The Story

QUICK FACTS:

• Mark’s from Dalby in Queensland, Jay’s from Adelaide and they live together in Nashville, Tennessee
• Currently working on their 5th album for Sony Music Australia
• They’ve won multiple Golden Guitar Awards (Australia’s CMAs) and hit #1 on the ARIA Country Sales Charts
• They’ve performed everywhere from the Grand Ole Opry to the Sydney Opera House

SHORT BIO:

The multi-award winning husband and wife duo O’Shea are one of Australia’s most exciting musical exports. Based in Nashville for the last nine years, O’Shea have graced some of the world’s most famed stages, from the Grand Ole Opry to the Sydney Opera House, since beginning their musical together journey together in 2007.

Mark and Jay come from different musical backgrounds. Mark’s country rock roots provide an edgy contrast to Jay’s soulful, powerful voice – making them a dynamic and unique combination of singer/songwriters.

The influences of their two homes are all over their latest record, appropriately titled 61-615 in homage to both Australia and Nashville. The resulting album is deeply personal, deeply felt and is the duo’s most powerful release to date. It’s one that will send listeners on a poignant journey, regardless of where they call home.

FULL BIO:

There are few things that have more influence on an artist than the place they call home. Childhood memories become fodder for nostalgic songs, while driving past a favorite restaurant may trigger years-old feelings for a special ex-flame. These special places shape musicians, and become the fertile soil from which songs eventually grow. For Nashville-via-Australia duo O’SHEA, “home” is complicated. They came of age in their native Australia, and have since established themselves as one of the country’s most exciting musical exports. But as residents of another country town — none other than Nashville, Tennessee — it’s hard to ignore the influence that Music City, USA has had on their impressive career.

That’s where their new album 61-615 comes in. Where their last album The Famine and the Feast was a study in contrasts, 61-615 is a fusion of Mark and Jay’s lived experiences, some of which are spelled out explicitly, others chronicled in the stories of imagined characters. “For the most part, we’re a little less literal this time around in our songwriting, more abstract, more self-analytical,” Mark says. “We drew from material written specifically for this record but also we dug into older songs that hadn’t fit on previous albums.”

“We wanted every song on this record to emotionally affect the listener. That was the number one prerequisite for song selection,” Jay adds. “Whether that meant that it touched you deeply, like ‘Do It For Me,’ or simply made you happy, like ‘Karaoke and Corona,’ it had to move you in some form or another. There are already enough ditties in the world. We wanted to make sure we were truly saying something with every lyric.”

The duo called upon Aussie producer Lindsey Jackson to breathe new life into the batch of songs on 61-615, a collection of songs that’s notable not only for its sonic evolution but also for the tracks’ sheer, palpable emotion. “Lindsey came and lived with us in our house for three months!” Mark explains. “That was pretty different. In the past we’d made records in the more traditional Nashville sense, you know, you’ll go into a room with half a dozen musicians you’ve never worked with before and they listen to your demo for two seconds, then they go in and play and of course they smash it and do an incredible job. But with this record we wanted to explore musically and stretch ourselves vocally, and that takes time. That’s not something you can do easily the other way. So we all literally lived, ate and breathed this record.”

That new approach allowed Mark, in particular, to showcase more of his talents, as he was able to play acoustic guitar, electric guitar, mandolin, ganjo and keys across the album’s 13 tracks. “Lindsey and I worked on the tracks from scratch,” Mark adds. “So I played a lot of instruments and he played a lot of instruments and we built it from the ground up.” “Doing it this way gave us the time to reassess each part, and, in particular, the vocals,” Jay adds. “It allowed us to replay or re-sing if, after listening, we felt we could beat the previous performance.” The extra guitar work on “Just Got Real,” comes from renowned Australian bluesman Lloyd Spiegel and highlights a new, soulful side to Jay, a side the duo consciously explored.

Other notable contributors to the album include co-writer and Grammy-winner Emily Weisband on the powerful album closer “Recover,” Aussie country stars Travis Collins and the Wolfe Brothers on the John Farnham cover “Playing to Win,” and co-writers Alex Lloyd (the wistful “Start Over”), Will Hoge (“Dream Believe,” which oozes infectious roots-pop charm) and Taylor Swift producer Nathan Chapman (the sweet, foot-stomping “Once and For Always”).

Although together romantically since 1996 and celebrating their 13-year wedding anniversary in December, Mark and Jay have only been playing music together since 2007, when the couple moved to Nashville, TN, to pursue their career in Music City. They’ve already had an impressive run in their 10 years playing together: there are seven Golden Guitars on the mantle (Australian Country Music’s highest honor); they serve as ambassadors for charitable organizations like World Vision and HeartKids; and they host the QANTAS in-flight radio show “Big Country.” On top of that, they’ve clocked up more than 11 number ones on the Aussie Country charts. Their Australian hit TV show O’SHEA USA has just been renewed for its sixth season.