The Paris-based trio Oracle Sisters released their debut album 'Hydranism' April 7 2023 via 22TWENTY
- 18 January Tramp Like You & album announcement
- 15 February Hot Summer
- 8 March RBH
- 7 April Hydranism (Focus track: Hail Mary)
Based in Paris, Oracle Sisters is composed of childhood friends Lewis Lazar and Christopher Willatt, and Finnish musician Julia Johansen. The band’s two EPs, Paris I and Paris II, were released to critical acclaim in 2020 and 2021. Paris I & II have been streamed over 25 million times by fans across the globe who have fallen in love with their otherworldly melodies. Their debut album, Hydranism, was released in April 2023.
“The undisputed riders of the heart” - So Young
At the tail end of 2020 amidst the pandemic and second lockdown, Oracle Sisters decamped to Hydra, Greece to write and record their debut album, Hydranism. Recorded over the course of two months, the 11-track album reflects a world suspended in time between the future and the past, and embraces larger than life ballads, intimate folk songs and table thumping rousers spun with the silk of poetic reveries.
Born from a friendship that was scattered between New York and Edinburgh and that stretches back to a childhood, almost forgotten, in the flatlands of Belgium. Lewis Lazar and Christopher Willatt discovered an instinctive songwriting connection as teenagers and stayed in touch after leaving home and pursuing their respective paths as underground cabaret singers and promoters, studying mathematics and philosophy, painting on commission, and writing as solo artists. When the opportunity was presented to them to move to Paris to help run a friend’s newly opened Cabaret a stone’s throw away from Le Moulin Rouge in 2017, they jumped on it and spent their first year writing songs fervently in and amidst a blooming scene of artists.
In this atmosphere of songwriting and social serendipity they coined the band name ‘Oracle Sisters’ and soon after met their first sister: Julia Johansen, a Finnish songwriter who had been traveling the world with her suitcase and guitar and had just arrived in Paris with a small part in a film. Although they first welcomed her to the band due to her talent in singing harmony, her secret talent on the drums soon became apparent, and thus began the creative adventure and roll of dice that is the ‘Oracle Sisters’.
Tramp Like You is about being rootless and restless and seeking out a life untethered from a world that weighs you down. You could say it represents a childlike longing for freedom associated with the timeless image of the wayfaring vagabond. It’s also a love letter - to fate, to experience, to betrayal, to rapture and ruptures, failed and mended relationships, and all this with an eye on the horizon.
"Glorious" - Huw Stephens
Hot Summer wrote itself in Greece, nonplussed or too complicated in its demeanor, it’s a monologue told to yourself, under your breath out on a clandestine stroll... Maybe an illegal one at that. At a time in Paris where you needed to carry a paper to justify your purpose for being outside, every walk was a liberty not to be taken lightly, and all the while there’s someone you want to see…. Just up the road a stone’s throw away. Someone beautiful that you desire, and you reinvent yourself in your reveries and regret it almost immediately upon your return home… The band met a saxophone player on the street who did the solo.
"the type of song that makes you want to close your eyes and bask in the glow of the sun" - DIY
RBH came together very quickly during a jam in a rehearsal. The lyrics were put together around the table in Lewis’ apartment. One of the verses was lifted almost word for word from Ulysses by James Joyce. We wrote this on the same train of thought but looking out different windows… Chris thinking about the type of character who would prop up the same bar every night stuck in the role they felt life required of them, Lewis thinking about the landscapes of dreams and the unconscious. The destination is the same, a train to the soul and a landscape containing the complexity and multitudes inherent in every individual.
"beautiful, classic indie-pop vibe" - Charlie Ashcroft
Hydranism Campaign Highlights
- TV performances on Quotidien, Culturebox, 2 Meter Sessions
- Album reviews have run in Clash (8/10), Gigwise (7/10), MOOF Magazine, Sunstroke Magazine, So Young
- Digital features inclue Hero Magazine, Zero Nine Magazine, Clash, Gigwise
- Print features ran in So Young Magazine, 1883 Magazine, LICKS Magazine, Still Listening Magazine
- Singles and album news have been covered in Clash, Consequence, DIY, Dork, Line of Best Fit, The New Cue, So Young Magazine, Notion, YUCK Magazine, ColoRising, Tinnitist and more
- UK airplay include Matt Wilkinson (Apple 1); Gilles Peterson (Worldwide FM); Amy Lamé, Huey Morgan, Radcliffe and Maconie, Cerys Matthews, Don Letts (BBC 6 Music); Charlie Ashcroft, Shell Zenner (Amazing Radio); Huw Stephens (BBC Radio Wales); Joie De Vic, La Rudd (Soho Radio)
- Album tracks have been played on KCRW by Morning Becomes Eclectic, Tyler Boudreaux, José Galván, Travis Holcombe, Nassir Nassirzadeh, Chris Douridas, Ro "Wyldeflower" Contreras
- Triple A plays on stations like KHUM [Ferndale], KDHX [St. Louis], KXCI [Tuscon], KSLU [Hammond], KDNK [Carbondale], KUWR [Wyoming], WCLX [Burlington/Plattsburgh], WNCW-FM [Spindale], WERU [East Orland], WMNF [Tampa] and more
- Added to the playlist on C Lab, La Face B, Raje Radio and VRT Radio 1
- Playlisting on Spotify’s Café Croissant, Made in France, Mid Tempo Magic, Future Hits, New Music Friday France; Apple Music’s Actus Rock, New in Indie, New in Alternative, Indie + Chill, Acoustic Summer, Matt Wilkinson’s Playlist; Deezer's New Folk; Amazon Music's Fresh Folk & Acoustic; YouTube Music's Forever Alone; Napster's Indie Mood; Qobuz's Indie Newcomers and more
Past Playlist Success
- Spotify: Café Croissant, Feel Good Dinner, Indie Chill Out, Fresh Finds, Fresh Finds Indie, Travailler en Musique, Hanging Out & Relaxing, Dîner entre ami, Bon Voyage, Indie Goesting, Oracle, Made in Belgium, Escopión
- Apple Music: New in Indie/Rock/Alternative, ALT CTRL, Today's Acoustic, Breaking Singer/Songwriter, Barefoot Acoustic, Indie + Chill, Lying in Bed, Jazz Soul Café, Always Sunday, Comfort Zone
- YouTube: Mellow Indie, Bohemian Summer, Coffee Shop Blend, Scene Report
- Deezer: Indierama, Indie Pearls, Good Vibes
- Tidal: Indie: Rising
Past Press Support
Previous support include NME, Line of Best Fit, DIY, Clash, V Magazine, So Young, The Daily Star, Euphoria Zine, The Love Magazine, Haste Magazine, TMRW Magazine, Ladygunn, YUCK, The Rodeo, Hero Magazine, The Wild Honey Pie, and many more
Upcoming Tour Dates
UK & EU Headline Tour
- 18 April Yes Basement, Manchester, UK [Sold Out]
- 19 April Nice n Sleazy, Glasgow, UK
- 20 April Cumberland Arms, Newcastle, UK
- 21 April OSLO, London, UK
- 22 April Record Store Day Showcase, Rough Trade West, London, UK
- 23 April Bitterzoet/Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 25 April Café de la Danse, Paris, France
- 27 April C/o Pop Festival, Cologne, Germany
- 28 April Molotow Skybar, Hamburg, Germany
- 29 April Badehaus, Berlin, Germany
- 2 May Les Nuits Botanique, Brussels, Belgium
Supporting Declan McKenna
- 25 May Corona Theatre, Montreal, QC
- 28 May Empire Live, Albany, NY
- 30 May The Westcott Theater, Syracuse, NY
- 31 May Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY
- 1 Jun Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh, PA
- 2 Jun Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
- 4 Jun The Wellmont Theater, Montclair, NJ
- 5 Jun The Anthem, Washington, DC
- 6 Jun The National, Richmond, VA
- 8 Jun Cat's Cradle, Carrboro, NC
- 9 Jun The Orange Peel, Asheville, NC
- 10 JunSoho House, Nashville, TN
- 11 Jun The Mill & Mine, Knoxville, TN
- 13 Jun The Beacham, Orlando, FL
- 14 Jun Jannus Live, St. Petersburg, FL
- 16 Jun Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, Manchester, TN
- 17 Jun Zydeco, Birmingham, AL
- 18 Jun The Eastern, Atlanta, GA
- 19 Jun Mercury Ballroom, Louisville, KY
Other Dates
- 9 Jul Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Scarborough, UK [Supporting Pulp]
- 2 Sep End of the Road Festival, UK
North American Headline Tour
- 13 Sep Bar Le Ritz, Montreal, QC
- 14 Sep Garrison, Toronto, ON
- 17 Sep DC9, Washington, DC
- 19 Sep Bowery Ballroom, New York City, NY
- 22 Sep Turf Club, St. Paul, MN
- 23 Sep Schubas, Chicago, IL
- 25 Sep Sunset Tavern, Seattle, WA
- 28 Sep Popscene/Rickshaw Stop, San Francisco, CA
- 29 Sep The Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
Notable Syncs
- Asc. Scorpio in US TV ad for Michelob Ultra
- La Ferme Song in online Ralph Lauren: Polo ad
- Dandelion in online Ralph Lauren: Polo ad
- I Don’t Wanna Move in online Ralph Lauren: Polo ad
- Asc. Scorpio in California Avocados Online Film
- Asc. Scorpio in Patagonia Surf Film
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