AT A GLANCE
So, as Marion and Ashley build on every indie artist's dream, the music will come.
There’s a 1989 film called “Field Of Dreams” where the main character, a farmer named Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), against better judgement, built a Baseball field where his cornfield used to be. Despite being mocked, Ray went and built the damn thing. It's hard not to when you have a voice whispering, ‘if you build it, he will come’ in your head like Ray did.
It's kind of like the same thing with Wild Dream Records. But instead of a bodiless voice whispering instructions, sisters Marion and Ashley Aunor only hear the music.
“The goal is to create a label by dreamers, for dreamers,” said Marion. “I was once an aspiring singer-songwriter too, so I wanted to help other dreamers like me pursue their music passions.” Marion also added that as a music label, “Wild Dream Records takes on a lot of genres from alt-pop, alternative rock to rap.” Still, the binding element in their creative weave is that “together, we’re all aspiring singer-songwriters.”
Since 2021, Wild Dream Records has been building a menage of creatives, starting with Matt Wilson, solo act Minimal Days, and rapper Pecado. All three write their material and are quite successful at it, too. Matt Wilson, for one, already has a hit with sparkly “Alitaptap.” Ditto with Minimal Days, whose dreamy “11,100 Days” became an oft-used soundtrack on socials by Gen-Z
And that was just the start. WDR has since added Baguio-based band Preza (Spanish for Strawberry) to the roster and whose brand of retropop-hued debut single “Saksi” is certainly compelling. As WDR’s first female act, Bianca Denise is doing Marion Aunor proud with her sweet and soothing acoustic ballad sound in her own debut titled “Ihahatid.” And then there’s up-and-coming band Midnight Talking, which has a mix of funk and pop that promises to be electric this early.
A&R head and music producer Ashley (a.k.a. Cool Cat Ash) is all about believing in their artist’s talents. She also has an admirable philosophy in taking on acts. “They always say, just go for the artist with numbers, but actually, we’re here for ‘yung may puso din.’” And as per Ashley, Wild Dream is about finding the artist’s goal and purpose. “What are they about? Where’s the ‘why’ in their music, and will it align with our ‘why’ as a label?” It starts with that. Instead of saying, "Here's our product, we’re offering you why there’s a purpose to what we’re doing.”
Ultimately, co-founders Marion and Ashley Aunor and Wild Dream Records are signing up “passionate individuals with a story to share with the world.” So far, both have proven that their ears are as keen as their eyes when scoping out these singer-songwriters whose music resonates with people. And as active music acts, Marion and Ashley bring real-world experience to the table for their artist’s benefit.
“Many indie artists now can just put out a song, but what we provide is guidance in all respects: songwriting, branding and packaging,” Marion said. Those and all other intangibles would only serve to advance Wild Dream artists. And what artist wouldn’t say yes to acquiring some of Marion and Ashley’s Berkeley College-acquired training to benefit their own music journey?
So, as Marion and Ashley build on every indie artist's dream, the music will come.
How wild is that?
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