Odeal’s music captures the expansive landscape of emotional moments.
Odeal makes music inspired by the seasons. He creates a project every summer and began his latest one in his home city of London, but the ideas weren’t coming together, so he scrapped it and moved to Spain. It was there that he made “Miami,” the opening song of his new EP The Summer That Saved Me, which set his creativity rolling, although he’d soon leave Spain to set up camp in Los Angeles to catch its beautiful summer heat. “I was able to get the inspiration I needed, lock in with the producers, and that was how I got into the zone,” says Odeal in a recent conversation with OkayAfrica.
On The Summer That Saved Me, the British Nigerian artist reflects the roving soulfulness of a man accustomed to being in many places. A positive-minded project, Odeal curated a fruitful sonic base that purposefully carries his themes. “I wanted us to embrace the summer and take our enjoyment into our hands,” Odeal says. “It resonated with me because I got my [UK] passport and I was allowed to move around freely, and I felt like it was going to resonate with other people as well. I wanted to make some of my favorite songs, and I wanted them to be the soundtrack to people’s summer. I had to chase the sun.”
Seconds into “Miami,” one perceives the truth in Odeal’s words. Polished with sparkling guitars and Odeal’s baritone-laced vocals, which exchange subtleties with Leon Thomas’ piercing coo, the song makes a fresh tale of lust, utilizing sensual details that elevate its resonance. “Stroke you like violin / Sweet when you sing harmonics when I’m in,” sings Odeal in his first verse, every word rolling off the tongue with the relaxed poise of its guitar-laden production.
From “London Summers” to “In the Chair,” there’s a tender application of Odeal’s vocals, almost like the brushstroke of an artist in love with the canvas. On the former, he floats lovingly across a house-inflected beat, calling on the world to dance. “If a London summer’s pending, you’re sure as hell to find me around,” he promises. Whereas the latter evokes the faded lights of an intimate room, Odeal keeps up his lyrical streak, articulating his desires with the suave confidence of R&B greats. “Cause I can do this all week, only three songs deep / Ten more ‘til we tap out, and I’m holding you to sleep,” he sings.
For artists like Odeal, who operate beyond a single sound, there has been the oft-mentioned issue of categorization. It’s clear that The Summer That Saved Me isn’t your everyday Afrobeats project, yet he’s scored some transcendental hits within the genre.
“I introduce myself as an artist, full stop,” he says. “There are so many influences, and there are so many pockets that resonate with me and the different places I grew up in. I’m Nigerian—I’m half Igbo and half Edo. Both of my parents have lived in Europe for a long time, and I’ve also lived in different parts of Europe. So when it comes to making music, I’ve never really struggled. Whatever beat I hear, anything that comes out, it’s meant to be. There’s no, ‘do I make an Afrobeats track, do I make an R&B track?’ It’s never that. Whatever comes out, comes out.”
When Odeal put out Sunday at Zuri’s last year, it continued his tradition of releasing summer projects. He’d visited Lagos, spending time with a friend and visiting the city’s famous beach houses like Ilashe and Koko Beach, soaking up their sunny temperament. In just four songs, he showcased a masterful ease with Black sounds — sensibilities which moved from South Africa to West Africa and even beyond the continent via subtle touches of composition and sonic texture.
“Soh-Soh” would become one of 2024’s most transcendental hits, a gleeful record that mesmerized audiences with its feathery radiance. Odeal couldn’t have envisaged the reach of its eventual success, but it was one he took peculiar pride in. “That was a blessing, to be fair,” he admits. “I’m not someone who — on my TikTok, it took me very long to find my voice. I even post TikToks a certain way. I’m not big on trends; I just like to post about what’s going on in my life. But I see how that can be an issue when you have a record to push. But I was grateful for two girls, Christine and Lumi, when I dropped the song, they came up with a TikTok dance which pushed the song further into the diaspora.”
“It’s beautiful to see your people dance,” he says. “That is not something that is all over Africa. They’re waiting for a moment like that, and to be able to be part of something that moved the diaspora physically, with sound, I’m hella grateful ‘cause things like that don’t happen often. I could make records that cut through in Europe or the States, but nothing feels the same as having a record that your people love.”
“I introduce myself as an artist full stop,” says Odeal.
Photo by Michelle Helena Janssen
Now 25 years old, Odeal has come a long way from the young man who grew up on African stars such as 2Baba, 9ice, Mafikizolo, and Lagbaja. He reels out a fine list of stars, showing that he indeed watched a lot of Trace TV, as he had said before. Although his music evolves beyond those influences, one feels a sense of African pride when listening to Odeal.
On The Summer That Saved Me, such feelings come from “My Heart” and “Obi’s Interlude,” both of which mean similar things since ‘Obi’ translates into ‘heart’ in the Igbo language. A heartbeat-esque throb punctuates the former, as the artist breathes vivid images into its warm embrace. “I wanna trust with my heart,” he sings repeatedly amidst the rising tempo of drums. Like a mirror song, the interlude strips the vivacity into the controlled chaos of an after-hours narrative. “Trust is a must ‘til we throw it in the trash,” he sings here with a manipulated vocal base, suggesting the entry of another character.
“For the interlude, I wanted it to be more personal,” he says. “I feel like this project is very personal, so it’s only right to take people into that layer. The song is also downpitched; it’s deeper. The whole meaning of it was me speaking from me. When you’re in a position like I am, you’re constantly performing. You show up as Odeal every day online, and when people see you on the streets. But this project, I wanted to strip it down.”
Odeal’s journey has been one of constant reflection and evolution. On the surface, he hasn’t changed drastically from the hearty teenager who made his debut project Pragma in 2017, and has followed with remarkable work, all the way to last year’s Lustropolis. The softer aspects of life still influence him, but a renewed vision has emerged from his numerous travels as he allows the world to shape him. “It’s been fun,” he says about the years. “I’ve always wanted to make the best music I can ever make. It kinda just feels like I’m in competition with myself. I always want to outdo the last thing I did.”
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