When it comes to creating music, Milwaukee WI-based band Wildered has proven of late that it can create dynamic songs that fit into just about any surrounding. Their ambitious debut album Emezov, released June 2023, features a rich sound “rooted in acoustic and folk music, with a taste for ambient and indie soundscape experiments” designed to create a uniquely lush sound.
“We started out as an ambient, acoustic duo, and have since delved into more full band elements and are excited to fuse these concepts together even more through our large soundscapes and heartfelt songs on this record,” says singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Nate Bjorge, who moved to Milwaukee over three years ago.
Bjorge admits he’s not always a fan of playing solo. It’s a rare occurrence that you’ll find him performing by himself. In fact, he almost has a rule about Wildered sets never being solo.
“I play solo shows under my name and even with a couple other projects, but we really value the live performance, echoing the intention of our recordings in that they are very collaborative,” says Bjorge. “You’ll even see a variety of instruments from show to show. Not to mention, we value the layers and texture that are really only replicable in the same way live with multiple people.”
Despite the band’s frequent tendencies for sonic flourishes, the softer, acoustic side of things still fascinates Bjorge. For those rare solo performances, he enjoys the special opportunity to “bring things back to the song’s origins, which typically starts with my writing.” Thus, at the end of 2023 he decided to film himself performing three songs from the band’s debut in his home music room for Water Tower Sessions.
“Much of the band’s work originates in this room,” he says. “Everything from co-writes, recordings, and even zoom meetings! There is a DIY element present in Wildered that has a lot of origins relating to creating music in this simple room, despite how large our produced sound gets.”
“Although Wildered is a very collaborative project with many artists across the country, all things and songwriting has originated in this small room,” he continues. “A good majority of the instruments recorded on the album were recorded in this room. It’s only fitting that a solo set would take place here…I wanted to keep things as simple, raw, and ‘DIY’ as possible. Echoing the origins and in many ways still the way we create.”
The session opens with Bjorge performing a shortened version of the band’s song “Eden” on ukulele. It marks the first and only time he has played the song in a public situation with ukulele – which ironically is the song’s origin.
“Playing ‘Eden’ on the ukulele was a special moment since it is never done!” he says. “A much more lo-fi version than you’ll ever see, but a nice memory for this particular session.”
Bjorge’s goal for each of the three songs was to keep them simple and let the words and lyrics be at the forefront.
“In the case of each, a different instrument kept the variety and intrigue that is familiar to Wildered, while retaining the emotion and simplicity of a solo performance,” he says.
The session also features the band’s songs “Teething” and “Tied Together,” which have become fan favorites and feature banjo and acoustic guitar respectively. He says they’re popular not only “because of their musical qualities, but both have stories that seem to resonate.”
“Both songs are very special for me individually as well, as both have taken inspiration from my personal life, so this was a great venue for the solo performance and sharing those stories again,” Bjorge says.
Wildered has “always strived to be a balance of some familiar, comfortable sounds with shades of folk and alternative genres and experimental sounds full of texture and variety,” he says. With a solo performance, he decided it would be best to present the songs by “changing instruments and perspectives throughout.”
“That makes being a multi-instrumentalist a great asset for this project, which many of the other Wildered musicians are as well!” he says. “For me, guitar has been my primary instrument, other than voice, for quite some time. The acoustic guitar is home for me. Banjo and ukulele have both been vessels for my songwriting to help capture sounds the guitar cannot, in addition to inspiring new songs with instruments that are.”
Scummy Water Tower caught up with Bjorge to discuss the band and its debut album, how the group creates rich-sounding songs and what’s next for them.
What’s the story behind the band’s name?
When Wildered began, Joshua Miranda and myself were writing from a perspective of being pretty beat down by life. We coined this experience a “wildering” one or “to be made wild” being Wildered. The name also seemed to stylistically match our intentions to root things in the acoustic, folk genre, with an exploration into ambient and otherwise afterwards.
How did the band form originally? What brought everyone together?
The project started with myself and Joshua Miranda. We actually met through a mutual friend, Noah Huffman, who is now the regular lead guitarist live. Josh now resides in Austin, TX and is unable to be a part of the live show as much, although he is still heavily involved in the writing and production (you hear his lead vocals in “smalldawn” and “New”). Until [2023], Wildered operated mostly as a duo in the live setting. Since then, we’ve expanded to a variety of trio setups as well as full band! This has been an ongoing experiment with a variety of artists (including Zach Pietrini, Noah Huffman, and Paige Hargrove). We can’t wait to bring even more cool setups to the stage this year!
The band started as an ambient, acoustic duo and its expanded lineup has allowed it to grow its sound with more full band elements. What’s it been like growing the band’s sound?
It’s been a BLAST growing our sound. Through the experimentation, we’ve unlocked more ideas time after time and been able to play with some of our favorite artists in the area.
How has that increased what you’re able to do musically? How do you think you’re able to fuse those elements together even more through as you described large soundscapes and heartfelt songs?
It has really expanded our ability to capture key elements of the record while also crafting captivating elements unique to the live show. It is very normal at a Wildered show to hear “Teething,” for example, done as a straight folk tune (acoustic, banjo, vocals). While others, like “GO,” pack a punch that retains the essence of the recording, with an awesome character you can only see live!
What are your biggest sonic influences?
To name a few, Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, The Paper Kites, and Bears Den.
How would you describe the songwriting process and the band’s chemistry? How have you grown most musically through this band?
The songs originate anywhere from a pea size, to a strong demo, with myself. Typically, Josh [Miranda] will take the song and bring it to the finish line or very close. We’ve worked together for a while now and have a good flow between us, with many ideas starting with me and being perfected by him for this album, we dumped a few other producers and artists we really admire into the mix. Although this somewhat thematic thread throughout the album, the collaborators help it have a diverse and eclectic feel throughout. Even many of the songs that don’t have other names on them are still collaborations. “Tied Together” is produced with and mixed by Dersé, “Eden” was written with Stephen Vasquez and mixed by Jonathan Class, to name a few collaborators.
Why did you pick Emezov, the album’s title, and how is it representative of the album’s themes?
Emezov was a fictional name that came to us. With the album’s theme being this journey through a mythical place, it made most sense to give this fictional place a name! We even think of the course of the album being a day/night journey through ‘Emezov’ and the production from song to song reflects that.
What song(s) had the biggest impact on the direction of the album?
“smalldawn” for sure was a big impact. When Josh and I were first toying with the idea of an album we knew two things. First, we wanted to incorporate some more optimistic energy into our newer music, mimicking where we both felt in life compared to the earlier releases. Although with that, we would dive into more full band production. smalldawn captures both of these intentions well before we even knew where the album was headed!
What were the biggest surprises while writing and/or recording?
This album involved A LOT of branching out and experimenting for us. In the end, for multiple songs, I suppose it was surprising how much we ended up back at “our roots.” When we were stuck with production or writing, more often than not, thinking of our ‘classic’ Wildered sound and leaning into our strengths is what got songs over the finish line.
What are your future goals for the band? What are you most excited about in the year ahead?
A few things. First, to continue evolving our live setup and bringing people an ever-changing digest of high-energy and captivating setups! Second, to reach more and more people and areas outside of Milwaukee County. Lastly, there may be a Deluxe version of the album in the works with some new songs.
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
