Wake the Wild is a Los Angeles based trio of lifelong friends that fuse live instrumentation with electronic dance aesthetics. “Ritual” is the first in a series of four singles solidifying the next chapter of their sound which fuses funky house, catchy melodies and danceable grooves. Over the past few years Wake the Wild has worked with musicians across genres including Ryan Tedder, Charlie Puth, Nick Cannon, Ava Max, French Montana, Chromeo, AJ Mitchell, Life Of Dillon, NSTASIA, Nadia Ali, and the guitarists from The Weeknd, 30 Seconds To Mars, and Florence + The Machine.
“Ritual” is a catchy new hit all about dusting off negativity and how we can find balance through the different cycles of life. The music is notably clean and spacious and allows focus to remain firmly on the vocals and lyrics. The rhythms have been programmed in a way that complements the vocal development, ebbing and flowing for emphasis. Wake the Wild’s haunting trips into musical soundscapes are particularly affecting, a cross between emoting and adding atmosphere. “I won’t let it phase me” directs the smooth male vocal on a mesmerizing melody to keep up with the empowering theme of the track. The dynamic between Wake the Wild in “Ritual” absolutely makes the track. Their interplay and differences give the track the drama we need to see it through to the very end.
Listen to “Ritual” here and read more with Wake the Wild below in our interview!
Tell us about your song “Ritual”! What inspired this?
“Ritual” is about dusting off negativity and finding balance through the different cycles of life. Everyday we come home from a long day's work and find an escape in music; that’s our ritual. This is the first of four singles solidifying the next chapter of our sound which fuses funky house, catchy melodies and danceable grooves. It's been a minute since we've released new music and since then we've been writing, producing, writing some more, producing some more and now we have a sound that feels more like what we envisioned for Wake the Wild. Ritual is a great balance of some of the new influences that we've been vibing off of as of late.
Who in your life would you say has had a great effect on your music and your direction as an artist?
We've always loved R&B, funk, jazz, soul, so incorporating influences from Prince, MJ, Quincy Jones, Chaka Khan and other classic artists has been huge. We love some of the dynamic and catchy bass lines of artists like Disclosure and fused them with sounds and synth and groove elements from artists like Pomo. We've also been on a huge Oliver kick so you can hear a lot of them in our newer stuff.
How does the music you make now compare to when you first started creating it?
We're embracing our background as live performers/instrumentalists more than before. We are a dance band! We are all about making music that translates well live and gets a dance party started. We still love some of our older songs but man are they tough to play live! Our newer stuff is more band oriented, more organic, and much more retro/80's influenced. Incorporating more live guitars, basses, and grooves has also helped bring our newer music to life. Using space and feels effectively goes so far in getting people on the dance floor! We've been taking elements from some of our favorite artists of previous decades such as Prince, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, etc. and fusing them with contemporary artists like NAO, SG Lewis, Moon Boots, etc.
What’s next for Wake the Wild?
We've locked ourselves away for over a year making new music and evolving our sound, and now it's time to share it with you all. Coupled with playing a whole lot more shows, we want to build as much momentum as possible into 2020. So we will release three to four new songs this year, and then have a ton more in the pipeline for next year. Our goal is to have something come out basically every month for the foreseeable future. We have at least 3 more singles dropping this year that will really show the range of our sound. You will hear some more funky dance jams, as well as a some more chill vibes, and even a urban influenced track as well. There may or may not be some dope collabs in the works too!
Keep up with Wake The Wild: