Not
far
from
the
tiny
town
of
Floyd,
Virginia,
surrounded
by
the
Blue
Ridge
Mountains,
is
the
childhood
home
of
The
Wildmans.
The
sibling
duo
are
currently
navigating
the
release
of
their
debut
album,
Longtime
Friend
,
for
New
West
Records.
And
today
truly
feels
like
a
full
circle
moment.
“It’s
surreal.
It’s
weird,”
says
Elisha
Wildman.
“We’re
really
excited
for
something
to
happen,
to
share
our
original
music.
And
this
feels
like
a
really
great
jumping
point.”
Alongside
his
sister,
Aila,
the
Americana/indie-folk
act
have
been
garnering
a
lot
of
attention
in
recent
years,
with
Longtime
Friend
showcasing
their
interlacing
harmonies
and
musical
virtuosity
—
the
sound
itself
at
the
sonic
crossroads
of
Americana,
alt-country
and
folk.
“It
feels
like
we’ve
been
building
up
to
this,
taking
our
time
and
setting
all
the
pieces
in
line,"
Elisha
says.
“[With
Longtime
Friend
],
we’ve
naturally
progressed
under
the
indie-folk
umbrella,”
Aila
adds.
“But,
we
still
are
doing
old-time
tunes,
where
we’ve
realized
it’s
an
important
aspect
of
our
musicianship,
which
ties
us
to
our
roots
and
how
we
grew
up.”
Captured
at
Applehead
Recording
in
Woodstock,
New
York,
with
producer
Nicholas
Falk,
the
12-song
LP
was
cultivated
in
the
midst
of
Aila
and
Elisha
each
finishing
school
at
the
prestigious
Berklee
School
of
Music
in
Boston,
Massachusetts.
“In
a
certain
way,
Woodstock
reminded
me
of
Floyd,”
Aila
says.
“It
was
nice
to
get
out
of
Boston
and
be
back
in
the
mountains,
in
the
woods,
to
be
part
of
this
artistic
experience
[at
Applehead].”
Growing
up
in
Floyd,
Aila
and
Elisha
were
immersed
in
the
rich,
vibrant
bluegrass
and
old-time
music
scenes.
As
kids,
Elisha
picked
up
the
guitar
and
mandolin,
while
Aila
reached
for
the
fiddle.
They
became
enamored
with
their
instruments,
which
parlayed
itself
into
both
winning
numerous
renowned
competitions
around
Southern
Appalachia.