Odd Nosdam

Born in Cincinnati, a bicentennial baby and proud Aries to a Catalonian belly dancer and a farm-raised Iowan engineer, David Madson a.k.a. odd nosdam played trumpet in elementary school band and hoops on Porkopolis side streets. The 80's saw for nosdam an affinity towards drawing, skateboarding and "breakdancing music." And when he stole a 3 Feet High and Rising tape from a party in 8th grade he wasn't prepared for the years of obsession that would follow.

A young odd nosdam began meddling with machines in the mid 90's, looping his favorite Nirvana riffs and Black Moon beats on a Sega Genesis and filling tapes with noise collage. In his early 20's, while attending the Art Academy of Cincinnati, this hobby became an obsessive lifestyle when he purchased a dr. sample and Tascam cassette 8-track, and met and collaborated with doseone and why? on their greenthink tapes. After compiling 2 of his 3 solo full lengths, the highly acclaimed cLOUDDEAD (MUSH/Big Dada), and reaching quiet's in the shadow of the livingroom, he left mom's house for sunny California. Since migrating to Oakland in 2001 with the anticon wave, he has toured the world twice, performed two Peel Sessions under the cLOUDDEAD moniker, licensed numerous beats to 411 and On Video skateboard magazines, produced tracks for sole, and completed his latest solo LP, no more wig for ohio.

nosdam's art begins with a specific sound in mind and an arduous search for source material. He scours thrift stores, swap meets, and yard sales around the globe for dollar records; the long forgotten duds of the post Peter Frampton music world that he will use as source. The assemblage portion of nosdam's process is executed quickly and with a great deal of spontaneity, most pieces being completed in a single sitting at his MPC with a single mindstate and a clear direction. As the artist eloquently explains, "If I'm in a certain mood, shit comes out a certain way." Each project nosdam embarks upon maintains its own identity in his mind and therefore demands its own unique sonic consistency which is constantly nurtured from search for source to mix and blend: the droney wash of cLOUDDEAD, his menacing sound to soapbox sole, reaching quiet's big-top 50's organ, the pulsing 80's riffs he puts passage on…each sound distinct and never complete without the trademark neck-snap simplicity of a head-nod nosdam drumbeat.

Among odd's oglers are Boards of Canada, The Notwist, Mum, Stereolab, Danielson Famile, Hood, Fog and Elijah Wood. nosdam has developed his own unique musical sensibility, drawing inspiration from a broad palette ranging from Flying Saucer Attack, Hood, The Rza, Prince Paul and everything in-between and outlying. A rare quality among modern instrumental artists, nosdam allows his many mental ups and downs, quirks and eccentricities to seep deep into his sound creations.