From a childhood church choir to sharing the stage with some of the the biggest names in music today, The Watson Twins have fallen onto the proverbial fast track. The twins open up to Blur about identical looks, varying personalities, and a noticeably new sound.

By Alec Wooden

Athens Blur Magazine: Music isn’t exactly a new hobby for the two of you, is it?

Chandra Watson: We’ve always been surrounded by really good music. [We had] a very music appreciative household. My mom says when we were little we used to walk around the house singing, and used to get in trouble for singing at the dinner table (laughs). Leigh and I actually started singing when we were about 9 or 10 in church. [That] was when we first started getting a little bit of training and understanding harmonies and things like that. And once we started singing together, we really tapped into something we love.

Leigh Watson: [Mom] listened to a really eclectic group of music that really allowed us to not have any boundaries with what we were listening to.

CW: When we were teenagers we started to learn how to play guitar and started to get involved in the sort of underground scene that was happening in Louisville, going to hardcore and punk-rock shows. There was a lot of weird, experimental music happening.

ABM: Is there ever a fear that people, because you’re twins, will see you as a novelty act before they ever hear the music?

LW: That’s definitely something that comes into play. People want to make you a gimmick because you are twins and you are identical and you look alike. That’s something you deal with your whole life — you get cast in the school play because they need two people that look exactly alike (laughs). It’s something that you’re constantly aware of, something that’s always in the back of your mind when you have an identical twin. But I feel like we’ve been lucky to be involved in projects that are legitimate and real [to help stand out].

ABM: You may look identical, but I’d bet there are some personality variances. What are those, and how do they find their way into the music?

CW: Are you trying to find out who is the evil twin?

ABM: Basically.

CW: (laughs) Well, we both came from different backgrounds. I was a theatre major and she was an art major, so she spent college in a studio by herself and I spent college having to perform in front of people everyday. So initially when we first started playing in a more serious realm, that was maybe more evident. Musically, we’re probably more on the same page on this record than we ever have been. We’ve worked hard on these songs and have pushed ourselves to the next level, hopefully, of crafting really simple but heartfelt songs.

ABM: When you moved from Louisville to Los Angeles, was there a noticeable shift in how it affected you musically?

LW: I think it was more the level of experience and also just starting to play with people who were upping the ante for us. We weren’t just playing with weekend warriors who had jobs and wanted to be musical on the weekends. We started meeting people who spent every day and every second that they had making records and playing with friends.

ABM: Was it hard trying to bring any country roots along?

CW: Growing up in Kentucky, there was this sort of anti-country thing that we experienced because we were young kids who were rebelling against what was sort of the norm there. So all that time we’re like ‘country music, oh no, no way.’ We kind of rebelled against that. But moving to California, and being out of that element, allowed us to realize that that’s part of our history, part of our roots. Why wouldn’t we indulge in taking some of those sounds and incorporating them into what we do? So moving to California helped us be okay with having a little bit of country in there.

ABM: Speaking of shifts, there is a noticeable one on Talking To You, Talking To Me.

LW: Yes, but it wasn’t a conscious shift. I think both of us have been growing as songwriters and the songs kind of came out that way. The way that the songs were written, they were calling out for a really rhythm-section, bass record — a really vibing record. I don’t think it was intentional, but it just kind of happened. We’ve always been very into R&B music — that’s a huge part of us growing up, as well. And it’s sort of coming to the surface, just like the country and americana stuff did on the last record. All of our records are sort of sides of us, but this one has a little more soul — it comes from that direction.

CW: Once we had been working on and demoing these songs, we realized that the things these songs were calling for are things that we always use — organs, electric guitar, things that we use on every record. But it was more about how they were played. Somehow it came out that way.

LW: We decided to approach this a little bit differently. The last couple of records, we’ve done this thing where it’s more of us singing together (on the melodies), these sort of intricate, familial harmonies. On this record, we took a different approach. Whoever was singing lead, the two of us would then sing backup for that track. We basically took our approach as to how we would sing backup for another lead vocalist and we applied that to our record, which is different for us.

CW: And that was an intentional sort of thing, because the songs really lent themselves to that.

ABM: What are the advantages of writing the songs separately as opposed to collaborating on everything?

CW: We remain friends that way (laughs). I feel like that’s our comfort zone and we’ve always done it that way. There will definitely be a point where we begin collaborating on writing. Right now, I feel like one of the big steps for this record was just confidence. We felt confident enough to tap into places and write things that weren’t necessarily safe and weren’t what people thought the Watson Twins should sound like. We were ready to take a step and shake it up a bit and be okay with how the record came out, personally. We were okay with writing and singing songs that didn’t necessarily sound like our other records. In previous recordings, we definitely went in a very safe direction, where our comfort zone is and where we’ve been singing for years and years.

ABM: What would you say is the biggest thing you’ve personally learned from each other?

LW: Chandra writes very metaphorically. She has more of a meticulous mind when it comes to working on lyrics and stuff. When I feel like something good may be coming out, I tend to get stuck in something and build on it and then just strike stuff. So in my songs on this record, I tried to not allow myself to get stuck in the song and really look over the lyrics and process the songs and figure out the best way of telling people these ideas and stories that I’m trying to relate. So that’s something I’ve definitely learned. She’s taught me to be more aware of the content of the song and what the meat is, and what can be changed to make it a better song.

CW: Thanks, sis (laughs).

LW: You’re welcome. So true (laughs).

CW: Leigh has a great ear for hooks. She tends to write things that are very catchy and stick into your brain. To be able to say something really simply and say something that resonates and isn’t too heady … she’s helped me to realize that a very simple chorus that has a great melody is better than 90% of the song. She has the ability to craft those types of hooks and choruses.

ABM: You’re at the start of what you hope will be a long career. How will you always be able to avoid music turning from a passion into a going-though-the-motions sort of job?

LW: When Chandra and I sing together, it’s a spiritual experience. When we sing harmonies together, it resonates inside me and creates an energy that you can’t get singing a song alone. And that’s why I think we continue to do it. That’s something that I hope I will never take for granted and it’s something that continues to energize me and makes me excited about music.

CW: I think because we’ve had something inside of us that’s been calling us to do this since we were little kids, there’s this passion and spirit that just draws us to it. If someone does this just because they want to be rich or famous…you can’t do this job for that reason. It’s too hard. You can only do this career if you truly love it.

ABM: Moving forward, will you continue to do more collaborations?

CW: Those are always new and exciting. And it helps you to keep things fresh and interesting.

LW: We’ve been so lucky to play with amazing musicians. And that table is constantly being filled with different people. And that can really be a way of keeping things fresh and reinventing at every turn. Meeting players and meeting people who inspire you, that kind of stuff is definitely fuel for the fire.

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