MonaLisa Twins are a pop rock band, fronted by twin-sister singer-songwriters Mona Wagner (vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, harmonica, flute, recorder, accordion) and Lisa Wagner (vocals, lead guitar, ukulele, cello).

Biography

The twins were born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

on June 16, 1994 and are based in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, in the United Kingdom. Known for their YouTube video covers of songs by

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

and other 1960s bands, many of which have been issued on a series of albums, they also have released three albums of original songs, inspired by the music of the 1960s. They have toured with

Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel were an English rock band who formed in the early 1970s in London. Their music covered a range of styles from pop to progressive rock. Over the years, they have had five albums on the UK Albums Chart and twelve s ...

, performed with them at the

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

in 2017, collaborated with American musician

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter and musician who founded the rock band the Lovin' Spoonful in 1964 with Zal Yanovsky. During his time in the Lovin Spoonful, Sebastian wrote and sang some of the ban ...

, and held a two-year residency at

the Cavern Club The Cavern Club is a music venue on Mathew Street, Liverpool, England. The Cavern Club opened on 16 January 1957 as a jazz club, later becoming a centre of the rock and roll scene in Liverpool in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The club beca ...

. The band's producer is the twins' father, Rudolf Wagner, who also plays the bass and piano, and co-writes and arranges their music, which is recorded in the Wagner family's own music studio. Rudolf's wife and the twins' stepmother, Michaela Wagner, is the band's manager and assistant. The family lived in a small village in the Groß-Enzersdorf municipality near Vienna until 2014, when they moved to a suburb of

. The band typically has a four-person line-up for live concerts, with Mona and Lisa Wagner mostly playing guitars, and some harmonica and ukulele, respectively, on stage, while being backed by different bassists and drummers. In 2012 and 2013, while they were still based in Austria, those musicians were usually Michael Mozeth (bass) and Philipp Wolf (drums). Since 2014, including the two-year residency at the Cavern Club, they have been backed by several local British musicians.

Musical style and development

Genres

The Twins started interpreting rock and roll hits from the 1960s and 1970s, including some folk songs. Throughout their career, they have created their original songs in the style of rock & roll and rock pop, but also ballads, paired with quality video clips. Both work symbiotically as a team in their audio and video recordings.

Influences

The MonaLisa Twins have been particularly influenced by the Beatles. They are known for their covers of Beatles hits, but are also influenced and inspired by rock and pop from other artists and bands of the time. Their original music has also been primarily moved by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

and pop from the 1960s and 1970s, usually having the presence of an electric guitar in both their covers and original songs. The Beatles' press officer, Tony Barrow, has praised the duo, particularly their vocal harmonies.

Discography

Albums

*2007 – ''MonaLisa & Band, Live in Concert'' (double CD) *2012 – ''When We're Together'' (also DVD) *2014 – ''Play Beatles & More'' *2017 – ''Orange'' *2018 – ''Play Beatles & More Vol.2'' *2018 – ''Play Beatles & More Vol.3'' *2019 – ''Christmas'' *2020 – ''The Duo Sessions'' *2020 – ''Live at The Cavern Club'' (double CD) *2022 – ''Why?'' *2023 – ''The Duo Sessions II''

EP

*2008 – ''California Dreaming''

References

External links

Official website

YouTube channel
{{DEFAULTSORT:MonaLisa Twins, The 1994 births Living people Austrian women musicians Austrian pop rock music groups Twin musical duos Female musical duos Austrian expatriates in England Musical groups established in 2007 21st-century Austrian musicians 21st-century Austrian women musicians English-language musical groups from Austria