Wasia Project
~ My current obsession ~
The Wasia Project siblings, William Gao and Olivia Hardy
Photo by: Ollie Patterson
10/4/23
10/4/23
Two songs from me to you <3
As The Curator of Jamming with Jacky, I think it’s only fair to start things off with some songs you may not have heard before, as a way to let you know that I have both taste and secrets. Although, I have to give credit where credit is due, because I didn’t necessarily find this group myself…
Lat Tuesday night, Spotify made me the PERFECT playlist. Every song that played was added immediately onto my personal playlist, “Jacky in the Box,” which you are more than welcome to listen to, but be warned, I put EVERYTHING and ANYTHING on there. Some would say it’s eclectic, I would say I’m too indecisive to make more specific playlists.
But I digress… While I was diving into a whole new world of shining, shimmering and splendid music, Spotify SNATCHED the playlist away from me; And at the risk of sounding like a boomer, I looked and looked, but could not find it anywhere on the app.
Luckily, I was able to hold on tightly to a few grains of sand the slipped through my fingers, AKA two songs by Wasia Project.
The Wasia Project, which is comprised of two English siblings, Olivia Hardy and William Gao, are still fairly new to the public’s music radar, with their first single gracing Spotify’s algorithm in 2019. With a somewhat unpredictable sound, the two do seemingly whatever they feel like doing in each and every song, which is honestly inspirational. Without confining themselves within the box of “pop” the siblings dictate what genre they want to situate themselves in on a song by song basis, which lends itself to an exciting listener experience.
I hadn’t known it at the time, but the two songs I loved most from the mysterious playlist were BOTH by the Wasia Project. Upon first listening of these songs, you would not be able to tell that they are by the same group. I was shook. Then, I became even more shook when I realized I had already heard some of Wasia Project’s work while watching season 2 of “Heartstopper” with their song “ur so pretty” closing the season.
The two songs that made my heart stop, however, were “Petals on the Moon” and “My Lover is Sleeping.”
Petals on the Moon - This song tugs at Billy Joel, Elton John and classic pop-rock fans sleeves and guides them into the new age of indie-pop. With a jaunty piano intro, a catchy classic song formation, and lyrics that make you want to listen more and more each time you replay just so you can sing along, this song leaves listeners feeling bouncier than they were before 4 minute and 16 second long song.
My Lover is Sleeping - A complete tonal shift from the previous song, with a jazz-rock score led by piano, eventually joined by electric guitar accompanied by drums, and Hardy’s smooth, deep alto voice making its presence undeniably known, you might just find yourself falling in love or asleep yourself. Hardy describes herself watching her lover — wait for it, sleeping, and details her thoughts on where his subconscious mind is going. A simple concept expressed through an intoxicating melody over an enticing instrumentation.
According to my AirBuds app, I’ve listened to these two songs a meager 228 minutes. That’s almost 4 hours worth of Wasia Project, and it was well worth it.
I highly recommend giving the two aforementioned songs a listen, not only because they are, in the most professional of terms, super slay, but because for all you know, Spotify could curate a special playlist consisting of Wasia Project bangers just for you fall in love with and then take it away within the same second, resulting in heartbreak (totally not speaking from personal experience). So… Yeah… You should snatch these sizzling suggestions up while you can!
On that note, Jacky out-y 🍇🤍🍊
