Video: Wasia Project Releases 'Isotope' EP and Short Film
Rather than providing standalone videos for the songs, the duo have created a short film, divided into chapters.
By: Josh Sharpe Aug. 29, 2024
Wasia Project, the musical duo formed by siblings Will Gao and Olivia Hardy, release their highly anticipated new EP Isotope via AWAL.
As a project predicated on the unique creative chemistry between siblings, it feels apt that Will and Olivia’s second EP is named Isotope. Two distinct branches of the same tree, as Wasia Project they’ve spent the last five years applying their classical training to wide-eyed jazz-pop, racking up tens of millions of streams, and recently touring the U.S. supporting Laufey and a European arena tour with Tom Odell.
Isotope follows the release of the stunning baroque-pop first single “Is This What Love Is?,” and the tender and existential ballad “Takes Me Back Home.” Throughout the EP, the familiar warmth of nostalgia dovetails with the discomfort of the unknown, as the duo process experiences of love, anxiety, confusion and hope through a singular voice.
Isotope was demoed last September, and recorded at London’s prestigious RAK Studios in January 2024 with producer and regular collaborator St. Francis Hotel (Michael Kiwanuka, Little Simz). As classical music scholars, they were keen to exploit the possibilities of the studio, arranging strings to bring their cinematic vision to life.
Rather than providing standalone videos for the songs, the duo have created a short film, divided into chapters, in collaboration with Creative Director Charlie Drinkwater (Lianne La Havas, Dermot Kennedy, Fontaines DC) and director Charles Gall (English Teacher, Last Dinner Party, Nothing But Thieves). Working with visual reference points including Wong Kar-Wei, Paris Texas and the photography of Daidō Moriyama, the film sees Olivia and Will cast as a single character, and tracks their struggle to navigate a series of labyrinthine scenarios.
Formed in 2019, Wasia Project’s mixed British-Asian heritage and classical training have inspired them to have a global approach to pop, which dynamically melds styles and influences that cut across genre lines—and even entire hemispheres of musical tradition. In their songs they combine classical intellect with spiky disco and freewheeling jazz, in a merging that’s underpinned by the duo’s deep knowledge of distinct musical styles. The resonance of Olivia’s vocals are comparable to Rickie Lee Jones and Joni Mitchell in richness and maturity, and the band’s melodic complexity and achingly heartfelt lyricism channels the spirit of artists like Mitski, Weyes Blood, and Billie Eilish, who they cite as influences on their sound. Will is also known for his role as Tao Xu in Netflix LGBTQI+ hit drama series “Heartstopper,” and the band’s breakout hit “ur so pretty,” a yearningly romantic piano-led ballad which melded the duo’s jazz and pop sensibilities to sublime effect, was featured in the pivotal final scene of the second series season finale.
Wasia Project are hotly tipped in the press and radio landscapes, with highlights including an NME cover and print features in British Vogue, Hunger, Rolling Stone UK, Notion, DIY, Dork, Boys By Girls and more. They were Amazon Music and British GQ’s “Ones To Watch” for 2024 and have over 100+ radio plays across Radio 1 and Radio 2, including Jo Whiley’s Record of the Week.
ISOTOPE TRACK LIST
3. Isotope (interlude)
4. Somebody Come Through
5. To Get Better
6. …
7. Tell Me Lies (fin)
WASIA PROJECT LIVE:
September 28—Columbia, MD—All Things Go Festival
September 30—New York, NY—Irving Plaza, (2nd NIGHT ADDED)
October 1—Philadelphia, PA—The Foundry (SOLD OUT)
October 3—Washington, DC—Atlantis (SOLD OUT)
October 4—New York, NY—Irving Plaza (SOLD OUT)
October 5—Boston, MA—Brighton Music Hall (SOLD OUT)
October 7—Toronto, ON—Velvet Underground (SOLD OUT)
October 9—Chicago, IL —Lincoln Hall (SOLD OUT)
October 10—Minneapolis, MN—7th Street Entry (SOLD OUT)
October 12—Denver, CO—Globe Hall (SOLD OUT)
October 13—Salt Lake City, UT—Soundwell (VENUE UPGRADE)
October 16—Los Angeles, CA—The Fonda (SOLD OUT)
October 18—Los Angeles, CA—The Fonda (2nd NIGHT ADDED)
October 18—San Francisco, CA—Bimbos 365 Club (SOLD OUT)
October 20—San Francisco, CA—The Independent (SOLD OUT)
November 3—Huxley’s Neue Welt—Berlin, Germany (VENUE UPGRADE)
November 4—Cologne, Germany—Stadthalle (VENUE UPGRADE)
November 6—Brussels, Belgium—La Botanique (SOLD OUT)
November 7—Paris, France—Bataclan (VENUE UPGRADE)
November 8—Amsterdam, Netherlands—Het Zonnehuis (SOLD OUT)
November 10—Leeds, UK—Stylus (JUST ANNOUNCED)
November 12—London, UK— O2 Forum Kentish Town (JUST ANNOUNCED)
November 13—Manchester, UK—Academy 2 (JUST ANNOUNCED)
November 14—Glasgow, UK— SWG3, TV Studio (JUST ANNOUNCED)
November 17—Cardiff, UK—Tramshed (JUST ANNOUNCED)
November 18—Bristol, UK—SWX (JUST ANNOUNCED)
November 19—Birmingham, UK—O2 Academy 2 (JUST ANNOUNCED)
Comments
Videos