The Wildmans: Well-Rooted Siblings with a Singular Sound

Just a few years out of Berklee College of Music, brother and sister Elisha and Aila Wildman, performing as The Wildmans, seem like fresh new faces on the roots music scene. But owing to the vibrant, legendary old-time music scene around Floyd, Va., where they grew up, fiddling, singing, and strumming have always been part of their DNA.

“We grew up kind of going to the Floyd Country store every Friday night for a really long time,” says Aila. “They do the Friday night jamboree where all the old timer musicians kind of come out and play. That was definitely what got us into playing music.”

“The other aspect of the old-time music scene in Floyd is all these fiddle conventions that are unique to this region,” Eli explains. “I remember going to the Galax Fiddlers Convention--Aila must have been five years old and I was seven--and that was the first time we saw a mandolin in person. And we continued going to other conventions like Fries, Elk Creek, Mount Airy, and Clifftop. And that was hugely inspiring to us. So it's a kind of community that we got to know, and also gave us something to work towards, to learn a song and be able to play it in front of a bunch of people on stage.”

Rather than preserving the traditional sounds of their native region on their new album, Longtime Friend, The Wildmans instead imaginatively combine their acoustic roots and their Berklee College experiences to create music that defies limits and labels. Aila’s vibrant, authentic fiddling combines electric guitar, evocative percussion, and the siblings’ blood harmonies on compelling original songs, old fiddle tunes, and striking covers, including two Graham Parsons numbers. It’s a different sound from their first album, which more closely reflected their traditional music upbringing.

“This one feels like a huge growth and representation of ourselves musically coming from all our time at Berklee and just kind of growing,” says Eli. “And channeling out more of our inspirations from our early years as well as now.”

The variety of material on the album is striking. “Autumn 1941” is a chilling account, based on a true story, of an Appalachian mother protecting her daughter from outsiders. “Luxury Liner” is a rollicking rendition of Graham Parsons’s classic that showcases Aila’s singing. “Old Cumberland” and “The Route” are fiddle tunes that soar in unique arrangements with electric guitar and drums.

“I think that's something that just happened naturally from playing with (producer and percussionist) Nick Falk,” says Eli. “And then Sam Leslie learned the tunes on electric guitar. We kind of just put him on this little tiny amp far away in this huge room we were playing in, so we could all hear the guitar at the volume of our acoustic instruments. It’s almost referencing the banjo, and it almost sounds like it has an African influence to me.”

Eli’s guitar and mandolin playing and Aila’s fiddling are products of their old-time roots. But they are accomplished vocalists as well. Aila’s lead singing allows the duo to take on practically any song that intrigues them.

“I can remember singing for as long as I can remember," Aila says. “I just always wanted to sing.” 

“Our parents were always playing us Bonnie Raitt and Canned Heat and Stevie Ray Vaughn--all these incredible vocalists,” Eli adds. “A lot of blues, a lot of that 60s, 70s music, and a lot of folk revival music. So we always had that influence of the vocal aspect. And for me, I think Doc Watson was one of my early singing influences. And we loved Nickel Creek growing up. They were a huge influence.”

Aila, who finished at Berklee a year and a half ago, has returned to Floyd, which, for now, The Wildmans call home when they are not touring.

“Right now, it makes sense when we're thinking about saving money,” Eli explains. “But we have a lot of friends on the New York City scene. One of our best audiences is when we go to play in New York City, and we have an audience full of twenty-something-year-olds, which is pretty cool to see. We've had people tell us, ‘I don't know what that fiddle's doing, but it makes me want to dance!’ And that's awesome. But right now, Floyd's working out well, so we're really fortunate to have a beautiful place to be where our parents live and where we grew up.

“The goal is to be self-sufficient and play music on the road. Sell some tickets, record some records, and have the time to write songs. We’ve both been juggling jobs outside of music to be able to do our music when we can, and just keep up with living expenses and all that. So I think we're both really looking forward to not having to work when we're not on the road.”