It was some time ago when I saw Mema Wilda play a gig at The Tuning Fork, where she accompanied herself on an acoustic and was joined by just one other musician. I thoroughly enjoyed what I heard, and then the next time I heard her was when she performed on the single Where We’ll Go with Sam Bartells, but that was nearly two years ago and somehow I have missed seeing her since then. What I did not realise was that she had turned herself into a full band, and while she provides guitar and vocals, she is now joined by Shellita Goldsmith (drums), Kent Mori (lead guitar), Mitch French (bass) and Hariata Makiha (second vocal).
With a change in approach, it is probably no surprise to hear there is a distinct change in her music as well, as now we have Going Wild, a nice chugging rock number with lots of breaks and sections so it seems much longer than the 3:30 it is. The chorus is a singalong monster, and this has all the commerciality of a massive radio hit while also guaranteeing people singing this at the top of their voices at gigs.
Given this is their debut single I am completely blown away, as while Mema’s vocals are always to the fore this is very much a band effort with everyone contributing to a monster which has Greg Haver’s production all over it to lift it to the next level. So, when do we get the album? This should be huge.
WILDA consists of five musical friends; communicating through collaborated inventiveness. WILDA’s music is carefully and lovingly crafted through varying influences which gives life to their predominant Psychedelic-Folk/Rock sound and a touch of genre-spanning grooves.