Wilder Daze has released his latest single “Tie-Dye” in anticipation of the release of his debut record Golden Hour – out September 22nd.
Partially inspired by the tragic shooting at Orlando’s PULSE nightclub last year, “Tie-Dye” is an anthem that celebrates diversity and individuality within and beyond the LGBTQ community. The single is the latest release off the much anticipated album, a debut that’s been cultivated over the past year.
As a whole, Golden Hour tells the story of Wilder moving from a troubled childhood in the suburbs of Washington DC to New York in his late teens, with the dream of becoming a star – only to become intensely (but often joyously) distracted by love. He chronicles the way this relationship changed him and, after coming out of it, remembers all that it was about and the many lessons he learned along the way. He bookends the album with “Sip on a Sunset,” a song about leaving the past behind to embrace a better future, beginning dramatically with the sounds of rain, a car door slamming and an engine humming; and the title track “Golden Hour,” about finding the light at the end of a dark tunnel, emerging from a post-breakup depression and opening up again to love and romance.
“Once I realized that writing and singing was what I really loved, I felt more and more like rebelling against how people saw me, against my nature,” Wilder says.
Wilder co-produced Golden Hour with Orion (Majesty, Kendra Erika) in collaboration with Lynn Verlayne Studio and penned every track, with the exception of the title tune and “Summer of Love,” which are co-writes with Aimee Proal (Kelly Clarkson, Joe Cocker). Wilder chose to release the album on the first day of fall, “a transitional day,” because its spirit perfectly aligns with the story the album tells.
Over the past two years, with the release of three popular independently released singles, Wilder offered powerful introductory snapshots of the dynamic narrative that unfolds throughout Golden Hour. Released in early 2016, “Blush” is an unabashedly romantic, tune Wilder wrote while walking around Paris on his 23rd birthday and calls “modern synth pop through retro speakers.” The Get Out Awards invited him to do a live premiere of the song at their event at Boxer’s and featured him on the cover of their magazine. Wilder has also headlined other prominent NYC venues, including The Bitter End, Parkside Lounge and Left Field on the Lower East Side.
Working on “Blush” in the studio opened the floodgates of creativity, and the singer wrote the entire album over the next two months. His first follow-up release was “Summer of Love,” a wistful and nostalgic “mini-movie” which finds him recalling his first romantic experiences. Wilder launched 2017 with the infectious single “24 Hour Lover,” which he now calls “the climax of the album before it takes on a darker tone.” It’s about an affair he had in Brazil (his mom’s birth country, where he spent part of his childhood) while on the rebound from a broken heart.
“I have always believed there is beauty in the personal, “which is why Golden Hour is such an intimate telling of my story in New York. I love that the album takes me into my own little dream world where I can reflect upon all these things. I know I will be singing these songs for audiences for a long time”
Golden Hour will be released on September 22nd. You can sign up for updates and exclusives at www.wilderdaze.com
