Author: Gaby Keane
One song released each month, every month of the year. This is the way downtempo pop duo Oh Wonder has chosen to slowly creep onto today’s music scene. Given that their six songs each have 500,000+ plays on SoundCloud, the online music world is certainly listening, and it is hungry for more.
I would love to tell you more personal details about this London based duo, but part of the mystique of Oh Wonder lies in the fact that there is no personal information to be found, save for their @OhWonder Twitter and one or two interviews. The group is attempting to keep the focus wholly on their music, rather than tainting it with a brand and an image.
It’s no surprise that Oh Wonder’s songs have blown up within the indie music blogosphere–their soothing, minimalistic sound and male/female vocal harmonies coupled with gorgeous, personal lyrics make for a uniquely relaxing yet reflective listening experience. Some songs, like “Shark” and “All We Do” have a somber, lost love mood, while others like “Lose It” temper intimate words with an upbeat rhythm.
Part of what draws people to Oh Wonder’s work is the highly professional quality of their music, which is unexpected for a group of such limited exposure. The duo explains to the popular indie music blog, Pigeons and Planes, that they “have both always been involved in music, either as artists, songwriters, or behind the desk, and [Oh Wonder] is a culmination of all [their] experience and knowledge from the last few years.”
Oh Wonder writes and produces each song the month before it is released, rather than simply releasing one from an already created handful of tracks. They speak of this as “an injection of freedom each month,” thus avoiding being “constrained by [the] schedules, campaigns and intense planning” that come with the traditional way singles and albums are released.
The final goal of Oh Wonder’s monthly song releases is a 13 track album to drop on September 1, 2015. Rather than a silly marketing gimmick, it is the duo attempting to build a strong connection with their fanbase, for each song is received and responded to individually, something that couldn’t happen by simply releasing a full album at once.
Look out for their next song release on March 1, 2015. Oh Wonder’s tracks are available for purchase on iTunes and can also be found for free on SoundCloud and Spotify.
