Alexander Wildwood spent the last two years writing more than 30 songs to go toward his début EP. Wildwood, whose real name is Alex Price, has been producing/engineering for the last couple of years from his Mt Maunganui home studio. He says he’’s always writing and recording, and his smartphone is full of song ideas. A conversation with a friend provided a catalyst for the EP actually being released.

“I was writing and writing, then a friend asked me what I was going to do with them. I guess I owe him a lot for getting me going.

“These five songs represent who I am and where I’’m heading. All of the songs are written in different ways, and represent different aspects of me. I didn’’t want to do just an album, I don’’t think the world is ready for a full length album of my music.””

During the EP’’s lengthy gestation he has been involved with other projects, working with artists like PleasePlease, The Heart of Katherine and Neesh.

“I’’m always working in different ways with whatever each project needs from me. Sometimes it’’s co-writing and producing, others, like with PleasePlease, it’’s vocal production. But it’’s great working with a wide range of people and seeing how everyone goes about writing a song and approaching their art.””

As for his own craft, he began writing songs as a youngster sailing around the world with his parents.

“I had a little ukulele and I’’d write stories then my mum would help me put those stories to chords. My dad, while not a musician, was a big fan of music so was always playing great artists (super loud) while I was growing up.””

In his teens he started to take music and songwriting more seriously, around the same time my parents got a new stereo which helped him begin recording.

“It had two tape decks and I figured out that I could record onto one tape then record what I had done and add to it onto a second tape and back and forth building up the song.””

He says those early experiences still inspire him today.

“I could essentially do the exact same thing I’’d been doing with the tape machine but now I had the ability to move around sections of songs, or simply ‘undo’’ if I made a mistake.””

He can do it live, too, and is very happy to have played at The Powerstation four times, with one of his highlights opening for Elbow. “They were awesome, it’’s probably my favourite show so far, there was such a good a vibe.””

With his EP due out in late November, he’’s at the tour planning stage, working on dates in late January/early February up and down Aotearoa.