Choosing their pace to live at
Out of lockdown and In Transit to Whanganui
Wellington songwriting duo O and the Mo have just released their debut album, In Transit, and will be hitting Whanganui as part of their first nationwide tour. Described a coming-of-age tribute full of a playful romanticism, emotive themes and a deep sense of nostalgia, In Transit, features 10 songs, all written and recorded while Olivia Gallagher (vocals, guitar, keys) and Alvin Bartley (vocals, guitar) were hunkered down in Delaware Bay, Nelson.
Bartley said the pair met four years ago with the intention of making music together.
“The first two years we didn’t actually write anything together, we just shared lots of artists that we liked and went to lots of gigs and festivals,” Bartley said.
“After those initial two years we definitely knew a sound that we liked and we were ready to try to write our own songs.”
Gallagher said another reason for the twoyear gestation period was the fact that she had been “very shy”.
“We’d both been writing music on our own, but we’d never crossed that bridge of doing it together,” Gallagher said. “It took a while to get comfortable.”
Gallagher said recording In Transit in a remote part of the country had given the pair a break from the hectic pace of the capital.
“Up until that point it had been five years of pretty full-on jobs, and university before that. It’s the first time either of us have really had time to
focus on music and reworking our values. Some of the songs towards the end of the album capture the ambience of where we were.”
Their stay in Delaware Bay had been the first time the pair were “fully in a place that amazed” them, Gallagher said.
“The album itself is very much speaking about the experience of this year, and how it’s been a really amazing time for us. I’m sure we’re not alone in that.
“It’s criticising the pace that we do live our lives at, and that constant state of motion. What are your values when all that comes to a halt and you’re forced to have a broader perspective on things around you?”
Gallagher and Bartley are joined on record and on the road by drummer Josh Brown and bass player Hugo Olsen-Smith. While only Gallagher and Bartley were in Delaware Bay during the recording of In Transit, the rhythm section duo were able to track their parts separately and send them south.
“They self-recorded all their parts for the album in Wellington on their own little home set-ups,” Bartley said.
“They had demos that they recorded over, and then we had all their stems in Delaware Bay. We basically re-recorded everything on top of that again.
“We tried to have just that three-month period to work on it. Any longer than that and we might have gone a bit crazy and deleted the whole thing.”
Bartley said his favourite track off the new album was Honey, while Gallagher chose Peaches for its “simplicity and storytelling element”.
“In a way [ Honey] sort of inspired some sort of action out of us,” Bartley said.
“We wrote the song in Wellington and i’s about wanting to live a lifestyle that we weren’t at the time.
“Since then, we’ve kind of made it happen.”
● O and the Mo and will be playing at Lucky Bar with MC Phanny on Saturday, December 5.