Biography

Chris Steward and Rosie Long Decter met in college in 2014, but didn’t immediately share a musical language. Chris grew up in London listening to celestial dream pop; Rosie was raised in Toronto on folk and Canadiana. Bringing together these influences, the duo began working toward a distinctive blend of airy vocals, intricate guitar work and pulsating synths. They released their debut EP as Bodywash in 2016 and their first full-length, Comforter, in 2019. Though touring for Comforter was cut short by COVID-19, Bodywash showcased the album at local and international festivals including South By Southwest, New Colossus, and Sled Island. During this time, Long Decter and Steward experienced alienating shifts in their personal lives, leading to a mutual sense of dislocation. They began writing new material that was darker, more experimental, and more invigorating than their first record. In 2021 they took these songs into the studio. The result is 2023's I Held the Shape While I Could, a record that lives in the sonics of decay and renewal. The album marks a new era for Bodywash, defined by a shared exploration of experimental textures and an intentional effort to fuse each other’s strengths into a new whole. Steward’s chopped breakbeats and warped soundscapes uplift Long Decter’s imagistic lyricism to create an album that is simultaneously delicate and explosive, despairing and hopeful. A world imagined and sculpted together.