Guest
Wilde takes the harmonica and touches it like Midas, transforming it from its customary bluesy niche into a full-on rock powerhouse. In his skilful hands, the now not-so-humble instrument becomes a diamond-hard, razor-edged lead that knocks the guitar off its pedestal and steals the limelight. Wilde first picked up his first harmonica at 16, at a house party. “I basically nicked it,” he admits, “It was a cheap plastic thing, just lying about amongst the drink bottles and cigarette butts, but I was drawn to it.” At first, his music was steeped in Chicago Blues: “I used to play along to old Muddy Waters’ records for hours at a time,” Will recalls, “Sometimes, I played so much my lips bled.” However, mastering his craft, he wanted to push the instrument to its limits. “I wanted to know everything it could do; every sound it could make. After a while, it became an extension of me.” As an extension of Will Wilde, the harmonica became a lead instrument for hard rock as he developed his own, more aggressive style. Wilde has gone the extra mile and created his own signature harmonica tunings, so he can hit notes that simply weren’t possible before. “The Wilde tunings help me take things to the next level,” Will explains, “I can hold my own with any rock guitarist.” ‘Bring It On Home’ (Release date 9th March 2018) is a covers album: a passionate tribute to British and Irish blues-rock legends: “It’s my way of repaying the originators of British and Irish rock: bands like Free, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin,” as Will put it himself. The 11-track album was recorded at Brighton Road Studios, mixed and engineered by Ali Gavan, and produced by Will’s bandmate and virtuoso guitarist, Danny Giles. ‘Parisienne Walkways’, the first single from the album shows the raw power and expressive range of his chosen instrument, not merely echoing the sound of Gary Moore’s amazing guitar style, but making the song Wilde’s own. For more information visit Will’s website at and find out why Thomas Ruf (of Ruf Records) called this man ‘The Hendrix of the Harmonica’. Website: Video by Pajama Films
