In 2009 the Chicago-based quartet California Wives originated when multi-instrumentalists Dan Zima and Hans Michel joined forces with drummer Joe O’Connor. Jayson Kramer, another multi-instrumentalist concentrating on guitar and keyboards, soon completed the lineup. The group cultivated a style steeped in ’80s new wave and pop, merging the buoyant dance rhythms associated with Prince, the Police, and Culture Club alongside electronic synth-pop gestures reminiscent of New Order and the Human League.
At the outset the band tracked its first EP, No. 8, assigning lead vocals, keyboard, and guitar to Kramer, bass to Zima, drums to O’Connor, and lead guitar to Michel. The musicians performed frequently while steadily posting fresh material online. A follow-up EP titled Affair appeared next, after which Graham Masell took over lead-guitar duties from Michel in 2012. Later the same year California Wives secured a recording contract with Vagrant Records and entered the studio with producer Claudius Mittendorfer to shape their debut full-length, Art History.
