BOBBY ODONNELL (E-Numbers / system / MiNT / Mosaic / Soul People Music / One Records / Pilot / Mindhelmet / 20:20 Vision / Strobewax)
Bobby O’Donnell is one in a famous line of resident DJs who break out from being a local hero and become underground mainstays. He will always be associated with legendary sets at System and Mint Warehouse in Leeds, but these days he takes his dancefloor-friendly weirdness to clubs all over the place. He’s well-versed in connecting with festival crowds but likes to get down and dirty in smaller sweatboxes where he can tease and please with slick broken beats, futurist synth lines and trippy hooks. He plays with a sense of fun that brings inescapable energy, but also real musical character from spaced-out techno to thumping house.
And it’s the same with his meticulously produced tunes.
Over the last decade-plus, they have subtly evolved to take in deep and dusty house, bouncy techno and crisp electro. Each one starts with tight drum programming and brims with creative sound designs that elevate them way above pure function. They have come on plenty of well-regarded labels, most recently the likes of Burnski’s Pilot and MINDHELMENT both solo and in collaboration with fellow Leeds favourite Reeshy. His label, E-Numbers, has been home to his own work as well as music by 100Hz and Voigtmann and now, after a pandemic-induced hiatus, it is back and firing once again.
Growing up with a father who released on the influential Salsoul Records and was remixed by Larry Levan and Masters At Work means O’Donnell’s ears have always been tuned in differently. “I’ve a good ear for key,” he says, “for example, my washing machine is in Bb!” Coupled with playing guitar and other instruments, this means his tunes come with subtle details and differences that make them all the more irresistible: rather than straight-up club tools, they explore well outside the usual boundaries.
This musical and studio knowledge lead him to set up one-to-one production classes which have since turned out several artists that are now established in their own right. He teaches them to embrace the oddness, explore between the beats and cook up the sort of awkward notes that dance music used to thrive on. It’s a lesson he has long since mastered, and that’s why Bobby O’Donnell always stands out.