Wasia Project expands its horizons
The talented musical duo rocked the sold-out Fonda on Wednesday night.
By HANNAH CONTRERAS
Wasia Project’s lively mix of indie pop and jazz energized the crowd at their sold-out headline show on Wednesday at the Fonda Theatre. The brother-sister duo of Olivia Hardy and William Gao are originally from London, but their easy blending and mixing of musical styles felt perfectly at home in Los Angeles amid the unique and sometimes wacky decor of the Fonda.
South African singer-songwriter Nick Leng was the first opening act, and he performed a solo piano set for the crowd. His low-key songs and dreamy delivery were reminiscent of Fleet Foxes and early Coldplay, especially on his newly released track “The Wind,” which he performed live for the first time that night.
His set felt intimate and nearly ethereal as his fingers danced across the keys and turned the room into a Studio Ghibli-esque fantasy. Leng was soft-spoken and kind as he spoke to the crowd, and he even offered to sign merchandise after his set.
Sabrina Sterling, an L.A.-based singer-songwriter, followed Leng and proved to be a standout act. Her sincerity shone through as she worked her way through her solo set, and her slight clumsiness made for laughs and a better connection to the crowd.
Her excellent guitar playing accompanied a voice that should be equally as praised as beabadoobee or Lizzy McAlpine. She played “Bittersweet,” a song dedicated to her sister after Sterling moved away to Hollywood from the San Diego area to chase her dreams, which featured lyrics that meditate on the nature of a sisterly relationship: “We’re moving away and it hit me now, it’s true / I’m missing our fights / ‘Cause the car rides now feel empty without you.”
Sterling also dedicated another song to one of her Uber drivers named Mark who told her that he wished he could pursue music and that he felt it was too late to do so, but she said she made him promise her that he would at least try. Throughout her entire set, Sterling’s deep love for music was evident; her songs were polished, heartfelt and as a treat, a little bit country.
The crowd proved to be true indieheads as they sang along to Clairo’s “Bags” during the break between artists, but as the lights dimmed and Wasia Project took the stage, they screamed in ecstasy.
The black-and-white lighting of the first few songs made Hardy look like a vision from a dream as she danced across the stage. Her haunting voice lifted and sank as she vocalized on songs like “Isotope (Interlude),” from the duo’s latest EP “Isotope,” and “My Lover Is Sleeping.” As the songs shifted seamlessly from jazz to rock and back again, Hardy flipped her hair around and sat down on her knees, pouring her heart into her performance.
The jazz and indie pop-influenced sound of the London-based band got the crowd dancing and singing along as Hardy twirled across the stage. (Fin Liu / Daily Trojan)
Gao held court on the piano, and he and the rest of the band — composed, interestingly, of only a pianist, a drummer, a bassist and a saxophone player — looked dapper in black and white suits. Hardy’s business-casual tank top and pinstripe pants felt slightly out of place among these other outfits, and there was a similar discord between other aspects of their stage design and merch items.
However, the music itself was sophisticated and engaging. The saxophone added a real jazzy touch to their live performance, and the crowd went wild every time the sax kicked in. The sultry, jazz-influenced nature of Wasia Project’s music lent itself extremely well to Hardy’s breathy voice.
Unfortunately, Gao’s harmonizing rarely seemed on key, which was a shame as he was truly a sight to behold on the piano. His various jazz improvisations were some of the highlights of the night.
Throughout the show, they kept a good balance between slower and faster songs. “how can i pretend? – Demo” was given a Brazilian bossa nova flavor which got the crowd dancing, and this lounge style of music continued into other songs. It was really intriguing to see how a very young crowd responded so enthusiastically to a band that was drawing on a lot of older 50s and 60s influences.
On “Burning Eyes R Calling,” Gao played a jazzy piano solo, and the entire track felt as if it needed to be listened to in an old jazz club draped in red velvet and cigarette smoke. One of the duo’s greatest strengths is their ability to bridge the gap between old and new, and in doing so, they are introducing the younger generation to the joys of jazz.
At times, Hardy’s performance felt a tad contrived, as if she was intensely aware of herself and she was trying hard to present a very specific image to the audience. Seeing as this is one of the bigger headline shows they’ve played, it can simply be chalked up to inexperience, but it did divorce one from the experience of the show more than once.
Nevertheless, the crowd was very excited for the more intimate performance of tracks like their breakout hit “ur so pretty,” which was featured as the final song of the second season of the hit LGBTQIA+ Netflix series “Heartstopper,” on which Gao plays the character of Tao Xu. The track sparked screams and shouts in the audience as they realized what song it was, and the duo played it alone under shining pink lights.
Hardy picked up an electric guitar halfway through their set, which was immediately put to use for a great cover of Sade’s “Smooth Operator.” Her voice was perfect for the sensual track and Gao’s piano mastery lent the track a delightful funkiness.
They ended the show with encore performances of the very fun “Misfit Biscuit,” with Gao alone on vocals, and Hardy’s powerful rendition of “impossible.” At the very end, Hardy encouraged the crowd to crouch down and on her signal, the entire venue jumped. Hands reached out to her onstage, friends embraced and everyone reveled in the last few seconds of live music before the curtains closed on what proved to be a wonderful night of artists who are on the cutting edge of indie music.
