While Spanish-based French duo O’o may be named after the Hawian Kaua’i Ō’Ō bird, unlike their now extinct ornithological namesake, their journey is really just beginning as the drumroll commences for the release of their debut album Touche tomorrow.
“I found the name on a website of weird English language words, and I loved the way the letters were arranged like a pair of glasses,” says O’o singer Victoria Suter. “Afterwards, I went onto YouTube and started listening to the last bird of its species, calling for a mate that would never come. I thought: ‘Oh my God, that’s so sad’. Then we talked about the name and we thought it could be a nice thing to honour it and keep it alive in some way.”
While the Kaua’i Ō’ was very vocal, producing a distinctive flute-like call, O’o are equally adept visualisers as they demonstrate on their latest video for the title track, for which they find the perfect partnership in the hyperactive imaginations of Temple Caché whose offbeat visualisations border dreams and reality.
‘Touche’ itself is described as the saucy chanson at the heart of their debut album. Suter’s wry narrative about a botanical femme fatale is inserted into a lithe and skittish song with reggaeton beats and an inviting, balmy atmosphere.
“The song is about a flower which attracts male insects, producing the very same smell as the female of the species,” explains Victoria. “The poor male is fooled by the sex-appeal of this botanical trap, and gets so excited that he exhausts himself and wastes all his other chances of ulterior mating and having any offspring. The flower entices the insect in in mermaid-like fashion, to come nearer and touch her. It’s the hot track! ”
You’re not likely to hear another song or see another video quite like it.
‘Touche’, out June 17th, 2022 on InFiné. Stream/Buy/Follow – https://fanlink.to/Oomusic