In a biweekly series of features, we’re inviting Minnesota artists to introduce themselves to our audience. Today: multi-instrumentalist Conrad Oddoye, who's performed as a bassist with Minneapolis artists including Miloe, Papa MBye, and Honeybutter.

My family moved to Canada from England when I was seven years old and my parents put my brother and me into classical piano lessons. After playing classical for a while, my younger brother and I wanted to venture out and do other things. So, we started teaching ourselves covers and then started making our own music. I got gifted a bass when I was 10 or 11 years old and I had one lesson for it, and then I didn't play it for a long time. I didn't pick it back up until college because I was focused on basketball in high school.

I got a student visa to come from Canada to Minnesota for college at Gustavus Adolphus. When I got to college, I met Zak Khan, and he introduced me to music production on my very first day. We met completely by chance, and we started talking music immediately. I was at his dorm seeing what Ableton looked like for the first time and that got me thinking, “oh, I can really do this stuff.” I was watching a lot of Tiny Desk concerts, too, and after watching Common’s performance, I just was like, “I gotta actually start doing this.” So, I bought a MIDI keyboard and started producing from my freshman dorm in the second semester.

I'd say basically all the musical opportunities that I've had in Minneapolis stem from meeting Zak on my first day at Gustavus. I was at Zak’s studio, just chilling and I had recently seen Miloe’s Greenhouse EP that everyone was posting onto their stories. I had never heard of Miloe, so I checked it out and I was like, damn, this is actually sick. I liked it so much it ended up on my Spotify Wrapped at the end of the year.

I pulled up to Zak's place, just to jam and hang out, and then I see this kid sitting there next to Papa [MBye]. I felt like I recognized him and I'm like, that's got to be the dude. He introduced himself as Bob. I was confused, I thought was his nickname was Miloe. I said, “Hey, have you all been listened to that Miloe?”

Zak was like, “Yeah, what do you think about it?”

I was like, “It bumps, bro.” I saw Bob's face and I finally realized he’s the guy. I looked over and I was like, “So you're gonna pretend like you're not Miloe? That's what we're gonna do, right?” He said he didn’t know how to say it was him, but I told him to claim it. He makes great music. We had a great jam session after that. We kept in touch and eventually, he asked me to come on tour with Miloe. I didn't know all the logistics, especially with my student visa ending, but it was a no-brainer for me to say yes when he asked.

I was working at the West Bank hospital after I graduated from Gustavus when I got a notification saying my work eligibility would end soon. I totally forgot that I only get one year after I graduate to do a practicum here and if I don't get a sponsorship or go to grad school, I have to go back to Canada. After some research, I found out about the P-2 visa, which is basically a touring visa for artists. I ended up speaking to one of the representatives at the Canadian Federation of Musicians, and they helped me understand the process. I had to reach into my savings to send in the application. 

The terms of the P-2 visa are that you're allowed to enter one day before your first show or first rehearsal date and you have to leave no more than 24 hours after your last performance.  I was able to come to the US on the 19th of August because Miloe played a show on the 20th. Our last show is on Dec. 18, so the visa says I have to leave on Dec. 19. The next time that I want to come to the U.S., I'll have to do that process again. I'm hoping that with press from this tour, I can boost the chance of getting the O-1 visa that allows exceptionally talented individuals to work and live in the U.S. for up to three years.

This whole process is stressful. I graduated with a degree in psychology from Gustavus, so mental health has always been something that I’ve been keen towards. When I was working in mental health institutions after college and studied psychology during college, the thing that I always released with was doing music. The opportunity to get to do it as my job feels natural. It doesn't feel like work. When I'm on stage, I'm just having a fun time. The uncertainty of what's next is stressful, but now that I've found this ability to perform, I don't really see myself doing anything else. As much as my current situation can be really discouraging, I'm not [discouraged] because I know that I'm doing the job that I'm meant to be doing.

The uncertainty leads to a little bit of stress and anxiety, but when I'm on stage, all that stress and anxiety about what the future holds goes away because I'm just in the moment and like loving every second of it.

I've found my stride and built a connection with the community here in Minnesota. The people I’ve met in the Twin Cities have introduced me to people in Nashville, New York, and Los Angeles. I still collaborate with artists in Canada, but I feel like my musical community is here: playing with Miloe, Honeybutter, and so many other talented artists from the Twin Cities.

One of the things that reviewers are looking for in visa applications is how the applicant is going to contribute to their society. I think that artists contribute so much to our society. Without the arts, there wouldn’t be much to live for. Art brings the joy that people need to continue living. I'm doing my best to contribute to that here. I've proven that I can do it and do it well, which is why I've been given the opportunity to collaborate with so many artists here.