Oh Wonder Interview

Anthony and Josephine are Oh Wonder, the electro-pop duo that’s on everyone’s lips. For the last 12 months, they have been uploading a song a month on Soundcloud, leading up to the September release of their self-titled debut album. With just three unheard tracks on the album, on the surface, this project was a huge risk. But, with their beautiful productions and undeniable talents, the record is one of the most highly anticipated debuts of 2015. With so much talk about the duo and the release just around the corner, we got to know them a little better.
Hi Anthony, Josephine, how are you?
We’re really well.
You’ve gifted us a track a month for the past 12 months in the lead up to your debut album, how does it feel to finally have the release next month?
Anthony: It definitely feels very surreal that it’s going to be available in such a physical format. Until now it’s just been a track online in that digital format where it could be taken down, but as soon as it’s pressed into vinyl or CD, that’s our music forever.
Josephine: And it’s come around so quickly. It seems like only yesterday it was September 2014 and we decided to embark on this project, and we blinked and we’ve had the most phenomenal year. We’ve had the most unprecedented reaction to our music, so we’re just really excited and grateful.

Has the album actually been finished for the last year?
A: Initially we had one track when we started the whole project, the song called ‘Body Gold’. And that was the first track that we released. That was written quite a while before we actually released it and it gave us the idea of doing the whole project. Then we did work month to month for the next six or seven months…
J: Writing and recording one song each month. When we started, we had no idea what the album would sound like or what we were even working towards.
Anthony: And then six months in, we started writing a lot more and getting more songs prepared so that we could do pre-orders and have the record finished a few months prior to its release. It was definitely not planned initially!
Why did you decide to do it this way and were you aware of the risk?
J: Of course it’s a risk writing a record you have no idea how it will sound and doing it in such a public forum, you’re open to releasing a bad song. But we saw it more of a challenge, and it meant that we were setting the bar high for ourselves and putting a great creative pressure on ourselves.
A: When we started, the end goal was never an album, so I don’t think we ever saw it as a risk. The album for us is just a bonus. It hasn’t been a standard format at all, the way we’ve written the album hasn’t been normal.
J: It’s been really refreshing actually; being able to create an album with the people that are listening to our music. It feels like a big conversation that we’re having on a month-to-month basis. It’s been nice to experiment with how artists release music and it keeps it fresh because we actually stopped the recording button and the next day put the track up online. We’re constantly promoting music that we’ve just written and are really proud of in that moment.

The online reaction to you posting each song per month has been phenomenal, have you been able to take that and put that into the next track?
A: The reaction to each track definitely spurs us on. The record wouldn’t be what it is without people feeding back how it makes them feel. The numbers are staggering for us, to know that each time we release a song there are thousands of people listening around the world. It’s absolutely crazy.
J: I doubt that we would have made the record that we’ve made if that hadn’t have happened. It has given us so much energy and faith in ourselves. That confirmation from other people that what you’re doing is well received and enjoyed makes the whole process so much more thrilling and validates it almost.
What sort of things have you learnt about each other while writing and recording?
A: We’ve definitely learnt each other’s song-writing strengths and where we both fit into Oh Wonder.
J: I’m a pianist so normally I come up with the chords and we both come up with the melodies and the lyrics. Anthony’s an amazing producer and comes up with the beats. We’ve both been in projects where we’ve been in control, so I think we’ve definitely learnt how to work together and get the best out of someone and let someone get the best out of you. It’s a new experience working in a team.
A: It feels like a really healthy compromise.
J: It can only be a good thing if it enhances what you do on your own. We’re both control freaks and love doing things ourselves, so it’s been nice to take a step back and let someone else do it.

You’re yet to perform on stage together…
J: [Laughs] Yes!
A: We were in New York last week and just played an acoustic song together for the first time – which is bizarre! – but we have rehearsals today for the first time ever.
J: But we’ve been preparing for the rehearsals! Today is our first rehearsal with our bassist and our drummer. They’ve never met each other, and Anthony and I have been toiling away working out how the set’s going to be and what songs are going to play and how we want to interpret them live.
A: Yeah, we don’t want it to just be the record live, we want it to have a different feel to it. I’m playing a lot more guitar so they’ll have different structures and a different life.
J: Today is the first full band rehearsal –
A: But don’t worry – we’re not just doing one rehearsal! [Laughs]
J: [Laughs] Imagine!
You’ve also already secured dates for Europe, USA and Australia; have you been surprised by the level of interest in Oh Wonder?
J: Hugely! Extraordinarily surprised!
A: It’s amazing how it’s crossed over from people listening online to then committing and spending money on tickets to your gigs on the other side of the world.
J: We’re sitting here very bemused!
Your Australia shows at Falls Festival fall on New Year’s Eve; what are you looking to get up to outside of your set?
A: We’ve got family out in Australia…
J: We actually spent New Year’s Eve in Australia a few years ago.
A: Yeah we spent it just outside of Melbourne. My brother lives in Melbourne and he took us on a trip… So hopefully we’ll see some family and just hang out in the sun on the beach.
J: Our managers are like, “Unfortunately guys, you’ve got four days off in Byron Bay…” And we were like, “Ohh, that sucks!” [Laughs]
A: I’m actually really excited for Tasmania. I went there when I was a kid and it’s absolutely beautiful.

There’s a stigma with male and female duos of being sickly-sweet. What’s the secret? How do you make it work?
A: I know exactly what you mean. If someone told me they were a girl and boy duo I’d be sick in my mouth. But it doesn’t feel like we are, it’s really weird.
J: I feel like this project is genderless. The fact that I’m a woman and Anthony’s a man is actually so irrelevant and we haven’t even entertained the idea that we’re of different genders because we do everything equally. Traditionally you’d have the girl sing and the guy sitting behind the desk making all the beats, whereas this is so collaborative and equal, we just have so much respect for each other and we’re two people making music.
A: That may be why people have enjoyed the sound of our two voices together because there is no lead vocal, we just become a vocal. Every duet I’ve heard in the past, they sing off each other…
J: I love it though! Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers ‘Islands In The Stream’ – one of the best duos ever!
So who are your individual musical influences?
A: Strangely, we have a lot of crossovers which is why we started writing together in the first place. When we first met we couldn’t ignore that we have pretty much exactly that same favourite songs and artists.
J: Yeah, we both love Feist, Death Cab For Cutie, Angus & Julia Stone… I love classical music like Beethoven and Debussy. I play classical piano so I have a great amount of respect for anyone that can compose anything on the piano because it’s bloody difficult!
A: I grew up in rock bands, which is nothing to do with classical!
J: We both love Joni Mitchell, Elton John traditional songwriters.
A: It’s not too hard for us to make a playlist!
‘Oh Wonder’ is out 4th September in Australia via Dew Process/UMA
By Charlotte Mellor
@cmellor_03