ODF on UK Club Culture, Genre Fluidity and His LOCUS Debut 'Hear Dis'
- Undrtone Blog
- 11h
- 3 min read
Few young producers are navigating UK club music quite as fluidly as ODF. Sitting somewhere between house, UK garage, bass music and jungle influences, the London-based artist has steadily built a catalogue that reflects the dancefloors he's immersed himself in rather than any single scene.
His debut EP on Enzo Siragusa's LOCUS, Hear Dis, feels like the clearest expression of that approach so far. Following releases on Time Is Now, Hardline Sounds and Method 808, plus collaborations alongside Tim Reaper and Special Request, the four-track project finds ODF bringing together the different strands that have shaped his sound over recent years.
For him, joining LOCUS felt like a natural next step.
"I've looked up to Enzo as an inspiration for where I want to be in the future," he says. "I'd been sending him music for a long time, so when he came back and asked me to release on the label, I couldn't say no."
Beyond the opportunity itself, the label's musical identity also aligned with his own evolving direction.
"The sound they've curated is very reminiscent of where I'm getting to and where I want to be."
That evolution has been deliberate. While earlier productions leaned more heavily into one corner of club music, ODF consciously decided to widen his palette around 18 months ago.
"I found myself being pigeonholed into one very niche genre," he explains. "As my tastes changed through university and different club cultures around the country, I realised there was so much more I wanted to explore."
Those experiences now sit at the heart of his productions, allowing house, garage, bass and jungle influences to exist comfortably within the same body of work.
Interestingly, the EP's title track almost never existed. 'Hear Dis' was actually the final piece completed after the rest of the record was already finished.
"We all felt the EP needed one final heavy-hitting, peak-time track," he says. "A lot of the inspiration came from productions Enzo had already been supporting, particularly my jungle-influenced edits."
That connection to jungle reflects ODF's own beginnings behind the decks.
"I originally started DJing jungle," he says. "I wanted to represent the kind of music that originally started the conversation with LOCUS."
Elsewhere on the EP, 'To The UK' feels like a love letter to British club culture, although its inspiration came less from individual records than from shared experiences.
He points to nights at Wire in Leeds, Fabric in London and Manchester's Warehouse Project as defining moments.
"It wasn't anything specific that I heard," he says. "It was about encapsulating that euphoric feeling of going clubbing with all your mates."
Those experiences also reinforced how important atmosphere and flow have become to his own productions.
Reflecting on collaborations with artists including Tim Reaper and Special Request, ODF says the biggest lesson wasn't technical at all.
"Complex isn't always the way to go," he explains. "Keeping things simple and having strong foundations is the most important thing."
That philosophy extends beyond production into his wider career. Last year saw the launch of his own imprint, On Da Floor, giving him complete creative control while offering a platform to build a stronger community around his music.
"I wanted to have somewhere that felt more personal," he says. "The freedom you get from having complete creative control is second to none."
Running a label has also brought valuable perspective.
"It really put into perspective how difficult it is. Patience is a huge game changer. If you spend too much time thinking about things that should have already happened, you stop putting energy into making them happen."
When it comes to writing club music, however, his process remains refreshingly straightforward.
"If I'm not dancing around my bedroom while making it, then it's not ready," he laughs. "If I can't enjoy it on my own, why would it work on a dancefloor?"
That instinct has been sharpened through years spent not only DJing but simply standing in front of sound systems around the UK.
"When I'm on the dancefloor, I'm constantly picking up on things that work and translating them into my own productions," he says. "Whether it's little percussion details or knowing exactly when to break things down and bring them back."
Looking ahead, ODF believes UK club music is entering one of its healthiest periods in years. The continued crossover between garage, bass, breaks and house is opening new opportunities for both artists and audiences alike.
"It feels like the light at the end of the tunnel," he says. "The further these sounds continue to fuse together, the more opportunities there are for everyone to showcase their own unique sound."
With Hear Dis, ODF delivers exactly that, an EP shaped not by genre boundaries, but by years of dancefloor experiences, musical curiosity and an artist increasingly comfortable following his own instincts.
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