Wayward at The O2 Academy, Bournemouth

London-based house duo Wayward were one of the top acts on offer at Bournemouth’s latest deep house event Treatment. The event is put on three or four times a year in different places in the country. Bournemouth’s Treatment events have hosted some excellent acts this year already including Ten Walls, Canadian producer Tiga, and local man Shadow Child. And, the trend was not broken on Halloween, as Bournemouth’s O2 Academy welcomed in a host of exciting dance acts.

Wayward were just one among Treatment’s excellent lineup, but were ones that stood out from the crowd. The pair are hailing from London and Leeds, and still both young, but have made an impact in the industry. The 21 and 23 year olds write music as if they’re telling a story. Music that takes you on a journey through a dreamy, deep house soundscape. Although the duo are house producers, they take inspiration and elements of disco, soul and garage music to create their down-tempo sound. The pair are now signed to the famous Black Butter, and have revived a lot of attention from Bestival organiser Rob da Bank and BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac. Black Butter have currently signed a lot of big names including Clean Bandit and Gorgon City, so this puts Wayward in good stead for their coming career.

The boys’ set was an exemplary example of what house should be. They even included tracks from their EP ‘Ugetsu’. The EP showcases the duo’s intoxicating Balearic and soulful rhythms that inform us of Wayward’s distinctive approach to dance music. Be sure to look out for this pair, especially heading into next year’s festival season. Hopefully we’ll get to see them again!

Venue – 9/10

DJ/Band – 7/10

Music – 7/10

Overall – 7/10