Vienna DJ duo HVOB (Her Voice Over Boys) have built an enthusiastic following since their eponymous 2013 debut by crafting a stripped-down, pulse-pounding take on house and techno. Consisting of vocalist and songwriter Anna Müller and producer Paul Wallner, HVOB has toured the world and released a few follow-ups, including a joint album called Silk this past spring with Winston Marshall, who is best known for playing banjo in the arena-filling folk act Mumford & Sons. Müller tells us about all that and more ahead of her and Wallner's Nov 10 gig at Omni Space.
Tell us about the chemistry you and Paul have, and how that drives HVOB.
Paul and I have always been very into every aspect of music and its business. We know exactly what we want and what we don’t want, we are very nerdy about every detail. Also, we don’t want to make any compromises that would come to our art and music. So we try to keep our team as small as possible. We have great people around us, but we are involved in every step. That’s essential to us. We also have always been playing with a live drummer from the very beginning. We always wanted HVOB to be a live act.
What did you enjoy most about working with Winston Marshall?
One day we got an email from him, and we thought it was fake. A couple of weeks later we got another one, and then we realized that it was really him. He said he liked our music so much that he wanted to make some music together, so we started sending demos and he visited us in our studio. Of course, we would have never thought of a collaboration with him. But that is exactly what made it so special and interesting: we are from completely different worlds. And I think that’s the reason why Silk has this very unique sound.
What's next for HVOB?
We just finished the European Silk tour. It was completely sold out, which was mindblowing. It was a full concert tour with lights and visuals, which we have never done before. We are still playing in clubs in the middle of the night, but we also want to do this step out of the club. Concert shows and club gigs are like completely different worlds, and we love both.
What are the biggest differences between those types of shows, and how do they fulfill you in different ways?
The concert tour was a big production with lights and visuals, and we really enjoyed showing people the full aspect of our ideas. That is just not possible in a club, where it is all about the music only, though that's something we also really love.
We are planning to continue the Silk tour worldwide with shows now in Asia, North and South America, and Australia. To be able to play in China is a huge honor – it's very rare for bands from Austria, and we can't really believe that people are listening to our music here. We are very humbled. It is our second time in China, and we couldn't believe it last time when there were people at our concerts who all knew the lyrics. We really love being here!
HVOB will perform at Omni Space on Nov 10 at 10pm. Tickets are RMB 180 at the door, RMB 150 advance. For more information, click here.
Photos: deephouseamsterdam.com, tailored-communication, festivaly.eu