COLLABORATIONS
ROMANTIC SONGS OF THE PATRIARCHY//THE GUGGENHEIM, NYC & THE WOMEN’S BUILDING, SF
In Ragnar Kjartansson’s Romantic Songs of the Patriarchy (2018), women and nonbinary singer-guitarists stationed throughout the Guggenheim (2021) and The Women’s Building (2018) played cherished songs of love and romance on repeat for hours over a performance spanning 3 days. Visitors soon discovered that the songs harbored a dark side: mostly written by men about women, the featured songs gently—and not so gently—revealed how popular culture is shaped by chauvinism, objectification, and gender violence.
The musicians personally bore the emotional and physical burden of the lyrics’ content, yet also joined in a collective ritual that imagined new possibilities for endurance, reclamation, and even joy. At once a celebration of pop music and a charged environment of critique, Romantic Songs of the Patriarchy created a space where contradictions—between individual and group, oppression and liberation, rhythm and chaos—existed together within a community of collaboration and mutual support. (Text adapted from The Guggenheim’s website)
THE INVISIBLE STORIES ENSEMBLE
Born from the Illustrated Book of Invisible Stories performances, the Invisible Stories Ensemble released an EP of Odessa’s previously released songs rearranged for eleven person string ensemble by Jonathan Russell (http://jonrussellmusic.com) and played several live concerts culminating in The Switchboard Music Festival performance with Kronos Quartet.
Photo Credit: Switchboard Music Festival
AVAILABLE HERE : https://odessachen.bandcamp.com/album/invisible-stories
MAX STOFFREGEN & ODESSA CHEN
New classical composer Max Stoffregen and Odessa met performing in The Illustrated Book of Invisible Stories and they collaboration and friendship has now spanned almost 10 years. The Act of Loving You came out of our desire to collaborating. Max’s arrangements brought an entirely fresh and new perspective.
AVAILABLE HERE : https://odessachen.bandcamp.com/track/the-act-of-loving-you
THE ILLUSTRATED BOOK OF INVISIBLE STORIES
A collaboration with Garret + Moulton Productions
Guggenheim Award winner Charles Moulton began his career dancing with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1973-1976. He has created works for the Joffrey Ballet, Baryshnikov’s White Oak Project and worked with Aimee Mann and Peter Gabriel.
Janice Garrett is an internationally active choreographer and dance educator who began her career as a dancer with Dan Wagoner and Dancers. Honored in 2004 as one of Dance Magazine’s top “25 to Watch,” she has received commissions from companies throughout the US and Europe.
Premiered in April 2009, the Illustrated Book of Invisible Stories played to sold out houses at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Following on this success, the piece returned for six encore performances in January of 2010. This taut, visceral work
features a cast of 24 dancers, 8 musicians and singer/songwriter Odessa Chen, and floods the stage with movement, sound, and dramatic action in a dynamic exploration of individual and collective transformation.
It won an Isadora Dance Award in 2010 for Outstanding Achievement in Performance by a Company.
Photo Credit: Garrett + Moulton Productions
BANDS
ODESSA was a member of The Great Fires with Nyles Lannon (Film School, Badman Records), Thee More Shallows,
and Troia and has sung background vocals for Noe Venable and Vienna Teng.
APPEARANCES
Odessa has appeared on records by Nyles Lannon, Thee More Shallows, Noe Venable, Vienna Teng (Decca Universal), Carta, Charles Atlas, and as a session vocalist on many more records as well as commercials for Honda and Nutella.
RECORDINGS
Nyles Lannon : Falling Inside (Badman)
Noe Venable : Cascadia (Independent)
Vienna Teng: Inland Territory (Decca Universal)
Carta : The Faults Follow (Saint Marie Records)
Nuria: Winter’s End
Thee More Shallows : More Deep Cuts (Monotreme, Turn)
Charles Atlas : To The Dust: From Man You Came To Man You Shall Return (Ochre Records)
Details Hurt My Mind : Various Artists (Independent)