MonaLisa Twins are a pop rock band, fronted by twin-sister singer-songwriters Mona Wagner (vocals, rhythm guitar, percussion, harmonica, flute) and Lisa Wagner (vocals, lead guitar, ukulele, cello). They are originally from Austria and are currently based in the Liverpool area, in the United Kingdom. Known for their YouTube video covers of songs by The Beatles and other 1960s bands, many of which have been issued on a series of albums, they also have released two albums of original songs, inspired by the music of the 1960s.
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. On their debut album When We Were Together, which they recorded at the mere age of 16, they present finest Rock ‘n’ Roll and Beat music, skillfully venturing out in Psychedelic, Folk and Latin genres, inspired by the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan or Simon & Garfunkel.
In comparison, their second album “Orange” gives a more mature, sometimes satirical, yet overall still light-hearted approach to topics we all deal with. Love, community, doubt, the past and future, and the generally unsettling direction society seems to be taking. While staying true to quirky, melodic 60s song-writing, plenty of harmonies and twangy guitar licks, this album branches out into more psychedelic but also earthy, bluesy, even jazzy tones for a very experimental, tongue-in-cheek side of the MonaLisa Twins.
The band typically has a 4-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 up by different bassists and drummers. In 2012 and 2013 (while they were still based in Austria) those 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.
The Twins started interpreting Rock and roll hits from the 60s and 70s, and with some folk songs, throughout their career, they brought their original songs in the style of Rock and Roll, and Rock Pop, also bringing ballads, some of their songs copyright has their clips. Each one works helping the other, forming a teamwork, during the audio and video recordings.
