Wildling is an

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band from

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

signed to Warner Bros. Records. The band was formed in 2014 by members Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya, who were originally signed to

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...

as the band ''Test Your Reflex'' from 2004-2009, and also recorded music under the name ''No Country'' as well as ''Low Shoulder'' (2009-2014).

History

Wildling is the current name for the musical collaboration involving key members Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya. They have been recording music and touring under different band names since 2004.

''Test Your Reflex'' (2004-2009)

The original group was composed of five musicians (Ryan Levine, Andrew Ampaya, Sal Cortez, Ryan Clark, and Augustin Sanchez) of various backgrounds all between the ages of 19-21 at the time. As ''Test Your Reflex'', they started out in the rehearsal rooms of a teen center in

Thousand Oaks Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...

. They came together in early 2004. Having played in various

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

and

rock bands A musical ensemble, also known as a music group or musical group, is a group of people who perform instrumental and/or vocal music, with the ensemble typically known by a distinct name. Some music ensembles consist solely of instrumentalists, ...

since

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

, lead singer Levine decided he wanted to try something new. Inspired by classic albums like U2's ''

The Joshua Tree ''The Joshua Tree'' is the fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release, ' ...

'', Peter Gabriel's '' So'' and Joni Mitchell's ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

'', after experimenting in his garage, Levine gradually developed the sound that would become ''Test Your Reflex''. It started when Levine met drummer Sal Cortez through an ex-girlfriend. The two then began searching for others to join them. After many months they finally found guitarist RC (a.k.a. Ryan Clark), a former guitarist of

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band R.O.H. Then came

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical inst ...

Andrew Ampaya, a classically trained

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

with similar musical influences. With innovative and like-minded bassist Agustin Sanchez joining shortly thereafter, the first and final line up of ''Test Your Reflex'' was created. The band's debut release was '' The Burning Hour'' (released April 24, 2007) on

. The album has been described as having an 80s sound with hints of U2,

The Cars The Cars were an American rock band formed in Boston in 1976. Emerging from the new wave scene in the late 1970s, they consisted of Ric Ocasek ( rhythm guitar), Benjamin Orr (bass guitar), Elliot Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes ( keyboard ...

, and Simple Minds as well as

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

and

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

. The band featured on the MySpace Tribute to the Smashing Pumpkins album released on

MySpace Records MySpace Records was a record label founded in 2005 to sign artists who appeared on the social networking site Myspace. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Myspace, operating as a joint-venture between MySpace and Interscope Records. Distributio ...

and distributed in the July 2007 issue of

SPIN Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

. They liken themselves to other bands on the Pumpkins tribute, such as

The Bravery The Bravery is an American rock band formed in New York City in 2003. The band consists of lead vocalist Sam Endicott, guitarist Michael Zakarin, keyboardist John Conway, bassist Mike Hindert and drummer Anthony Burulcich. They are best know ...

. All tracks appeared on each band's MySpace page from May 14, 2007. ''Test Your Reflex'' opened for

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

on July 22, 2007 at

The Fillmore The Fillmore is a historic music venue in San Francisco, California. Built in 1912 and originally named the Majestic Hall, it became the Fillmore Auditorium in 1954. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fillm ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. Before that, from March 22, 2007 to May 12, 2007, ''Test Your Reflex'' toured the US with the Detroit-based band

Electric Six Electric Six is a six-piece American rock band formed in 1996 in Detroit, Michigan. Their music was described by AllMusic as a combination of garage, disco, punk rock, new wave, and metal. The band achieved recognition in 2003 with the sin ...

. Television performances include two appearances with Carson Daly. On June 22, 2007 the band appeared on

Last Call with Carson Daly ''Last Call with Carson Daly'' is an American late-night television series that was broadcast by NBC from 2002 to 2019. Hosted by former MTV personality Carson Daly, the series was initially formatted as a late-night talk show in line with ''T ...

and the following month performed on the Carson Daly show (aired July 12, 2007). The complete list of media coverage/online releases for ''Test Your Reflex'' was as follows: *

- July 12, 2007 *

Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

Ones To Watch for May - May 7, 2007 * LA Weekly Digital Jukebox – April 19, 2007 * LA Times "Buzz Bands" – April 19, 2007 * VH1 Hear Music First – April 17, 2007 *Artist Direct – April 12, 2007 *Pre-RCA Release of "Pieces of the Sun" on iTunes – April 10, 2007 *

/SPIN.com "Artist of the Day" - January 5, 2007 *

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...

's Pop Candy Blog – December 5, 2006 Their song "Thinking of You" was featured as the background music of a radio commercial for

Michelob Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

Golden Light beer, heard in the Twin Cities and other markets in the midwest where the beer is sold.

''No Country'' and ''Low Shoulder'' (2009-2014)

With the conclusion of their contract with RCA Records, in 2009, the group changed its name to No Country. Also in 2009, two members of the band (Ryan Levine and Sal Cortez) appeared as members of the fictional band ''Low Shoulder'' in the 2009 film ''

Jennifer's Body ''Jennifer's Body'' is a 2009 American horror-comedy film written by Diablo Cody and directed by Karyn Kusama. The film stars Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, and Adam Brody. Fox portrays a demonically possessed high school girl ...

''. The band performed the songs "Through the Trees" (written by Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya) and "One More Night" (written by Ryan Levine) as well as Blondie's "

In the Flesh In the Flesh may refer to: Books * ''In the Flesh'' (2009 graphic novel), a collection of stories by Koren Shadmi Film and TV * ''In the Flesh'' (1998 film), an American gay-themed murder mystery film * ''In the Flesh'' (2003 film), an Indian ...

" in the film. The film's soundtrack includes the song "Through the Trees" by ''Low Shoulder''.

''Wildling'' (2014-present)

In November 2014, Ryan Levine and Andrew Ampaya formed a new five-member band with the name "Wildling", made up of new members: songwriter and producer Erik Janson on guitar, previous member of indie California beach band

Cayucas Cayucas, previously Oregon Bike Trails, is an American indie pop band from Santa Monica, California. The group includes Zach Yudin and his twin brother Ben Yudin on guitar. The band signed to Secretly Canadian in 2012. History 2011: Oregon Bike ...

Casey Wojtalewicz on drums, and Ryan's younger brother Justin Levine on bass. Wildling performed their first show at The Satellite in Los Angeles. They were immediately invited to headline The Satellite's residency in January 2015, and the next week, they were invited to support

Young the Giant Young the Giant is an American rock band that formed in Irvine, California, in 2004. The band's line-up consists of Sameer Gadhia (lead vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass guitar), and Francois Comtois ...

, who had attended the show. A few months later they performed in Austin for SXSW, and by summer 2015, they were recording their debut EP. The band has worked with different producers on different songs, including

Doug Boehm Doug Boehm (born November 4, 1969)''U.S. Public Records Index'', Vols 1 & 2 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010. is an American record producer and sound engineer who specializes predominantly in the rock music genre and has worked ...

(

French Kicks French Kicks are an American indie rock group from New York City, United States. Their sound is a mix of garage rock, post-punk, and modded pop. History Three of the original four band members, bassist Jamie Krents, vocalist/drummer Nick Stumpf, ...

Dr. Dog Dr. Dog is an American rock band based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Its lineup consists of Toby Leaman (bass guitar), Scott McMicken (lead guitar), Frank McElroy ( rhythm guitar), Zach Miller (keyboard), Eric Slick ( drums), an ...

), Caleb Shreve (

Phantogram Phantogram may refer to: *Phantogram (band) *Phantogram (optical illusion) Phantograms, also known as Phantaglyphs, Op-Ups, free-standing anaglyphs, levitated images, and book anaglyphs, are a form of optical illusion. Phantograms use perspectiv ...

Bear Hands Bear Hands is an American post-punk and indie rock band, consisting of Dylan Rau (vocals and guitar), Val Loper (bass), Ted Feldman (guitar), and TJ Orscher (drums). Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, United States, and formed in 2006, the band si ...

), Ted Gowans (

Tegan & Sara Tegan and Sara () are a Canadian indie pop duo formed in 1998 in Calgary, Alberta. The band is led by identical twin sisters Tegan Rain Quin and Sara Keirsten Quin (born September 19, 1980). Both musicians are songwriters and multi-instrumental ...

), and Ben Greenspan (

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

). Ryan sent lead single "Hummingbird," directly to DJ Kat Corbett of

KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The st ...

, who added it to the regular rotation on her show, "Locals Only." The debut EP was released in October 2015. Wildling is signed to Warner Bros. Records.

Discography

As ''Wildling''

Wildling EP

# Hummingbir

(YouTube) " The Song is Available o
Spotify
" 8 October 2014 (

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

) # Doesn't Really Matte

(

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming s ...

) 2015 # We Go All The Wa

) 2015 # Wolve

) 2015 # Anywhere We Ar

) 2015 # Palindrom

) 2015

Non-EP Singles

"Like You Do" ft. Grace Kell

)

(iTunes) 2014
" Heart of Gold (Neil Young song), Heart of Gold" (

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fur ...

cover

)

(iTunes) 2016

As ''No Country''

Singles
"Right Time" on MySpace, July 14, 2010
"Faithful" on MySpace, July 14, 2010

As ''Low Shoulder''

Single
"Through the Trees" on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...

, August 25, 2009

As ''Test Your Reflex''

Albums
'' The Burning Hour'' (

) April 24, 2007 - U.S. Billboard Heatseekers peak No. 46 Chart Positions

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

Compilations
MySpace Tribute to The Smashing Pumpkins, Helio Presents: The Smashing Pumpkins Tribute CD, July 2007 Videos
''Pieces of the Sun'' (

)

References

External links

Wildling page
on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...

Official No Country page
on MySpace
Official Test Your Reflex page
on MySpace {{Authority control Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical groups established in 2014 Musical groups from Ventura County, California 2014 establishments in California