’t even know that could have been a goal to have, but now that it happened, it was like, damn that was such a cool experience, and I want to do more stuff in that realm.
Megan: Do you want to break more into the sync world?
Odd Language: I don’t know if I’m too late, but I’ve been trying to find who the connection is for GTA 6, because that would be such a cool thing. Or having something in a trailer that would be crazy, I remember seeing like Call of Duty Black Ops trailer with 16 16-bit remix from Noisia, the craziest thing, or Skrillex and Far Cry.
That would be really cool because I play so many video games. Valorant was definitely a crazy one, for sure, because that’s such a massive game, and they have such a massive community.
Megan: What is your favorite show you have ever played? Do you prefer bigger festivals or smaller productions?
Odd Language: I played this, renegade show in San Diego, and it was like, I only played for 20 minutes, and the cops showed up with a helicopter and everything, and shut it down. It was under an overpass. But that 20 minutes had such insane energy. And the friends I was with, it was like their final, last hurrah before they moved away across the country and stuff. Overall, the vibes were great.
Megan: That’s so sick. You should pitch that moment to GTA 6!
Odd Language: Yeah, I love that. There were probably like 600 people under this overpass. Just insane!
Megan: In your new EP ANOMALY, was there a story that ties it all together?
Odd Language: The three tracks that I just released that were part of the EP, not the collaborations with Cozmoe, were all part of a big demo pack that I created. They sounded a little different from the final result. They were in the vault for a while, and then Cozmoe hit me up with these like crazy demos. And then I chose a few of them, and two of them were the ones that ended up releasing on that EP as well.
When I was listening to all my demos, I picked those five because they sounded in a similar world, sonically, but different enough. I was talking with Cozmoe, and I asked if he would be cool with having our tracks be a part of a bigger EP. And he was down.
I went into the studio with all five tracks and started creating this world, adding sounds to make them all flow together and be in the same world. The end result is a lot more cohesive than the original demos were. Once I had the final result, I pitched it to a few labels, and Space Yacht actually signed it in 20 minutes. We sent the email and 20 minutes later, they signed it. So that was pretty crazy!
Megan: You just played EDC Las Vegas, how did that feel? Was that an “Oh I’ve made it” moment?
Odd Language: That was definitely surreal. It was definitely something I’ll remember forever. I’ve been going to EDC pretty much every year since 2017, so it was cool. It was an incredible experience to play at that festival. Being able to play all my music out and actually have people there for my set was crazy. Everyone who was there in the crowd around our car just loved the music.
The craziest thing was that I had some fans who were at EDC from China! They came up after my set and gave me custom kandi. It was crazy talking to people from the other side of the world!
Megan: It’s cool how music connects people at many different levels. Does that play into your name Odd Language?
Odd Language: I came up with this name because I was remembering a lesson that one of my film teachers was saying. He was talking about how art in general is a universal language. No matter the culture or part of the world that you’re in, there are certain parts of art that everyone can resonate with. So I went off of that and the music I make is weird, so that’s where “odd” came from. So Odd Language!
Megan: When you started making music, was there a message you were trying to convey or were you just a musician from your core?
Odd Language: I was definitely just trying to make music. Before I came up with Odd Language, I had two different aliases, and I made everything from dubstep to bass house to mid-tempo. I was just doing anything and trying to figure out what I liked. I didn’t really start focusing on an overall message or world-building until I got the skillset to be able to portray it correctly.
Megan: What has been your biggest fear in your musical journey, and how did you overcome it?
Odd Language: I would say having my music accepted in the scene. That’s all dependent on the fans and other artists. And I don’t think that’s a fear that necessarily will ever go away. But when I have artists reach out and say, “Oh, your stuff is inspirational,” or they like the track, that type of stuff definitely helps. However, I don’t think it’ll ever fully go away, the impostor syndrome type of stuff.
Megan: I was going to ask, what helps you get past impostor syndrome?
Odd Language: I don’t think there’s an answer to that [laughs]
There have been some goals I’ve reached that helped, like playing EDC. It’s like, “Okay, well, if I’m playing this festival, then that means I’m doing something, right?” So I would actually say what helps is, a lot of the time I’m so focused on the now or future, but it’s nice to take a step back and listen or look at yourself from a third-person perspective. Odd Language from one year ago, would see this thing that just happened, and think that’s insane. Just thinking of it from that perspective helps a little bit with impostor syndrome because you feel like you’re more deserving.
Megan: Do you think there’s such a thing as ‘sonic truth’? Like an emotion or idea that can only exist through sound and not necessarily words.
Odd Language: It’s not necessarily the fact that it can’t be articulated through words. I prefer when something can be taken in different ways depending on who’s listening to it. If you have a song with vocals that are saying, you need to be sad, then it’s like, I’m listening to this and I’m sad.
But with something that is just sounds, someone can hear that, and people are like, “Oh, this reminds me of this time of my life where I was super happy,” or “this reminds me of something sad.”
It can be taken in different ways!
Megan: Whenever you’re stuck creatively, do you lean more into chaos or discipline to find your way out?
Odd Language: Oh, man, I just dealt with that recently, because I’ve been in a crazy rut. This time I’m taking it in the direction of chaos, where I’m just slamming my head against the desk, and just making as much music that is just terrible as possible, until I get back to the good stuff.
But in the past, I’ve done it in a way where I just hold my hands up and am like okay, I’m not in any right space now, so I’m just gonna take a break and then come back to it.
I don’t know which is more effective. I think slamming the head against the desk is more effective.
[Laughs]
Writer’s block is basically you deep down, just don’t want to produce in that moment. Then you’re not able to be creative because you are just not passionate about it. Combine that with your ears adjusting, and you’re becoming a better producer. So what you’re creating now is not up to par with what you want to hear. So I think all combined is what creates writer’s block. And I believe slamming your head and just fucking making 20 bad tracks or 10 bad eight-bar loops a day until finally, you’re out of it. I think that helps for sure.
Megan: What is one message you want to share with your fans and listeners or one thing you hope they gain by listening to your music?
Odd Language: Don’t be afraid to tap into what you truly want to make. Don’t try to make something because the world is saying that this is what’s popular and this is what you should be making. Don’t be afraid to just make whatever you want.
Be authentic. If you’re authentic to yourself, then things always go around. Maybe whatever you’re creating authentically may become the next thing.
Megan: Last question, you’ve had some major milestones lately, what’s one thing you’re chasing next?
Odd Language: I’ve been super lucky this year, especially, it has been crazy. Every year, I create a New Year’s resolution and goals for the year, and already this year, I was so lucky that I hit pretty much every one within the first couple of months. Then I created some more goals. Just recently hit a bunch of new ones. So I think the one thing that’s been avoiding me is that first major festival, big stage booking. That’s my next big goal for sure.
Odd Language energizes the momentum of the scene.
It’s easy to label someone’s sound. It’s harder to explain how it feels. Odd Language builds his tracks with intention and a little chaos. His music doesn’t just fill space, it charges it, cutting through the noise with raw energy that sticks long after the drop. It’s bold. It’s alive. It stands out without trying.
Whether you hear it at a renegade, in a game, or on a festival stage, you feel the energy immediately. As his vision expands and his sound reaches new spaces in the scene, it is clear that Odd Language isn’t just part of the wave. He’s shaping where it goes next.
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