There is magic echoing in the Portland wilderness. Through the city’s leaf-laden and lending-library-laced streets, over the bridge, and through the woods, lies the glow of Colin Meloy’s fantastical nature-filled fantasy novel-turned-Laika-animated-masterpiece: Wildwood. On the precipice of the film’s October 23 launch comes its musical accompaniment, the Wildwood Sessions.
Out Friday, October 16, Wildwood Sessions is not a soundtrack, but more of a world-extender and 13-track album that heavily features Portland-based musicians including Aminé, Portugal. The Man, New Constellations, Meloy’s own musical project the Decemberists, and many more. Acting as an emotional conduit, the sessions allowed artists to traverse the themes of Wildwood and interpret them in their own ways, including nature-packed music videos by artists like Portugal. The Man, Omari Jazz, and quickly, quickly.
Wildwood follows the story of character Prue McKeel as she sets off into the Impassable Wilderness to find her baby brother. The beloved city of Portland acts as a character itself, featuring a handful of local iconography like the St. Johns Bridge, the Portland, Oregon Old Town sign, and the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. Add some quippy jokes against Prue’s lackadaisical attitude towards Portland’s eccentricities, and it feels like a perfect dash of true-to-form “Keep Portland Weird,” setting the scene before landing the audience in the thick of what lives beyond the verdant vastness beyond.
It’s astounding that while each track feels perfectly tailored to live inside Laika’s faithful adaptation, the Wildwood Sessions is not a movie soundtrack. Serving to live alongside the film, artists were invited to add their own musical elements expanding the universe outside of Laika’s animated world. Portland locals Graham Jonson of quickly, quickly and Omari Jazz were roommates at the time when Laika co-executive producer Harlan Silverman asked each of them to submit to the music session. Not yet knowing the story, they were teased with a tale of mysticism, nature, and coming of age. The film plays off of Portland’s natural beauty, and Jazz took to exploring the greener side of the city: “[It] feels like we’ve been synthesizing creativity in this city, downloading the flora and fauna, and outputting that,” Jazz notes about his contribution “Nature in Me,” put together with co-performers Bocha and Donte Thomas. “To see that reflected inside of a big creative narrative definitely makes me feel a part of this mosaic; like a little part of the tapestry.”
“It’s not often that you have a project of this magnitude,” Jonson chimes in. “It’s like, the most Portland thing you could possibly do—Laika being a pillar of Portland.” Jonson’s project, quickly, quickly, has two featured tracks in the Wildwood Sessions: “That’s Enough For Me,” a tender folk anthem, and “Anyway,” a fun electronic indie jaunt. Both Jazz and Jonson have put forth a collective spirit of creative “basement-production” ingenuity, while introducing lush green imagery into the music videos released alongside them.
“It is such a massive honor for us to be included in this album of Portland-based artists,” says Harlee Case of synth-heavy dream pop outfit New Constellations. “The more we learned who was on the album, the more our excitement grew.”
While the sessions are not a soundtrack in the traditional sense, they do create a sense of the story itself. Still Woozy croons a melancholic pop call to longing in “Goldmine,” Ringdown creates tension in rising action with inspirational climb “The Hill,” and Rachel Fannan’s “Bad Influence” feels like a lull just before the Decemberists hits the grand finale, “I Want To Be Lost.” Notably, the only artist featured without a clear tie to Portland is Saya Gray, though her wistful ballad-like contribution hits home as she proclaims that “Some Days Are Made For Rain.”
Other local features include Aminé’s “Things Don’t Change,” which speaks to personal growth and supporting those around you as they change. New Constellations’ “Evergreen” is liquid smooth, liltingly serenading the night, as if to personify our protagonist’s sojourn through the dark and unending woods. Ryan Oxford’s “Rose Parade” feels like a sunny Portland day, while Three For Silver’s whimsically gloomy sea shanty, “Wildwood,” explores a sound that might live in the darker parts of the woods.
Just as Wildwood features iconic city landmarks, it is also rife with Pacific Northwest local wildlife, where coyotes, owls, and woodland creatures abound. Portugal. The Man’s “You Can Count On Me” collects footage of the remarkable roosting ritual that brings thousands of crows across Portland’s downtown. The video also includes the Follow the Crows art trail, a series of large crow sculptures hand-painted by local artists, presented by Laika for the Wildwood release in conjunction with OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Wild in Art, and other Portland affiliated organizations. Everything about Wildwood supports, uplifts, and brings together Portland’s communal spirit.
With Laika’s ambitious tour de force just around the corner, the Wildwood Sessions is the seed planted just before blossoming into a wild-wooded tree. As it offers a unique insight into Portland’s unique sonic ecosystem, these sessions serve as a reminder of what many already know about this flourishing corner of the world: there is magic in community.
OUT NOW October 16 on Laika, available on major streaming platforms