Despite releasing their debut EP, Night Days, in 2019, these artists are no strangers to the music industry. The Los Angeles based innovative pop duo had written numerous songs for talents we know and love including EXO, Red Velvet, Bella Thorne, and Morgan Page to name a few. They had also had their hand in having their songs featured in Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, R.L. Stine’s: Mostly Ghostly, and many other films, movies, and commercials. It was only recently when Stephen and Courtney Stahl had fully delved into their own project, they’re favorite project: YVR.
When listening to their acoustic sets and comparing them to their studio recordings (which are done in the couple’s own home studio), it’s remarkable how similar in quality they are. Courtney said that it takes a while to get the sound that they’re looking for.
My voice gets used to a particular timber. From there it’s just more natural for me to be able to sing it just like in the recording.
They couldn’t help by make music that had a pop sound, even with Stephen’s rock background. Growing up listening to the Backstreet Boys and Swedish pop, that genre is in Courtney’s blood.
It’s not like we’re trying to do pop music, we can’t help ourselves.
It feels natural to them to write their songs with that kind of sound, especially after writing for artists who have a distinctive pop feel. This experience has also allowed them to create the songs for YVR that we know and love.
Writing with other artists over the years has helped build our skill set for songwriting in general. I think we just wanted to take a step back and remind ourselves why we got into music in the first place.
With all their experience behind them, the couple say that their easiest song to write was for their own project. Courtney says that the lyrics for “Love Is Hard” came naturally to her
“I’ll have different song ideas lingering in my phone. When Stephen make the track I’ll look through all my ideas and see what fits. I had written most of those lyrics [to “Love Is Hard” on a day when I was upset, they kind of came naturally. As soon as I heard that track I was like ‘oh wow’, this just feels like it would fit perfectly. And then I sang the words and it just came out really fast.”
Find out when their next live stream show is by following them on Instagram. You can find their previous live sessions and music videos on YouTube and their website. And be sure to listen to their second EP How Have You Been? on all major streaming platforms!
