Oh Wonder, a duo comprised of Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, is said to fall under the genre of pop but by no means conforms to that stereotype. The London-based group combines light beats, airy vocals and soulful lyrics to create a unique sound that bridges the gap between techno, pop and indie.

The group is stopping by the Carrier Dome Nov. 4, as part of University Union’s Rock the Dome event. Oh Wonder will accompany headliner The 1975 and 070 Shake. Here are some more things you may not know about Oh Wonder.

1. They once released one song a month for an entire year.

The group took the typical pathway of putting out a freshman album and turned it on its head by producing and publishing a new song each month on SoundCloud, which quickly gained popularity. They now have a full album on SoundCloud and are currently on a world tour. Their work has been remixed by notable DJs such as Louis the Child.

2. They both enjoy crime documentaries.

One of their music videos was actually based off of the 1993 indie crime film “True Romance,” which Anthony calls and “awesome film.” They said they also enjoyed the HBO show “The Jinx,” in an interview with Interview magazine.

3. It takes them around 20 minutes to write a song

Anthony compared their music-writing process to drawing a flower, in an interview with 34th Street magazine. It only takes a couple of minutes to draw the outline of the plant, but longer to color everything in. He says it’s the same for their writing; they usually can get the framework of the cords and words in a matter of minutes, but it will then go back and spend a couple of hours perfecting it.

4. The idea behind their name was an on-the-spot decision

The group began originally as Wonder Wonder, but after a band with a similar name told them to change it, they began scrambling to find a name in a day, preferably with the word wonder in it, according to the interview with 34th Street. It was Halloween, and Anthony and Gucht were dressed up as John Lennon and Yoko Ono, sitting and spitting out possible names the contained the word. They finally settled on Oh Wonder and the rest was history.

5. They make all their cover artwork themselves

Gucht said in the interview with 34th Street that they make all their artwork themselves on Microsoft Word, which is why “they all look so shit.” However, both artists agree that one of the most important aspects of the music is the lyrics and sound itself, while secondary aspects like artwork takes the back burner. As apparent by their music, Oh Wonder continues to be unconventional with their music, and it’s paying off.

 

Published on October 16, 2016 at 9:58 pm

Contact Hanna: hrhorvat@syr.edu