Wasia Project: Live at the O2 Kentish Town Forum.
November saw Wasia Project embark on their headline tour ‘The Isotope’ following the launch of their EP under the same moniker back in August. When under the radar attended their homecoming show (November 12), at the O2 Kentish Town Forum, siblings Olivia and Will marked the occasion with a truly spectacular performance.
Photos by Cara Kealy
Building momentum recently with their track ‘ur so pretty’ having featured in the latest series of Netflix’s Heartstopper, the duo have racked up grassroot support from fans drawn to their storytelling artistry, and unique blends across genres; from bedroom pop to jazz, to more classically stylistic arrangements.
North London’s vaulted venue sets the right atmosphere for the theatrical night ahead, and bold fill lights project from the back of the stage directly into the audience as applause builds. An imposingly dark illustration of a spiral of atoms spans the backdrop of the sparse stage (a clever conceptualisation and reference of the tour’s scientific title). The band consisting of drums, bass, saxophone, trombone, and Will on keys, appear nicely spread out, giving the floor space to breathe. Olivia and Will’s innate chemistry as siblings breaks through from the very start of the show. It all feels entirely dramatic, as Olivia vocalises and opens with a moody rendition of ‘Is this what love is?’, which is the perfect set opener to build the anticipation for what’s to come.
A sultry saxophone solo, and syncopated jazz break at the end of ‘My Lover Is Sleeping’ then glides into their critically acclaimed ‘Petals On The Moon’. Olivia shifts her mood announcing ‘London I love your energy tonight!’, and mirrors the audience by lightly dancing - almost floating - around the stage. Her vocals lift and fill the entire room, with a silky, smokey tone - hearing this live, it totally compliments the complex jazz arrangements and gives the tracks a novelty and spirit that differs altogether from the recordings.
Isotope, their 7 track EP, was written together by the pair - a challenge to blend their different life perspectives into one record, they came together with their writing ideas and played to each of their strengths. Olivia offers the bright and beaming vocal and performance, whilst Will’s performance is definitely more subtle but nonetheless as hauntingly beautiful.
He speaks up for the first time in the night and gets the crowd up to speed; that they have just completed a 2 month stint of the tour in the US, but have secretly been most excited for this show tonight. The pair continue their set and isolate themselves from the band for a few of the songs, which is a nice downbeat. A defining moment is during ‘my vine’, whilst Olivia plays guitar and Will remains on keys, the rest of the band depart from the stage. The audience hangs on every word and is respectfully quiet until we’re invited to sing with them for the last few lines of lyrics ‘loving me, oh loving me’ over and over.
We are then treated to share a truly special and unrepeatable moment on this tour, something to only amplify the intimacy of the evening, as Will dedicates ‘Take Me back Home’ to their Grandma Lao Lao; ‘We have a very special person here in the house tonight, she’s come all the way from Beijing, China. It’s the first time she’s ever seen us play live’. You get the sense of just how meaningful this is to the pair, whose global profiles are only expected to rise. Considering the emotional depth and integrity of their discography, and how obvious it is that family means a lot to them both, it’s a heartwarming milestone for both the night and their career.
Warning us that the next song is emotional for Olivia to sing, the pair perform ‘Remember When’ and then dive straight into ‘ur so pretty’, which of course is another crowd pleaser, with screams from the first soft press of the keys. Later on we are also treated to ‘Somebody Come Through’ which is currently one of their most streamed songs, even though it was only released a couple of months ago on Isotope.
To finish the night, the shining young stars cover a bossa nova version of ‘Smooth Operator’, dividing the room into two and starting a polyphonic singalong (could this be a subtle nod to splitting an atom in two perhaps?). The iconic cover feels like it was specifically designed for them, and as fans shuffle out of the venue into the November air, the feeling is warm. Nothing was rushed, each arrangement felt intentional, and each song was allowed to breathe and shine in its own moment. Long may the success of the evening continue for the both of them.
