Wasia Project trades pedestals for connection in ‘Nocturne’
How do you revere someone’s past without caging them in it?
It’s a tightrope, to say the least, especially when you’re talking to former teenagers who grew up in the public eye. To untangle yourself from a perception millions have projected onto you must be a strange weight to carry into your twenties.
Such is the balancing act for alt-pop duo Wasia Project (a portmanteau for “white” and “Asian”), who I’ve been given 15 minutes with. William Gao and Olivia Hardy are waiting on Zoom as I join the call representing Young STAR. Their cameras are already on: separate windows yet both wearing black. For a second, I wonder if the coordinated look is sibling telepathy or method dressing for Nocturne, their first full-length album set to debut on Sept. 18. I never get around to asking.
The British-Chinese band capped off four intimate shows around the UK two days prior. “I’ve missed it so much, it’s crazy,” says Olivia, leaning in close. Coming off months without performing, the recent shows helped them “get back into the swing of things,” including playing new songs for the first time. “By (the last stop in) London, it felt a lot more coherent. It’s obviously a journey, but I love being able to connect like nothing else.”
To Will, their return marks a new era. “I feel weirdly more assured and empowered—not weirdly,” he corrects himself. “Just more assured and empowered. I’ve grown a couple [of] years since we played last.”
Gone are the days of adolescence for the alt-pop siblings. On their forthcoming debut album, Wasia Project dismantles stardom as they reckon with early adulthood.
By now, many would consider the pair seasoned musicians, but with Olivia in school until the summer of 2023 and Will juggling acting and academics, music was “never quite the central focus.” It was only the next year, when they headlined their own tour and opened for jazz-pop phenom (and fellow “Wasian”) Laufey, that creating a longer body of work finally felt possible.
“We’ve been wanting to really introduce people to who we are,” Olivia says. An album, to them, has been long overdue. The world-building is part of that progression, encompassing everything that goes into establishing an “era”: the concept, fashion, even the rollout. For Olivia, it’s about “putting their footprints in the sand” as they follow the path of their favorite artists. “We’re excited to share ourselves in a way only an album can.”
Defined as “a musical piece inspired by the night,” the album title Nocturne epitomizes the energy Will and Olivia harnessed during their writing sessions. The album’s imagery began to crystallize through the three-month recording process. “All these songs had a place in the nighttime,” Will recounts. “Nocturne became a working title and just stayed there.”
“The night is where we’re both creative and most authentically free, especially the early hours of the morning where it’s surreal and no one’s watching,” Olivia adds. “That’s when I’ve felt connected to whatever vessel of creativity is out there.”
That midnight escapade suffuses electronic hues to 2515, the pulsating lead single that calls out a toxic power dynamic. On the surface, the production seems like a surprising reconfiguration for Wasia Project, but Will describes the sonic shift as a “natural evolution” into adulthood. “Being a teenager to your early twenties is a massive jump. It’s a lot of discovery, new experiences, but also going out more and meeting new people. Everything feels new and fresh.”
He tells me he saw Fred Again, a British DJ and record producer, the week before. Giddy at the thought of my two musical worlds colliding, I finger clap on impulse. Olivia sees me and giggles, causing Will to stop mid-sentence. I apologize for interrupting his train of thought. “No, no. It’s all good. I saw Olivia laugh. That’s fine,” he reassures me. The comedic interlude is endearingly human.
Will picks up right where he left off: “(Electronic music’s) got a different attitude and an inherent counterculture.” The genre’s kineticism pushes back against formulaic pop structures as the 23-year-old seeks to shed the albatross of being held on a pedestal. “I was drawn to making music to feel and connect with people as opposed to, ‘Look at us on stage starring in this show.’ It’s deeper now, and I wanted our music to have that same effect.”
The desire for connection resounds throughout Nocturne. Olivia attributes that depth to the relationships they’ve experienced. “I feel a lot more assured and angry (this time). There are a lot more emotions than sadness and hope that things will work out. It’s more nuanced and confident.”
She compares the confrontational tone of 2515 to ur so pretty, a piano ballad that closed out the second season of the breakout Netflix queer romance Heartstopper. “It’s such a specific thing to that age, when you’re a teenager and you feel that yearning,” the singer reflects on writing it at 15.
Wildfire, an unreleased swelling anthem, retains that sense of yearning yet wrestles with the complexities of a corrosive relationship. Despite the accusations and belittlement the song addresses, the outro goes: “Come back, it’s all in my head / Fight back, we’ll try it again.”
Olivia contextualizes the lyrics further. “It’s like, ‘I feel so far away when we used to be so close. Come back to me. Let’s get back to where that is.’ I think that can go for everything, from live music to the ‘pedestal’ thing William (mentioned). We should try to connect again.”
Will smiles at Olivia’s compliment before returning the favor. “Something I learned from Olivia was that anything is possible. I’ve tended to be very specific with ideas and contained in them. But with this project, I don’t think we would’ve gotten to the place we did with Nocturne if we hadn’t been malleable. That allowed us to make our best work last year and something we’re both proud of.”
By this point, the three of us have gone overtime, but I still slip in one last question: Will Manila fans have something to look forward to soon? “Yeah, actually,” Olivia replies with a grin.
Will pulls out his phone. “I just got an email during our call.”
Their response is music to my ears. The band has since announced their first-ever Manila show on June 23.
My conversation with Wasia Project drew me back to how my friends and I gushed over them online years ago. Days later, I revealed to those same people that I’d interviewed Will and Olivia. Our shared joy made it feel like no time had passed. I’d like to think that’s what the siblings would’ve wanted.
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Tickets for the Piano Shows on June 23 are now available via SM Tickets. Follow @WasiaProject and @WilbrosLive on social media for more updates.
