OdESSA

OdESSA emerged out of the Wellington indie scene in 2002 and were one of the country's best live acts of the decade.
Their style was a collision of R&B, Pop and Country. An ecstatic early reviewer described it as Garage-Funk and the tag stuck.

They were perhaps best known for their underground hit Bring The Money Back which became used in short films, sports programmes, television advertisments and popular local TV shows with such ubiquity that the band dicontinued playing it live for 18 months before the release of their debut album.

Bring The Money Back was then the lead-off single and opening track of their 2005 album Oak Park Avenue which found its way into hundreds of student flats the length of New Zealand.

In 2010 OdESSA made their previously unreleased album Bring Me The Head Of Pepe Lopez available, featuring the "classic" lineup of vocalist Matt Pender, bassist Paul Mouncey, drummer Matt Swain and uniquely-gifted guitarist Matthew Armitage. The album was originally recorded mostly on cassette in 2004, then shelved when the band followed industry advice to tailor their sound for radio-play consideration.

- Amplifier.co.nz