By Kristi Alexandra
@kristialexandra
There’s an eerie connection between Emmalee Watts and Becky Wosk. One might think they’re cousins or, as their band name suggests, sisters. Perhaps, in their own words, they “might have been twins in a past life, and then were put into different bodies in this life.”
The way the two musicians finish each other’s sentences (not to mention songs), you’d be surprised to know the pair has only been acquainted for five years.
“We met at Capilano [University] in the Arts and Entertainment Management Program,” Watts tells Loose Lips. “We were both living in North Van, and we were the only two ones living on the mountain. We became really close because our families were in the valley and we didn’t have anyone else.”
Considering the duo recently put out its third EP, the pair has covered quite a lot of ground in the five years leading up to the release of The River Saw Everything.
“She got the apartment that I wanted,” Wosk says with a laugh, recounting the surprise she got when she visited Watts in the abode for the first time.
“We were chatting, and Becky sent me a Soundcloud link of her just singing A capella, and I was like ‘Holy shit, that’s beautiful,'” Watts says. “I was going through a rough breakup. Everything culminated at the same time, and I said, ‘We should cover a song.'”
That song was Chris Isaac’s “Wicked Game.”
“We just got together and did some covers,” Wosk says, “then we started writing originals.”
Things happened naturally for the twosome, with Watts’ talent for instrumentation and Wosk’s penchant for songwriting, over a couple years, they quickly became the dark-folk duo Vancouver knows and loves as Hollow Twin.
If you didn’t catch the EP release party at The Biltmore Cabaret on January 26, you might have missed the spooky musical energy that ties Wosk and Watts together as Hollow Twin. It’s a palpable vibration that punctuates their performance. Along with a backing band, the duo played songs from The River Saw Everything (produced and engineered by Jonathan Anderson), bringing to life the cathartic emotion of songs like “Broken Bones Waltz” and “The Valley.”
The album reads as a study into the duality of emotion: from airy jam-outs in major keys to dark and haunting verses in minor keys. Its subject matter reflects just that.
“For this album, the timing was interesting because we got grants to record from Factor and Creative BC and at the same time, my stepdad was diagnosed with cancer. I took compassionate care leave and so I basically watched him die,” Wosk reveals.
“Through that, there was a lot of catharsis and I wrote a lot, and it was the only way that I could stay sane through that. I sent Emmalee a lot of lyrics and some melodies, and that’s kind of how that came together.”
That’s not to say the whole album is a eulogy to loved ones who have passed, though.
“A lot of what’s out there isn’t the whole story,” Watts offers.
“Most of it is very heavily influenced by that, but it’s not about that entirely. It also ties into what Emily from Little Crow said: we write darker music, but it doesn’t mean we’re dark, sad people all the time. We’re overall very happy, grateful people, but we’ve also been through some shit and we’re very comfortable with embracing ther darkness that is very much totally equal with the light. I feel that this EP shows that a little bit. When I listen back to it, I see both sides.”
When it comes to their work, the girls are, again, unified.
“There’s a balance. We’re not trying to make people sad,” explains Wosk.
“We just want them to feel something,” they say, almost in unison.
Listen to more of Hollow Twin at Hollowtwin.com/music, or catch them next on Sunday, March 4 at Victoria’s Vinyl Envy.
Kristi Alexandra is an unabashed wino and wannabe musician. Her talents include drinking an entire bottle of cabernet sauvignon, singing in the bathtub, and falling asleep.
