2025 has been a ride for ODDitee. As an early synthwave fan turned artist in a few short years, we first met by chance at NEON Retrofest 2023 in Tampa after finishing my set with Velocity 128. Turns out, we were neighbors up the street from each other in the suburbs of Portland, Oregon (along with Starcourt and Night Rider 87). Since then, following many relentless creative sessions to complete his first EP, Everlasting, ODDitee broke out of 2025 as an emerging artist on Rosso Corsa Records. On top of everything, he simultaneously spearheaded the Pacific Northwave Collective and debuted on stage at Neotropolis in the California desert!
ODDitee in Portland, photo by @no.lens.cap
Here's your intro to Portland's ODDitee:
Q1: How do you plan to survive this weekend full of synthwave shows coming up? There's the Pacific Northwave Collective show on Friday night at Twilight Cafe (Portland) with Alex Lightspeed, Daniel Quasar and US3R making his way down from Seattle. Then Saturday, we have our show at No Fun Bar (Portland) featuring Dream Commander from Seattle. Then on Sunday, you and Quasar are driving up the highway to join US3R and Dream Commander at Bad Bar in Seattle! Awesome lineups, btw!
-ODD: It is definitely a stacked weekend, rubbing shoulders with the likes of US3R who already has a tenured live presence to say the least, but I’m more excited than anything to finally get back on stage again. Its crazy luck that I managed to get two shows back-to-back and especially one in Seattle!
Q2: You had quite a live debut as a new artist. What was it like fronting the stage at Neotropolis with Night Rider 87 and other artists from our synth community that weekend? How did that experience shape your vision for future shows?
-ODD: Jumping into the deep end, haha. Chaotic, Magical and Eye-Opening. For the past 2-3 years, I heard a lot about Neotropolis and all the artists that were featured on the music bill but timing and circumstance never really gave me the opportunity to attend. Finally, this year I was collaborating with Night Rider 87 on a soon to be released duet vocal ballad and they proposed the idea that I should perform the song with them on stage at Neo as a guest performer. I wasn’t about to leave that opportunity in the sand so I geared up and made my way to the desert.
I was NOT prepared for the extreme weather conditions that came with that opportunity though haha. During the day I think it was about 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit, while at night, the temperature dropped rapidly to about 36 degrees Fahrenheit with 15 MPH wind chill. 6ft up in the air on that stage and you literally had to brace yourself on stage otherwise risk yourself being blown away by the harsh gusts of wind. To say it was challenging is an understatement but what better way to be introduced to the live experience? Roughly 3-400 people in the desert, all eyes on you. I was behind the stage trying to warm up while simultaneously trying to keep calm before the performance. I see Neotropolis as sort of a higher tiered milestone in an artist career-so the fact I had that as my FIRST live outing was surreal and a bit spoiling, I suppose haha.
Overall, I very much enjoyed my time at Neotropolis, connecting with many of the artists and experiencing the cyber constructed city in the desert. Would love to return again-hopefully this time with a full-fledged performance
Scenes from Neotropolis 2025 (@neotropolisevent)
Q3: You made the big jump up to Rosso Corsa Records. What has it been like to become part of that roster? Encouraging, challenging, or motivating? All of the above?
-ODD: I was honestly not expecting to get the amount of recognition and support from the higher ups at Rosso Corsa. Often among creatives, you never really know how much progress you’re making when it comes to your artistic endeavors; Miami Nights 1984 and Lazerhawk were two of my greatest influences early on when diving into the Outrun/Synthwave genre and having them personally reach out to me and say they enjoyed my work enough to feature on their label was a dream come true. Validated that all this hard work over the years was time and effort well spent. I want to continue to create work that meets their standards of quality so I’m trying not to let it get to my head, rather keep me motivated to improve on what I’ve already created.
Q4: How do you balance the differences between what you create during studio sessions and how you perform it live? What’s the biggest thing you want to express on stage that isn’t on the recordings?
-ODD: Honestly, it’s probably a backwards way of thinking when it comes to producing but I’ve always had the sentiment that when I create something, I’m constantly thinking how I can implement and play it live. What parts would be the most engaging? How can I fill in the empty space here and there to keep the energy up? Where can I have a bridge or a break to build tension for the crowd to cling on to? There is not much difference as the track reflects how it would sound in the studio as it would live. Most of my leads are structured in a way that I can easily remember and perform on a keyboard live so you always see the emotion and passion being represented on stage. The bottom line is I don’t want to be boring. I want whatever I create and through performing to be interesting for all those involved. Whether it be me or the crowd.
Photos of ODDitee by @no.lens.cap
Q5: Portland’s synthwave community has seen its challenges, ups and downs over the years. What inspired you to launch the Pacific Northwave Collective?
-ODD: There was a noticeable hole and decay within the local scene as COVID swept our area. The momentum was effectively shunted and previous entities' ambition far exceeded the scope of their reach unfortunately. I didn’t want to see this scene dissolve and as I spoke to many before me, they all seemed to have the same sentiment. Years of traveling and making amends gradually refreshed a lot of people’s perspectives.
I reached out to many talented individuals within our community; artists and creatives alike and proposed to reform under a new, united banner. Theres that age old saying along the lines of-if you don’t see opportunity-then create it. So, I did. We wanted opportunity to arise through our combined efforts so the Pacific NorthWave Collective (PNWC) was birthed. It all came down to like-minded individuals all sharing similar sentiments and ambitions for the PNWs Synth community.
Many cities and locations have had their Synth strongholds, Toronto, Denver, New York, LA, Pittsburgh-the PNW is long overdue for becoming a hub for Synth music. Especially now that more quality work and artists are emerging from our area-its inspiring. We know it can continue to bloom and thrive as long as we all continue to rebuild and nurture its growth together. I want that to reflect in our scene-within our name and our actions.
Q6: This year alone, you have become one of three of our synthwave neighbors along our road in the suburbs of Portland to be featured on NewRetroWave (the others being Starcourt and Night Rider 87 with DreamReaper). What does the next level look like to you? Where do we take it from here?
ODDitee - Everlasting featured on NewRetroWave
-ODD: What’s funny about that is I was actually rejected twice by NRW for two previously submitted tracks and eventually got lucky on the third attempt with Everlasting. I knew it was special and Rosso Corsa did too and they helped push it towards NRW. One by one, I’m accomplishing many of my dreams and goals. Released music on Rosso Corsa Records, acknowledged by my influences, played live twice now, re-established a community- so whatever else I have left I know I can accomplish at this point. Id like to continue to play live if possible as I think I can really bring another level of performance than many other live Synthwave acts. Pushing the PNWC to reach greater heights and provide better opportunities for those in our community. Create an identity for myself while continuing to fine tune my production skills. Release a few more singles and maybe another EP before diving into an album. I want to make sure I’m ready and prepared for that monumental task. Id love to get a better handle at mastering and potentially remixing other artists work-collaborations in general. Better understanding my voice too and my capabilities so that I can continue to create more unique tracks like Everlasting. So much to do, so little time but I’m excited. Very hopeful.
Check out the previous feature on our fellow artist sharing the stage on Saturday, October 25th - Dream Commander.