Seven years in, Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht are bandmates, partners and back on the road with a new album.
Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht of Oh Wonder really like each other. They are bandmates and a couple, and after “spending seven years of nearly every day together,” as Josephine puts it, neither seems in any hurry to change that. Anthony calls her Josie.
They have just set out on an international tour across Europe and North America for their new album, No One Else Can Wear Your Crown, released on February 7. They haven’t played live in a year, and they are itching to.
Touring costs something, and they know it. Birthdays get missed. So do weddings. “The commitment it takes to go on tour and the social life,” Josephine says. Anthony keeps it in perspective. “We’re living our dream,” he says.
Making music has never felt like work to them. Anthony describes it as something “we would never force ourselves to do,” and Josephine’s favourite part of the road is “hearing peoples’ stories when they connect with our music.” She still remembers a show in Berlin where the people below them stood awestruck. “It’s a very tangible acknowledgement,” she says.
Anthony has a long memory for nights like that. When our writer mentioned seeing them open for Beck in Toronto in the summer of 2018, he recalled the show in detail, down to Beck’s good manners backstage. “He’s one of the most incredible musical beings that’s ever been around,” Anthony says. Memories like that end up feeding what Anthony calls “songs we just write at home.”
Touring also feeds their love of exploring. “Josie is very much a city girl,” Anthony says, “but she is starting to appreciate the relaxed nature of the wilderness.” London helps, with its huge parks and the countryside close by. “I think being in both terrains makes you appreciate them differently,” he says. “We live in London but then being [able] to go out into the countryside, which is an hour away, is a breath of fresh air.”
Social media means artists can rarely hide in public anymore. It doesn’t bother them. Whether they are walking through Bogotá or napping in a London park, they have nothing to hide.
On the road, from American national parks to cities like Manila and Bangkok, they each have a rule. Josephine’s is to stop worrying about “what you should and shouldn’t be doing,” and to “say yes to as many things as you can.” Anthony’s is about the people who come to see them. “If I met my favorite singer and he’s a douchebag I’d be livid,” he says.
Words by Sam Farrell.
