Ones2Watch Home

Photo by C Malin

Wasia Project, the iconic brother and sister pop-duo, composed of Olivia Hardy and Will Gao have just completed their Isotope World Tour, which celebrated their second EP of the same name. The show is perfectly crafted, mixing Olivia ́s stunning vocals with Will ́s piano skills and the band all dressed in their “Isotope Chic” aesthetic. Half of their show feels like being at an elevated jazz club; the other half, like watching a pop star take the stage. The band ́s original sound and extremely dedicated fan base is going to get them far. At their show in Brussels, we sat down with the band to chat about their songwriting process, cats, and being ready to add more songs to their musical catalog.

OnesToWatch: Hello! We are here with Wasia Project in Brussels, Belgium.

Wasia Project: Hi!

This is your first headline tour in the US and Europe. How has that been going?

Will: It's going really well. I think it's been a really learning experience. We've learned a lot over the course of this year, but especially in the last two months of the tour. We've leveled up the show, we have a background now, we've got more of a solidified show it feels. It feels really amazing to be bringing it to these cities and to be here.

Isotope is the title of your second EP, are either of you chemistry fans? Why the name Isotope?

Will: I think originally we were discussing finding out what we wanted to say. We had these songs that were lying around and wanted to not only do them as individual songs, but we wanted to encompass them in a concept or under an umbrella. And I think Isotope came from that. We discussed a lot about Isotope being collaborative with many different parts to it and there was a kind of relationship between the way atoms are together and isotopes are.

Olivia: It's the same number of protons in different parts of the nucleus and it's basically the same element, just variations basically. As artists, we're both individuals and it's strange being a combined entity and having only one platform to share our very personal experiences. So, we used this concept to follow one entity, one character. It's still both of our separate, individualized experiences but under one project.

In your songwriting process is it one of you that takes the lead for one song? Or do you aim for collaboration constantly?

Will: It really depends on the song. Olivia in particular is very good at writing bridges to melodies I've come up with and finding that bridge is a really, really important part of the song that pivots it. We add on to each other's ideas. It’s not really about who's going first, it's about making the best work we can. Making the song as good as it can be and that feels the closest to what we want it to be.

So, Olivia, you are the bridge queen?

Will: Queen of bridges!

Olivia: I have written some banger bridges. But yeah, the idea is that we come together with ideas and then collaborate. Sometimes it'll be like I've written a whole song or you write a little bit of a song and then try and collaborate on making it a full-form thing, within our sound. That's where the magic really is.

How is it, from a sibling perspective, sharing songwriting, which can be very vulnerable as a process?

Olivia: I think with anyone it's usually quite difficult. With siblings it's a different kind of difficult because on the one hand we can be very vulnerable with each other. For siblings it's a sense of home and people who know your ins and outs. Through song, it’s just the best way of communication, so I feel very lucky that we're actually sharing a song as a great method of communication.

Will: I was going to say there's beauty in the space of it. I just think it's beautiful to be able to sit in your own space to write. Then what's even more beautiful and what I appreciate is putting it on a table and being like, “What do you think of this?” Sometimes when I make art alone, I ́ll just let it marinate for a while; but if I bring it to the project, it really works. It gives it a life and another perspective. I think perspective in songwriting is a big thing. Sometimes you can be in an echo chamber and to have other people to connect with is really special. It's what makes collaboration and togetherness so wonderful.

Were there main themes you wanted to discuss in this album?

Will: Olivia is really good at understanding the world, taking lyrics and putting them into a certain world and adding some spice. We didn't have a specific topic though, you don't know what you are going to write about. But whatever it's about: love, romance, friends, fears, anxieties, whatever, happiness, everything. It kind of comes out; then in the production world we'd take the song into the studio and it’s really cool to be able to play around with it. With Isotope, we decided on a world of cinema.

Olivia: For example, “Takes Me Back Home” you don't think about it when you're writing it, but in retrospect I'm glad that I can sing a song that's about love. Because we had a lot of vulnerable, sad songs, but that one, even though it's quite sad, I like that idea of being safe and at home with a person or a place. I know at the end of the day that song is like a person and I just love that feeling of comfort because that's the value of the song.

You were mentioning that you've had a bunch of songs that you had floating around and they came together. Three of the songs on the EP, “Tell Me Lies”, “...” and “Isotope” are just instrumental songs. Was that a very conscious choice or did it spontaneously happen?

Olivia: I guess the final one (Tell Me Lies), the really orchestral one, is the longest song. And that was originally going to be, instead of “Somebody Come Through” that longer song. And we basically just didn't think it fit. We recorded all the strings in January and it was quite a big number, but something about it just didn't fit the rest of the aesthetic and the sound of it all. I think it just felt a bit stuck in the past because it was quite old, but we loved that orchestra section. So, we stashed it from that and we loved that idea of the cinema. Then “Isotope” came really suddenly, while we were working on that big song and we were getting quite frustrated creatively.

Will: We were working on “Takes Me Back Home” and we were at war with it, so we decided to do something else, which was “Isotope” and then when we came back to “Takes Me Back Home”, it just felt much easier to write it. What's really nice is that some songs are lying around for so long, so when you can run into bumps with them. What's really fun was being able to create something on the fly and it'll be clear and it's really refreshing, as opposed to what we've been listening to for a bit of a time.

What are some things that take you back home?

Olivia: Our cat, well two cats.We have one called Tuko and then the other one is Skylar. And Skylar's a kitten and very angry. He likes to bully Tuko, so I have a soft spot for Tuko. He's so fun. Now that I've left my room to do the tour, Tuko has taken over my bed and it's his little space. But also just family, like I think people who have known me for a long time and know my characteristics and stuff, just like spending time with them, just the friends and family really help me out.

Will: I miss London and I think just the simple pleasures. I miss waking up, going out, maybe to a cafe, or going for a walk in the park, you know, writing and reading on a park bench. It's like some of life's simplest but like most treasured things. So I'm excited to go back home after the tour and for Christmas.

You made a short film for a company called Albums, also called Isotope. And you said you wanted to create an interchangeable character within it. So, was that your way of reflecting the songwriting?

Olivia: Yeah, I think in a way that's true. I think that to have one character, one voice; that was very interesting to us.

Will: I think also just with a lot of collaborations it's fascinating. When you hear music, no matter how many people are in a band or a collective or a film, there's so many people working together to make one piece. That kind of led us to make that one character, this one story, with those that are tied to make it what it is. Yeah, it was a good visual to the album.

What about the “Isotope Chic” aesthetic you created?

Olivia: We really like this idea of some sort of dress code and I found it to be a visual asset. “What do I wear?” is the worst question. I think especially as someone who goes to concerts and someone who performs at them, deciding what to wear is a very difficult task. I like that sense of uniform and something that ties it all together. And I really liked the suits we wore in that video and I thought we could carry that through the autumn, because I’ve only just left school and it’s kind of like back to school, kind of smarter, preppy and quite chic.

Will: Olivia had kilts, for her uniform at school. Olivia: That was a long, long time ago.

Will: And like the high socks. And that's where Olivia's iconic pinstripes come from, the 6th form days.

Olivia:Which, I'm speaking of, as if they were years ago, but for me was last year. But yeah, some fans find the pinstripes iconic.

How did it feel to go from high school to touring the world?

Olivia: It's scary, it's hard, but I'm on the other way. It's my dream, it's my passion, it's my plan. I will say, I wish I had gone to university, and met a lot of people. I do meet a lot of people, but I think being in a space with a lot of responsibility with everyone your age, it's like utopia really.

Will: Well it's not too late for you, you know.

Olivia: I know. But yeah, I miss the intellectual juice because I've always loved academia. So, staying on top of that, while I'm not in school, having social media as a priority as well more so than intellectual growth is a bit of a weird one, but it's the job. Traveling is the main thing about learning things, it's the most insane thing. The amount you learn just from people watching in different cities is incredible.

Will: Can we also admire your Isotope chic?

Oh! Thanks so much, I wore this to work and everyone liked it. So there is convergence between Isotope and corporate chic.

Wasia Project: Absolutely.

What do you guys think are the best and worst parts about being in love? Will: That's a good question. Olivia, what do you think?

Olivia: Worst is how sensitive you can get to everything and how much influence the person has on you and how you feel. I mean people are sensitive in general but I think your emotions are so heightened. You feel like a child again in so many different ways, you can't control feelings that come out of you and the tiniest things affect you. But then on the flip side the best thing is growing as a person. I think love only makes people grow. It's like wisdom. So, when you fall in love with someone and it doesn't end the way you want it to, you know that you experience a lot of turmoil in that, but you are always growing from that, always learning more about yourself and another person super intricately.

So far you have released two EPs, but do you think you are at a point where you are ready to release an album?

Will: Yeah, yeah! We're gonna do an album. We're ready to release a lot more music.

Olivia: I think we've been spaced out with the way we release music and we're ready to put a

whole body of work out there and add some depth to our catalog. Will: It's going to be mental.

I've been reading recently that we might be able to, all of us, go to space. Would you guys visit space if you had the chance?

Will: Yeah! 100%

Olivia: I just saw a video of someone saying that it's a red flag. I don't know why. But I disagree.

It's a beautiful thing.

Will: Who wouldn't want to go to space if they have the opportunity? Like if it was really safe, what an opportunity to see it. In Brussels, we went to a cafe bar yesterday and in the bathroom there was a scribble on the wall that said: “If you could zoom out, go into space and look at Earth, where the moon is, you would realize how everything is so small, there would be no more burdens.” It was a beautiful message and I was like, that'd be incredible to actually see the Earth from space and realize how gorgeous this world is. How gorgeous this life is, to connect, bring people together and collaborate, laugh. I think seeing the Earth is a testament to that too. I don't know about red flags, but I’m going to space.

I think you're right. I love bathroom wisdom. It's so good.

Olivia: It's like shower thoughts, but better.

Will: It's a weird transient space, but you obviously only go in to go to the loo. And it's a very

temporary pace.

Who are your OnesToWatch right now?

Olivia: Oh! Olivia Dean, for sure and Lola Young

Will: Lola Young is so good!

Olivia: Mk.gee he really is coming up. DIJON, even though I don ́t know if we can say he is up and coming.

Will: Also our support in the UK, Hohnen Ford has really beautiful songwriting so I am very excited to see her.