London based duo O&O have announced the release of the beautifully haunting reimagining of their 2020 single ‘Dancing On The Floor’. Watch the music video here:
With nearly 100K streams to date, a No. 2 single on the iTunes UK Country Chart and all four of their latest singles featured on Apple Music’s official Today Country playlist, O&O usher in a new year with a fresh sound. Favorites of Country Hits DJs Matt Spracklen and Baylen Leonard, the pair showcase yet another facet of their musicality in this stripped down, piano-led ballad. ‘Dancing On The Floor (Reimagined)’ sees O&O exchange the catchy guitar licks of their original recording for a sparse piano and cello arrangement. Swapping lead vocal duties, Orian delivers an intimate performance that reflects the vulnerable nature of the lyrics. Listen here.
The initial success of ‘Dancing On The Floor’ (released in February) earned the duo invitations to perform on Gaby Roslin’s BBC Radio London show, Bob Mills’ hour on talkRADIO and gained airtime on national Country Hits radio and various regional BBC stations. O&O embarked on a UK tour performing in Manchester, Bristol, Birmingham and were a welcome addition to the Americana Music Association UK’s AmericanaFest 2020 lineup in London.
Reflecting on how they flipped the gritty Southern-Rock original on its head, O&O say, “We chose to feature piano and cello in contrast to our signature, guitar-led sound. Because the single already has a definitive version, it was incredibly freeing to reimagine a completely new arrangement and mood – a darker alter-ego to the original track and something we have never done before.”
Despite the global challenges of 2020, O&O have kept busy with live stream concerts, new releases and a recent song placement on National Ireland RTÉ’s ‘The South Westerlies’ television series. The duo were invited to perform at Unlock Virtual Festival 2020 supporting headliners The Highway Women and KT Tunstall in support of the Prince’s Trust.
With well over 1M views on their official YouTube channel, the pair established a successful, bi-weekly series of ‘Sunday Social’ acoustic live-stream concerts, popular with their global following of over 15K subscribers. Since April, O&O released the poignant single ‘Leave It Til Tomorrow’ followed by a collaborative version with co-writer and rising UK Country star Laura Oakes. Most recently, their quirky, upbeat summer single ‘When It Comes To Love’, accompanied by a unique and playful music video shot entirely on iPhone in the pair’s bedroom during lockdown, racked up over 21K views across platforms.
ABOUT O&O:
With an impressive two-year run of festivals and live appearances that started back in March 2018 at C2C: Country to Country at the O2 Arena and has since included Cambridge Folk Festival, Wood Festival, Buckle & Boots, The British Country Music Festival, the inaugural Black Deer and AmericanaFest 2020 among others; live BBC radio performances across the country; and the release of their 2018 debut EP ‘Truth Comes Out’ to a hugely positive critical response, it’s safe to say this London based Israeli-American duo have begun to make their mark.
O&O are comprised of Colorado-native, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Obadiah Jones, and Israeli vocalist, Orian Peled. “The shared dream of a career in music led us both halfway across the world to the classrooms of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA), where we met for the first time.” While performing together in various projects during their three-year course, O&O established their deep
connection as a songwriting partnership and were awarded the unique opportunity of a one-on-one songwriting session with Sir Paul.
“Upon graduating and with student visa expiration dates looming, we knew there would be no country where we could both live and work together,” Obadiah recalls. Determined to overcome the bureaucracy, they found an unlikely solution – to live and perform on cruise ships. A six-month stint in the Caribbean ultimately led them on a two-year journey, performing for thousands, honing their distinct sound and learning their craft, while touring far reaching parts of the world, from Alaska to the Greek Isles.
This long and winding road led the truly international act to their current home, London, where they hope to become a mainstay in the fast-growing Country and Americana music scene in the UK. Although relatively new to the London scene, O&O have already made their presence felt on the local live music circuit, with support slots for artists including Australian Music Award nominees, The Germein Sisters, and a number of club and festival appearances. Their live show features the duo’s distinctive, close-harmony sound with an Americana flare – Fleetwood Mac meets The Civil Wars.
Following the release of three standalone singles including ‘Traveling’, ‘Some Days’ & ‘Tears In The Rain’, with videos premiering on major US sites The Boot & The Bluegrass Situation and coverage in the pages of magazines like Maverick and Songwriting, the duo’s debut EP ‘Truth Comes Out’ was released in September 2018 and is available to stream/download now (Spotify / Apple Music / Amazon), followed by latest singles ‘Here We Are’, ‘Dancing On The Floor’, ‘Leave It ‘Til Tomorrow’ and ‘When It Comes To Love’.
Their popular YouTube series featuring collaborations with other emerging artists was given the nod of approval from James Taylor himself, who shared their cover of ‘Sweet Baby James’ (with singer/songwriter Joe Martin) on his social media channels – watch on YouTube. Recent guests include Darling West and Jess Thristan. Visit https://www.oandoduo.com/