News Updated:
26 Apr 2012
Image by Sonja Georgevich 2012

Otherworldly. Eccentric. Elegant. These are all words buzzing around Alexa Wilding's album Coral Dust. They may as well be describing Wilding herself. The New York songstress has beguiled audiences for years with her haunting voice, cutting-edge style and singular noir-folk. This, her sophomore set, represents an enchanting leap forward from her dark but darling self-titled debut.

A mystical song cycle with a tinge of Americana, the new album finds Wilding moving away from the girl-with-the-guitar world of her first effort and into an atmospheric, starry sound all her own. Produced by Tim Foljahn (Cat Power, Thurston Moore, Townes Van Zandt), Coral Dust introduces the electronic sounds of vintage synthesizers, organs and Moog keyboards into Wilding's fable-like songwriting. The collection also benefits from chromatic harmonies and mischievous percussion, courtesy Brooklyn drummer, Brian Kantor (Higgins, Vetiver). Engineered by Murray Trider, and recorded in part with engineer Tom Beaujour (Jennifer O'Connor, Mountain Goats), the album was mixed by Television's Fred Smith, and mastered by Fred Kevorkian (Regina Spektor, Joan as Policewoman). Wilding is thrilled to release the record on her very own label, aptly named Tiny Prism.

Wilding burst into the public eye as a solo act a few years back, quite literally, when she popped out of a birthday cake at a party hosted by fashion fixture Lucy Sykes and her husband Euan Rellie. Having cut her teeth as a side-woman in Int'l Shades, an art-rock project with former Sonic Youth/Pussy Galore drummer Bob Bert, Wilding's whimsical downtown-meets-uptown arrival (in haute couture, no less) landed the native New Yorker and former ballerina the coveted "Who's That Girl" feature in Page Six Magazine. She was named "one of music's hippest chicks" (alongside Florence + The Machine) in the NY Post and drew a Nylon magazine "Band Crush. Soon, Wilding was popping up on "one to watch" lists curated by Paper, Time Out, Dossier Journal, Urban Outfitters, and Daily Candy among others. An instant staple on the New York music and style scenes, Wilding's music broke nationally on a North American tour with beloved Brooklyn synth-pop band Au Revoir Simone and overseas via collaborations with Scandinavian fashion label, Ivana Helsinki. Thanks in part to a black and white video directed by the chic label's designer Paola Suhonen, Wilding's sultry single "Black Diamond Day" became a much-blogged about favorite.

Wilding has recently shared bills with Ben Lee and Martha Wainwright, playing to sold-out crowds at Manhattan's City Winery, in addition to regular headlining appearances at New York City clubs like Mercury Lounge and Rockwood Music Hall and Los Angeles listening rooms Largo and Hotel Cafe. She has also toured extensively with indie singer-songwriter Jennifer O'Connor and Foljahn's solo act. Wilding will be celebrating the release of Coral Dust at home in New York on February 20 at Rockwood Music Hall Stage 2.


 

“...the neo Stevie Nicks...”

—New York Times


“If you haven’t heard of Alexa Wilding yet, you will soon…”

—Bust


“One of music’s hippest chicks [alongside Florence + the Machine].”

—New York Post


“Her musical sensibility is hard to describe; she has a bit of Kate Bush, a bit of freak folk, and a bit of Stevie Nicks in her, and her singing and guitar playing are both really powerful tools that are very much under her control.”

—Ben Lee to Magnet


“... a singular songstress who places moody fables over a dark-tinged spray of watercolor sounds.”

—Time Out


“Would Alexa Wilding's entrancing folk be just as gently hypnotic if she had a cardboard box for a face? Her sweet voice is a delicate, powerful instrument with enough character to set it apart...So yes: Wilding may not need her striking looks but they certainly don't hurt.”

—San Francisco Weekly


“Some people are born for it.”

Nylon


“There is a timelessness to songstress Alexa Wilding. A unique meld of Victorian refinement, quintessential folk emanations sprung from the likes of Joan Baez, and modern day Brooklyn polish...[her] debut album is a mesmerizing, verging on haunting, listening experience that carries over threefold into her live performances.”

—FILLER (Toronto)


“Her compelling lyrics and faint guitar stroking, combined with a hint of the hardness of rock 'n' roll, offered a listening experience that was as unique as the songstress herself.”

—Santa Barbara Independent


“Wilding keeps company with an acoustic guitar, creating a dreamy folk sound with a sultry twist.”

—PAPER


“Her beautiful tunes were filled with heartfelt lyrics, expert guitar plucking, and an angelic voice that's as near to perfection as you can ask for. Her presence onstage makes the whole experience feel that much more intimate...as if it were just her singing only to you in the room.”

—Meet You At The Show (Montreal)