Simone Odaranile Fronts New Hyundai Advert
Drummer Simone Odaranile grew up in the naval city of Portsmouth, which she says has a non-existent music scene. Despite this, the exceptionally talented BIMM Brighton alumna has gone on to stage an exciting career, touring the world as a member of The Go! Team and receiving high praise from Mike Joyce (The Smiths) and Jamie Morrison (The Noisettes/Stereophonics).
Simone’s latest big break comes courtesy of Hyundai, who have made her the star of their new advert which is about championing life’s small wins – those little breakthrough moments that come with practice and perseverance. In Simone’s case, that means breaking through a creative block to nail that all-important drum fill. Simone even reveals she had to adapt her style from hard rock and metal to jazz to land the role, which makes her on-screen performance even more electrifying.
A hard-working session drummer who has been playing since she was 11, Simone works at BIMM London as our reception manager as a side hustle to fund her passion for music. She’s also been featured in numerous drumming magazines and blogs, and this latest spot for Hyundai is another significant milestone in her journey.
When asked about her work ethic and busy schedule, she tells BIMM: “I think I am just very aware of how long it takes to achieve things, so I spend four days of my week focusing on promoting myself, practising my instrument and networking socially and online with as many people as possible.” Incidentally, it was the advert director’s sister who got in touch on Instagram. What followed was a week of shooting and rehearsals in Hamburg, which will be home to our eighth BIMM college.
It’s a mark of her sheer dedication; to this day, Simone has no sync manager and handles all promotion herself. Nevertheless, success hasn’t come easy, and the former student (BA (Hons) Degree in Professional Musicianship- Drums) admits she’s no stranger to the challenges that face many young musicians today. Her advice? Be kind to people. “You don’t know where people might end up working and you want to be remembered as being kind.”
Drawing on her own experiences, she explains: “My Instagram account paints this perfect picture of me touring around the world, performing in TV commercials, studio sessions and so on but I also have a full-time job, at BIMM which I enjoy. However, I had envisioned at the age of 28 I’d be hanging out with Travis Barker in LA – playing sold out stadiums, living in a mansion but I realise it takes time to achieve things.”
Simone’s vast experience, positive approach and the connections she made while studying under our esteemed drums tutor Vinnie Lammi tells us her dream of drumming full-time isn’t far away – especially with a style that’s as solid as hers.
Interested in studying a drum course at BIMM, like Simone did? Click here to find out more about our courses.
