In Harmony

Tell us more about yourself!
My name is Odelia Rei, and I’m a singer-songwriter from Singapore. I write original music and perform them.

Cool! How long have you been doing this?
Since COVID started, because back then, I had no reason not to try what I’ve always wanted to do. But before all of that, I was a freelance fashion stylist. I still am, actually, so I’m juggling both right now.

Seems like your love for music goes way back then?
Yeah, I’ve always loved music. Growing up., I listened to a really large variety of genres, and over time, I gathered a style that I enjoy, which I’d say is a mixture of all of my favourite genres.

Music also got me through a lot of hard times in my life, so I wanted to create music to help others through their tough times.

We hear you also recently started busking?
Yes, usually it’s the other way round, right—people go from busking to playing gigs, but I started out playing gigs first (laughs).

It’s always been my dream to busk. When I was younger, I wanted to do it to gain experience, but now, I just really enjoy connecting with the people who get captivated by my music. Hearing about how much my music has impacted them is a good reminder of why I do what I do.

Where do you usually like to busk?
I like to explore busking in different areas, and one of my favourites is Marina Bay Sands. It’s got the vibes, you know, with the water in the back and the boardwalk, and a staircase where you can just sit and listen.

There was this one night, this lady came up to me and told me one of my songs made her cry, so that was kind of crazy, but also really touching. It’s a good reminder to just keep going, because though I’ll never know what people are going through, I enjoy helping them in this way.

That’s a really sweet experience! Who inspires you most musically?
In particular, whole albums that I listen to and love are ones by Melanie Martinez, Lorde, Billie Eillish, and Keshi. Most recently, I’ve been singing some AURORA, but I explore many different genres overall.

A solid selection. What are some of your goals this year as a musician?
I really, really want to tour Taiwan, because most of my listeners are from there, but I have no way of connecting with them so far. We’ll see how things go this year.

Hope you get to do that soon! One last question: do you have a particular favourite original song you feel people should check out?
My current favourite is one of my proudest productions (yes, I produce my own music!). It’s called Bury It All, and it has a cool, mysterious vibe that I’ve never really explored before, which I think is so nice.

The story is about deciding not to bury all of your frustrations anymore, but ironically, in the chorus, you just hear “Bury it, bury it, bury it all, until all that’s left is you.” By the way, for all of the geeks out there, this is the song where I explored harmonic notes!