Boston Calling is fast approaching and some bands and singers appearing are well known, while others may be just breaking out. One band on the rise is alternative pop duo, Oh Wonder. Based in London, Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West are becoming an international hit, now playing in the U.S. and singing at sold-out shows.
Each song on their debut album, “Oh Wonder,” was written, produced, and mixed by the duo in their home studio in South-East London. Their main album was released in Sept. 2015, and there is just more of them to come. For someone who has never listened to them, they could be described as sounding like jazz, R&B, and electronic all tied into one. They both agree that their main influences for their music and songwriting careers are Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Kate Bush, Elton John, and Labi Siffre.
The energy and poetic lyrics in their songs are one of the main reasons that this band is worth the listen. No person in the duo does more work than the other when creating these upbeat, yet mellow singles. In an interview, the duo said, “We work together on pretty much every area of the project, and both write, record and mix all of the music ourselves. Josephine usually writes the songs’ chords, and Anthony makes the beats and sounds. But we both chip in ideas on instrumentation, production and mixing. It’s hugely collaborative. We couldn’t do this on our own and that makes us feel really close to the music and retain a lot of respect for each other.”
Their one goal as a pair is to keep making music. The process, they say, is nourishing and affirming, and what they love to do, so it’s sure that this won’t be the last heard from them. Oh Wonder can be seen at day two of Boston Calling, Saturday, May 27.