There is a sign pinned to the wall of Oh Wonder s recording studio in south London, a pact of sorts, signed by the band s two members, Josephine Vander Gucht and Anthony West, in the winter of 2012.
We wrote it to say that we re dependent on one another, explains Vander Gucht. That there are things we want to achieve, and we can help each other get there.
She reads out the sign, a four-line list of the pair s musical ambitions: We have a publishing deal off the back of writing incredible songs ; We are in-demand songwriters, respected for our art ; We feel that anything is possible and live the yes life ; Music earns us an amazing living and we travel the world thanks to it.
That Oh Wonder have achieved all of these ambitions in the space of just two and a half years is testament to their talent and their perseverance, but even they seem a little startled by how much more they have attained: the 20 million plays on Soundcloud, the recording contract with Universal, and now their debut album, Oh Wonder , a collection of 15 impeccably-crafted songs that explore London and loneliness, love and the need for human relationships.