Oh Wonder

The Haunt, Pool Valley, Brighton, Tuesday, November 17

FRESH from playing a show in New York and ahead of a flight to Australia songwriting duo Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West talk about their rapid rise to fame on the back of a series of monthly SoundCloud releases.

The Guide: It must be strange looking forward to a UK tour only two months on from making your live debut

Josephine: We never really anticipated touring this record. We set this project out as a songwriting project. We never thought it would culminate in an album [Oh Wonder was released in September] let alone performing them live. We are excited as much as anything and feel really privileged that an audience has connected to our music. It’s an absolute dream.

Anthony: We have taken on two good friends of ours as live drums and a bass player. The songs have a different feel because they are being backed by a live band. There’s an amazing energy.

How easy has it been to recreate the songs live?

Josephine: I grew up with music lessons from the age of five. The best concerts are when you see a group of musicians jamming and having a great time on stage – making an hour of your life into something that never existed before. We wanted to bring some of that realness and musicality into the live show. We’ve discovered some songs work really well live – people tell us Landslide is a real tune.

Were you writing the new songs every month or dipping into a back catalogue of ready-penned music?

Anthony: The songs were written as we went along. In a month we would write the track and produce it, and start sweating as we got close to the release date. It was an amazing and healthy pressure to have to deliver something for people to listen to. By the time we got to the sixth month it was noticeable people around the world were waiting for us – people on blogs wanted to hear the next track. It really pushed us as songwriters.

Did you notice a progression in your writing as the year went on?

Josephine: We had no perspective on the end record, and no time to sit back and take stock. We couldn’t rework songs or add songs – or find little holes which needed something quieter. It would have been easy to keep tweaking.

Were you tempted to go back and rework some of the songs when the album came out?

Anthony: There was a temptation. We were the producers and our production definitely built up. I’m glad we didn’t go back – people had listened to the record as individual songs – they didn’t need to be touched, it would possibly have been the wrong thing to do. Those songs belonged in the moment – we are really proud of them.

Why didn’t you sequence the final album chronologically?

Josephine: We tried not to over-complicate things – we tried a few different orders which told a different story to the way we released it. We thought Livewire [released in May] was a great opener with the acoustic piano and big chorus. It showcased the different elements of our music. We wrote [non-SoundCloud track] Plans as a closer.

The theme of relationships seems to run throughout the album.

Josephine: It was only when we were being interviewed about the album we realised a narrative had emerged. We both write about relationships – humans have been here for so many years and still have issues and problems and emotional differences when they deal with other humans. None of us have learned how to get along with each other. The album explores so many things, but relationships is a big one.

Is it about your relationship as musical soulmates?

Josephine: Musical soulmates – I like that term. We have been writing together for nearly three years prior to the formation of Oh Wonder. We have really got to know each other in a writing capacity, talking about the most personal things. You have to be very open and vulnerable to get to the point where you feel comfortable and say anything without fear of judgement. We’re totally comfortable saying anything to each other.

Do you write together or separately?

Anthony: For every track we write together. We would sit together and write chords, and start thinking about melodies. We would write each song pretty quickly – we both have the same outlook, if it doesn’t write itself it’s not worth writing. It should feel effortless, it’s where the best ideas come from.

Is there a secret or formula to writing a song?

Josephine: We’ve established a formula of sorts – if you asked us to write a song in the next ten minutes we probably could. We’re constantly surprised by the other approaches people take. A lot of people start with a riff or a title. We are definitely open to trying new styles of writing – the way we find easiest is music first, lyrics second, production last.

Are you missing the pressure of writing a new song each month?

Anthony: Around the time of the deadline it does feel like a gaping hole in our lives now we aren’t doing a song every month. It’s been swiftly replaced by touring.

Josephine: We’re itching to write our second album.

Duncan Hall

Doors 7pm, tickets £8. Call 01273 606312.