Wasia Project Is Taking Over the UK Pop Scene

October 24, 2023

Merging classical jazz, indie pop, and shoegaze vocals into what they like to call an "alternative mess", Wasia Project is the next pop duo to keep your eyes on. The London-based band, comprised of siblings Will Gao (20) and Olivia Hardy (17), is one of the UK’s top pop groups right now. As young adults in today's world there’s a lot of growing pains and uncertainty to grapple with — Wasia Project wants their fans to know they’re not alone. Their honest songwriting opens the door for raw conversations about love, relationships and mental health, that might otherwise be brushed aside.

Both siblings, Will and Olivia, received a classical musical upbringing and began learning instruments at a young age. Will focused on piano and became a part of the local boys' choir jazz ensemble, while Olivia practiced violin using the Suzuki method. While their formal music education was disciplined, they found time to dance to their dad's classic music collection, which included ABBA, Queen, Frank Sinatra, and Electric Light Orchestra. They were also exposed to a wide range of jazz and music from China and Japan. Their dad's CD collection introduced them to the diverse possibilities of music, blending refinement with experimentation.

Interview by Colleen Rodgers

Photography and production by Cal McIntyre
Styling by Nathan Henry
Makeup by Aimee Twist - Makeup Forever
Hair by Charles Stanley - bumble and bumble
Styling Assistant Rachel Allison

WILL wears JACKET by ACNE STUDIOS, JUMPER by ZADIG ET VOLTAIRE, TROUSERS by ACNE STUDIOS, BOOTS by ISABEL MARANT, GLOVES from CONTEMPORARY WARDROBE

OLIVIA wears JACKET by ISSEY MIYAKE from 18.01 ARCHIVE, TOP and DRESS by ZADIG ET VOLTAIRE, TROUSERS by VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, BOOTS b ACNE STUDIOS, GLOVES from CONTEMPORARY WARDROBE

As teenagers, the sibling duo began songwriting as a form of expressive therapy. Quickly realizing that their pastime could become a legitimate career, they never looked back. Their first song of 2023, "Petals on the Moon", offers a glimpse into their most developed sound yet. Olivia's ethereal vocals are accompanied by an upbeat jazz orchestra track, evoking a playful yet poignant tone reminiscent of Mitski.

Their fan base is growing up alongside them, finding solace in their honest expression as they navigate the challenges of adolescence. The duo explains, "We are expressing ourselves in a way that will hopefully make us understand ourselves more. If our music resonates with them, that's amazing, and if it doesn't, that's okay."

This "take it or leave it" attitude sets them apart; making music for the sake of music is a rare find these days. office had the opportunity to sit down with Will and Olivia to discuss the art of honest songwriting, the revelation that came from hearing "Hey Jude" for the first time, and the importance of their sibling bond.

WILL wears JACKET, COATS, TROUSERS by SAINT LAURENT, T-SHIRT by SUNSPEL, BOOTS by ISABEL MARANT, NECKLACE is talent’s own, BROOCHES from stylist’s archive

OLIVIA wears JACKET, TOP, SKIRT, AND HEELS by SAINT LAURENT, TIGHTS by FALKE, BROOCHES from stylist’s archive

Just to start us off, give me a brief overview of the genre/ genres of music you guys make?

Olivia Hardy— I would probably say it's a fusion of classical, jazz, and alternative, but I think the main thing we've always said is that we’ve never really known how to place our music. There’s never been an intention to place it as indie or alternative or whatever- it's quite organic in that we’ve pulled a bunch of influences from really classical pieces, to Queen to the Beatles and sort of fused it with the sounds we knew growing up. And William was really heavily jazz influenced so I think it all came together in one alternative mess.

Will Gao— Yeah, I think alternative mess is a good one. I think we see it as a kaleidoscope of influences and see it through a beam of contemporary pop. But all of the influences come from a kaleidoscope of like loads of different things, and things that I think a lot, a lot of the time we are completely unaware of when were making the art, which is the fun thing about it, you don't really know what the influences are but you know they're there.

I think that your guys' sound doesn't fit into one genre and I don't think it should. You do a really good job at this because you're so young and because you're learning about music as you're growing- your music is just ever evolving which makes it so interesting. Did you guys have a musical upbringing and what was that like?

WG— Yeah, for sure. I think we both have our own differences in our musical upbringing. Obviously we're siblings so there's a lot of similarities there. We both learned pieces and musical instruments from a young age. Olivia learned violin, I learned piano, I grew up in a classical boys choir. Olivia would you agree that you learned pop slightly earlier than I did?

OH— Yeah for sure. We were both very classically trained. Over the years it was very “this is the song to play, this is the technique to learn, and this is the scale to master, and then I think we really started to focus more on music we liked to listen to which was pop stuff, and I think pop music came to me when I was 12 or 13 when I downloaded Spotify and started to listen to real music from there. And then we started to discover new sounds like rap, and R&B, and soul. And then growing up we had a lot of our dad’s music like queen CD and electric light music orchestra and things like that.

WG— I remember specifically the moment, you know that roundabout Olivia, with that ugly ass building we would pass as kids and we listened to Hey Jude for the first time? I just remember that moment thinking, Oh, just because these guys are singing and it's kind of rock and roll and pop, that's still as respected and as soothing and makes me feel just as much as this classical music does when I'm at school or at college.

That sense of connection was a big moment to me. Because we always knew them as separate. Dancing to Queen was very different from learning something on the piano. I was like, if music is all one world, then it's like, what? It was insane.

The possibilities are endless from there. Olivia, was there a song or like an artist for you that made you feel that switch?

OH— I think the realization that William was talking about came to me a lot later, because I always saw pop and singing karaoke as more of a recreational thing to do in my free time. And classical music practice was hard to get into the discipline of doing, and then it wasn't until quite recently that I began to appreciate how much they play into each other. But in terms of early, early influence I would say Billie Eilish probably.

WG— What about Taylor Swift?

OH— Let's not go there — every journalist we talked to was like “she LOVES Taylor Swift '' — I was like what's going on? No, that's not a huge influence for me, I think I said that once. The direction I like to go is really honest songwriting. A lot of old R&B and soul like Ms. Lauryn Hill.

WILL wears JACKET, COATS, TROUSERS by SAINT LAURENT, T-SHIRT by SUNSPEL, BOOTS by ISABEL MARANT, NECKLACE is talent’s own, BROOCHES from stylist’s archive

OLIVIA wears JACKET, TOP, SKIRT, AND HEELS by SAINT LAURENT, TIGHTS by FALKE, BROOCHES from stylist’s archive

Was there a shift for you guys that you realized you could make music as a career and something more than a hobby or more than the classical training you were raised on?

WG— Yeah. For sure. I think there were those moments of seeing live shows or discovering the art of songwriting and how much of a freeing and positive experience it was. Certainly for me, I felt it was such a liberating thing, songwriting is like therapy and I was like, Oh shit people get to do this therapeutic thing and get to call it a job? It's crazy!

OH— I was always inspired by live performances. I'd go and see and like the interaction in a room. I just thought it was insane and spiritual and just like a crazy unifying experience and every time I go it would be the same feeling so I guess I was so chasing that. And then the recording side of it is just like, yeah a complete creative space that I guess at first is just a hobby but then really grew into something became a thing to do for us.

Who would be your musical influences now that you pull inspiration from?

WG— Right now, I’d say in the past week it has been Benjamin Bretton - he's a classical composer from the last century, and his melodies and his darkness are just quite twisted and I kinda love that. And I’d have to say Paul McCartney has always been a big influence but certainly more so recently.

OH— I mean recently I've been getting back onto my autumnal playlists, so Nick Drake, Mitski’s new album. I was having a conversation about her the other day and how she’s almost musical theater like she's so alternative and performative and I really love the way she makes stuff like that. A lot of Beatles as well right now.

WG— I think it's good to say that these are the influences that we like right now and they're ever evolving, as you said Colleen, and it's going to be ongoing.

Even songs that I listened to just a few months ago, I feel like I might not like now- and that's good, that means my music taste is evolving.

OH— Yeah the playlists that I make never really regurgitate songs, I sort of associate songs with certain periods of time but some of the really good ones will carry over.

I want to go into your guys' backgrounds, being both British and having East Asian heritage. How do you guys try to translate that into your sound?

WG— Yeah, I think it's kind of a thing where it's inherent in all of our experiences and it's kind of been a day to day thing our whole life. For me personally, it was something I kind of ignored but I felt it was there. And the awakening to the experience of not quite being home in either place or feeling misfit came to the forefront during the time I discovered song writing.

So I think it's a part of all of our music because a lot of our lyrics are about our personal experiences and a lot about the adolescent experience. There's a lot of angst, there's a lot of new experience from growing up so our mixed heritage and that diversity is gonna be all over that.

OH— Yeah whenever we’re asked that question, I kinda look back on the western music I was raised on and the western pop music all that. I don't think there was ever a specific sound of the far east that was incorporated into our music because it really is quite influenced by Queen and the classical stuff.

But something that I noticed recently is that there's a pentatonic scale which is used everywhere that is actually traditionally associated with the far east and harp instruments. I noticed even in the studio there is this one scale I kept repeating and I had no idea where it was from. I just thought it was really cool.

There's a balance between being really honest and really broad with how you feel about and then making it into something that people are really going to resonate with.

How did you figure out that it was associated with Eastern music?

OH— It's used in a lot of traditional folk songs, but there was this one time a few months ago when I was really geeking out on cultures associated with scales. Like Middle Eastern scales, oriental scales, and Irish folk scales and how they all intertwine. It's really interesting how you associate cultures with sounds.

I find that your lyrics are very well thought out and very weighted. When you are pulling lyrics together, do you usually pull from general ideas or like, personal experiences with love, relationships,and growing up?

WG— This is where me and Olivia slightly differ. For me it’s very in the moment, so when lyrics are coming out in real time in complete rawness and openness and like, it's just gluing the page with all these thoughts and feelings. It's normally the song that attaches to the lyric, which attaches to the thought, and it all becomes one.

And I think Olivia, you can say for yourself — but I think that the beauty is when Olivia tries to structure those kinds of thoughts and feelings. Especially with a new song that is coming out, it was very much a stewing and Olivia was like, lets edit this and synthesize these ideas and feelings together. And does so while still understanding me as a person and the craft of songwriting.

OH— Yeah, I mean, like you just described, there's a balance between being really honest and really broad with how you feel about and then making it into something that people are really going to resonate with. There's like a fine line between just like, blurting something and then from that raw idea, shaping it into something more refined and maybe even poetic.

WG— I think that's the best part about our collaboration is that fine line and that balance. Because, i don't know, word vomit is good, but it's also quite disorganized. And there’s glimpses of that in our music but also being quite refined and structured in your songwriting is key.

WILL wears JACKET, COATS, TROUSERS by SAINT LAURENT, T-SHIRT by SUNSPEL, BOOTS by ISABEL MARANT, NECKLACE is talent’s own, BROOCHES from stylist’s archive

OLIVIA wears JACKET, TOP, SKIRT, AND HEELS by SAINT LAURENT, TIGHTS by FALKE, BROOCHES from stylist’s archive

Do you think that it's easier or harder, because you're siblings, to be honest with each other about where the direction of a song is going?

WG— Oh yeah, I think it's much easier. We’re very honest with each other. I don't think I'd be comfortable doing it with many other people. It’s such a weird thing songwriting, we both get to such vulnerable places whilst doing it. Understanding how challenging it is sometimes to share songs that are so very personal.

Another thing I wanted to note is that your lyrics touch on a lot of very raw and real topics that a lot of your listeners your age are going through.What's the main message you want your listeners to take away from your music?

OH— I don't know if there’s a message to be honest, I just want them to feel good when they hear it. I mean you can preach messages and honesty and stuff and I think a lot of artists these days preach being honest with how you feel and being authentic and everything.

But I don't know, I think even myself as a fan of other people who tell me to be authentic, it's really easy to over think how true to yourself and how honest you're being with yourself about your feelings. I think the easiest thing is just listen to music and feel what you do and have a natural reaction to it.

WG— I don't know if there's any particular message, it's just we are expressing ourselves in a way that will hopefully make us understand ourselves more. And if they resonate with that frequency that's amazing and if they dont thats okay. We’re not trying to preach our music, it's just a way to express our feelings and get a bit closer to that frequency.

Yeah, it's very much like this is how I feel, take it or leave it.

WG— Exactly.

Olivia, what was it like hearing the song “ur so pretty” on Heartstopper? And this was the song originally written for the show?

OH— It was never written with the show in mind. It was written a long, long time ago, originally for nobody but myself and I shared it with a couple of friends. It became something that we recorded on the EP because we thought it was a beautiful song that deserved its own recording.

And as William was saying before- it was a very personal thing that I created out of expressing myself and it just really really resonated with a lot of people and when it was on the show. I think it was just an amazing sync and the way it was done it was able to resonate with a lot more people and reach a much broader audience.

So what's next for the Wasia Project?

WG— Well in the next few weeks there's going to be some live studio session recordings of us being put out and that's what people can look forward to. And then there's another song… maybe.

Got it — we will stay tuned for that!

Music

office x Apple Music: SAUSHA

December 17, 2024

Our second mix with Apple music is brought to you by the one and only Sausha de la Ossa. Born in Colombia and raised in Miami before making her way to the Big Apple, Sausha has made an indelible mark on New York’s underground nightlife scene.

From taking office along her recovery from surgery for issue 14 to chatting with fellow DJ Memphy for issue 21, Sausha has a special place in our hearts — and so does her cheekily-titled set “Freak Hoe Seminar.”

Bringing you nearly two hours of Sausha’s signature gritty techno and sexy Latin club influences, “Freak Hoe Seminar” is guaranteed to teach you a thing or two about a thing or two. Stream the mix below, exclusively on Apple Music.

Image courtesy of Sausha de la Ossa
Graphic Design/Art Direction by W-E Studio, Claudine Eriksson and Piera Wolf
Graphic Design by W-E Studio, Hannah Nathans
Digital Production by Brook Aster Studios

Music

Real as Can Be with Cooper B. Handy

December 16, 2024

Since 2009, Cooper B. Handy has been releasing music as LUCY, a project that feels more like an experiment than a static identity. Along the way, he’s formed and collaborated on a multitude of other ventures, deviating wildly from any one genre: Club Casualties, The Taxidermists, and Safe Mind. The most incredible work flows out of him at an amazing rate, and not without a throughline: his ability to instill his spirit into melodies that stick with you, lingering in the quiet moments, like a tune you hum absentmindedly but can’t quite shake.

I caught up with the long-standing DIY enigma and Cape Cod native over the phone the day before his latest record’s release to talk Vol. 9, his many collaborations, discovering melodies in unexpected places, and naturally, digging holes.

Interview Sofia Castillo
Photography Guy Kozak

A lot of words come to mind when I think of his music—boundless, relentless, choppy, alluring, profound—all of them reminiscent of the ocean. It’s an apt comparison for Vol. 9, his latest record, which opens with Strange As Can Be. On it, he sings about a tale as old as time: conflicting desires. He begins with a reference to Adam and Eve, and follows it with the lines: “Try to be wholesome/We all have different ideas/We have different ideas/Of what it means to be wholesome.” That’s the magic of Lucy. He’s totally out there, and as real as can be. He paves his way charming together aphorisms, cautionary tales, and flashes of wry wisdom, all delivered with a disarming ease. They’re the kind of tracks that have me zoomed in on Bandcamp lyrics, or rapping over a Titanic sample he’s tweaked out. It’s liberating, you should try it. There’s a lot of laughter here, but not the ironic kind. It’s the kind born of genuine awe, of being hit over the head with something at once familiar and wholly unexpected. I recommend getting battered.

So, it's been almost a decade since Vol. 1 came out.

Yeah, pretty much.

Very exciting. Congrats on Vol. 9.

The first single you released is called 2nd Wind. Does that have anything to do with the decade mark?

Thank you. I don't know. I hadn't really thought about that. (Laughs) Yeah, I think that can be thought of like that for sure.

You're from Massachusetts, right?

Yeah, I grew up on Cape Cod, so I’m definitely around the ocean a lot.

Can you sail?

I actually could not sail. I went out sailing one time. I had some friends in high school who were instructors for a kid's sailing camp, so we had access to the boats and took one out. But aside from that, I wasn't really in a sailing family.

Do you like the ocean?

Yeah, yeah. Totally.

How do you think your Vol. albums delineate from the other projects you’ve released?

I think it's almost just a way of naming them without putting too much emphasis on one idea or something. I feel like most of the projects that I've put out solo are these volumes. I've made a bunch of other records with other people that are called different things and I've put out a few projects that are called other things, but most of my releases have been these nine volume albums. And I feel like it's mostly just an easy way for people to know what order they're in.

Do you like to go back and listen to them? You have a massive body of work out.

Yeah, I feel like I do. Every now and then there'll be certain projects I kind of forget about for a while. It's hard for me to listen back to music I made a really long time ago, like from when I was in high school. It sort of cringes me out. But with the Lucy project, I still like how it sounds. I don't feel cringed out listening to stuff from 10 years ago, which is good. I'm glad that I feel like that because I think that means I'm doing something right.

Can you pinpoint the cringe?

When I listen back to stuff that isn't even out, stuff from when I was, I dunno, 14, 15, 16… Obviously no one knows really what they're talking about at that point.(laughs) I definitely listened back to music I was making in high school and I'm like, ‘why was I talking about this stuff?’ Also, I think I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to sound like and it's hard to listen to that process.

Would you say you're a nostalgic person?

Yeah, for sure. But not in a way where I want to relive the past or something.

[Laughs] Right. Do you have any particular artists you’re listening to or are there any other mediums that inspire you at this moment?

I don't know. Not really. I sort of feel like there was a bunch of music I listened to when I was, I don't know, in between 10 and 16 that sort of still feels influential. I'm always influenced by new things, but I don't really listen to as much music as I should. I'm working on music all the time, so I'm listening to all these different things I'm making. I used to listen to music with headphones, but I’ve overdone it a little bit [laughs]. I need to listen to less music or something.

I recently lost my headphones and just let that be a catalyst for me listening to not nearly as much music as usual. I miss it, but it’s nice to actively listen to your surroundings sometimes. And if you're not really taking a ton of outside influences in, it’s easier to deeply connect to yourself as a source. The Lucy projects and a lot of your other collaborations feel very immediately recognizable to me as you.

Yeah, it's true. I feel like also things are- at least for me- things I hear when I'm out and about definitely play a big role in ideas of stuff I make and things I want to make. Even if I’m at the grocery store, a lot of times I get inspiration to either sample something that I hear in a store or by the self-checkout sounds and stuff. There's so many funny little melodic things around.

You love the store.

Yeah, there's definitely a lot to learn at the store.

Your sound is persistent, and self-assured. I love it just as much as when I first encountered the earlier volumes a few years ago. I’d like to know more about your approach to songwriting and if it’s morphed over time?

Thank you. Yeah, a lot of the time I'll have a melody or some ten second vocal melody. Sometimes it doesn’t have words, but most of the time it’s a phrase I’m singing to myself. I'll just make a voice memo and then go to the piano and see how I can make it work. Most of the stuff that's not sample based music that I make is pretty much all written on the piano. And then on this new record, there's definitely a handful of songs that have samples in them. Usually with those, I'll be making the beat before I have an idea for what the vocals will do. Making beats with samples has been a lot more fun for me in the past few years and it's good. But I sort of hope to move along from that after this record and have it be more of my own compositions, not just beats with clips of old songs or whatever.

So this is probably not the most evolved version of your sound so far?

Yeah, I wouldn't say that. I feel like I've been sitting on some of these songs. Some of the ones on this album are almost three years old, and then some that are four months old as well. So there's a bunch of new stuff and there's a bunch of stuff that feels really old to me. I think there's 17 songs on it, and usually I put six or seven songs on a project. It feels sort of mixed tape-ish to me. I'm just so used to it and I've been sitting on it for so long that it's hard for me to think of it as evolved or something. Friends who I showed it to seem to think it's more cohesive than I thought it was, so that's good.

I almost didn’t notice that there were 17 songs on it. I really like that it’s a 30 minute listen. And I agree with your friends, I wouldn't have guessed that you made them across different timelines. It’s a cohesive purge.

Yeah, totally. I feel like it'll be good to get it out and kind of move along.

You use a lot of aphorisms and story-book style language in your lyrics. It’s all very sincere. I really love it, and I think that might be why I've had such an affinity for it for so long too. At the end of the day, it's dealing with those things that never really go away, take as old as time.

Yeah, thank you. That is what I'm always going for. I feel like there's never going to be a shortage of content about those kinds of topics.

Were you in love when you wrote a lot of these songs?

[Laughs] Yeah.

Yeah.

Probably, probably all of 'em in different ways. I don't know. I feel like I try to infuse the music with that. When I think of the songs on there, I feel like you can hear that energy in the happier songs. Then there's a bunch of sad songs, or songs that sound sad- to me. And I don't think I'm showing an in-love side on those, but I don't know. That's kind of a tricky question.

I hear that. It’s not that you’re specifically singing about love, but the melodies on a lot of your tracks kind of lift my heart in that certain type of way. It’s all clearly involved, and there’s humor in it. It puts me in this perfect mood, that comes with good communication. Even the sadder songs.

Alright- Easier question. What are you working on right now?

I guess things are feeling a little bit more chill right now than they’ve been, just because I think I have three projects finished. I have this solo record coming out, and then I have a record with the Taxidermist band that's done and going to come out in March. And this Safe Mind project record that’s also going to come out. So right now everything's lined up and I'm just sort of waiting.

And we wait.

Yeah, I'm excited to start on a new batch of music and try to…I don’t know. I feel like I need to be learning more than I'm learning right now. I want to take the next bunch of months to try to maybe learn something.

What do you want to learn?

I'm not quite sure. I want to learn some new skills. I should be reading more.

For some reason I assumed you read a lot.

I really don't. Honestly, I really enjoy it when I’m into it, but getting to that point isn’t always easy for me.

Right, makes sense. You’re working on a ton of music projects.

I mean, I'm definitely trying to continue to focus on music as much as I do now. I'm just in a position where everything's about to be a clean slate, it’s been a while since I’ve not had files that I keep going back to.

Do you like being outside?

I like being outside, yeah. I walk a ton.

Do you have a favorite walk you do?

There's this range in Western Mass called the Holyoke Range. There’s a bunch of different mountains, and I sort of bounce between a lot of them. I go hiking almost every day, and a lot of the hikes out there only take an hour or two. I feel like that's as consistent as music for me for my life in Massachusetts. I spend a lot of time outside.

Do you have a typical “day in the life” right now?

It's always different. I feel like I'm really bouncing around. I'm in New York now and I'm going to go back to Massachusetts, and then I have another show in New York on the 10th.

Oh really?

With another project, Club Casualties. It’s me and my friend Nick Atkinson. He's completely off grid. Never was on social media or smartphone or anything. And he's a producer, but he's on the mega outskirts of the scenes. We're opening for that group Kassie Krut. Then a couple days later, I’m coming back to New York to do another show with the Safe Mind project.

Lots of movement. Have you ever made a time capsule?

Yeah. When I was a kid, I did one.

What did you put in it?

I put my school picture and some little Legos or something. I just put a bunch of toys that I liked. At the time, it was in a peanut butter jar. I think it had one of those wallet size school pictures, and I don't know what else was in it. I feel like I put some little notes, but I dug a really deep hole because I was obsessed with that book Holes.

Legendary book.

Yeah. My dad was like, you can dig a hole in the yard if you want to. I really wanted to, and I wanted to make it the same depth as the ones in the book, which were, I think they were six by six foot holes. So I was out there with my neighbor digging for weeks, and then it was deeper than my head, and then I buried the capsule in there.

I'm obsessed with that. That's so cool.

Yeah. It was before the movie came out, but the trailer was out, and I think I was like, this looks really cool. But the book was a big inspo.

What would you put in a time capsule now?

Probably some, probably like a flash drive. I don't know. It's hard to know. I feel like lots of stuff is going to be obsolete, so it's sort of hard to know what would be good to leave in there.

Yeah, that's true.

[Laughs] But maybe a more contemporary school picture.

Sweet.