Wyla’s latest release will be hard to find in record stores around Asheville. It’s not because Edward Madill, the one-man-band behind Wyla, is having trouble getting stores to pick up Dulcet; rather, it’s by design. Madill plans to hide his homemade, recycled and repurposed CD sleeves inside bargain bins and overlooked crates of vinyl, he explained to Xpress. If you manage to find a copy, it’s yours.
Madill isn’t trying to bury himself in obscurity. He wants exposure for his bedroom pop and dreams of finding a sustainable way to tour the world, something similar to Ben Sollee’s bike tour. The finders, keepers campaign for Dulcet is more of a reward for the curious listener, something Madill hopes will confuse and bewonder inevitable acquirers. Of course, you can still find Wyla’s music online.
“Wyla” itself is an acronym for “what you looking at”, a phrase Madill considers both meditative and instructive. Inside Madill’s songs, you’ll find play with homophones, dual meanings and double entendres. Madill doesn’t say one thing to mean another, but rather leaves the decision of deciding the meaning or message of a song to the listener. “What you looking at” can be a question, accusatory or inquiring, and a statement, factual or contemplative.
July 6, Wyla opens for Ringo Deathstarr at Emerald Lounge. Tickets are $8 and doors open at 9 p.m. More information here.
If you’d like to hear more of Wyla and Edward Madill, you can purchase or download his music for free on his Bandcamp.
You can listen to Dulcet here.
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Love it.