Howling

Howling is the collaboration between Australian singer/songwriter RY X and producer Frank Wiedemann of Berlin-based electronic duo Âme. Their songs feature wistful, melodic falsetto vocals over steadily building minimal techno beats, giving the pair room to improvise during their performances. Beginning the collaboration with a 2012 underground club hit that became the project’s namesake, Howling continued their success with additional singles and their acclaimed live shows, and took their time to craft albums like 2020′s Colure. They later expanded that album with a series of remix EPs.
Two years after Ry Cuming released a self-titled 2010 folk-pop full-length under his own name, he collaborated with the German producer, releasing the track “Howling,” credited to Ry & Frank Wiedemann, on Berlin label Innervisions. The song was an unexpected hit, particularly in its club-friendly Âme remix, and the duo released second single, “Shortline,” in 2013, this time billed as the Howling. A cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” appeared in 2014, and their full-length debut, Sacred Ground, was co-released by Monkeytown and Counter Records in 2015. The pair toured extensively in support of the album, and while they remained busy with other projects (Cuming as part of the Acid and his solo career as RY X, Wiedemann as half of Âme and co-running Innervisions with Dixon), they released the single “Phases” in 2017, and returned with second full-length Colure in 2020. Over the next two years, Howling expanded on the songs from their sophomore set with a series of remix EPs, the most expansive of which was 2022′s Lover (Remixes) featuring contributions from Jennifer Cardini and Kevin Di Serna among others. ~ Paul Simpson