Luke Wyland is an American interdisciplinary artist, composer, performer, and arts organizer who achieved international success as the multi-instrumentalist, singer and founder of the art-pop band AU (2005-2013). He has toured extensively throughout North America and Europe and has released records on New Amsterdam Records (US), Beacon Sound (US), The Leaf Label (EU), Aagoo (US), Hometapes (US), Crammed Discs (EU), Inpartmaint (Japan), and Pop Frenzy (Australia), amongst others.
His current project, Methods Body, is a collaboration with virtuosic drummer John Niekrasz. Their debut album is out now on New Amsterdam Records and Beacon Sound. methodsbody.bandcamp.com
As a stutterer, Wyland’s approach to music is informed by his idiosyncratic relationship with language. The cadences of broken speech and use of technology as an aid in communication are fundamental to his musical vocabulary. Working with bespoke tuning systems and time manipulation technologies, he highlights his relationship to communication through novel sounds and rhythms.
In 2016, Wyland was commissioned to compose for and perform with the 155 singers of the Camas High School Choir program for a run of shows throughout the northwest US, including at PICA's Time Based Arts Festival.
He has also been composing music for modern dance for the past 15 years, most notably with choreographer Tahni Holt (Duet Love and Sensation/Disorientation - which was recently re-staged for Spotlight: USA - A Platform of American Dance in Bulgaria). Holt, Wyland and choreographer, Suniti Dernovsek, also run a weekly somatic dance classed called It’s a Fucking Miracle.
Luke owns and operates a studio where he has brought his unique voice as a composer to works for film and commercials, including spots for Subaru, Coca-Cola, Kia, Gatorade, Stouffers, and American Airlines, to name a few.
His original scores can be found in such documentaries as 101 Seconds, and TELOS: The Fantastic World of Eugene Tssui.
He is also an arts advocate and organizer working in collaboration with Young Audiences of Oregon and SW Washington and Ethan Chessin on the 'Business of Music' curriculum that connects composers, promoters, record labels, venues, and designers with local schools to educate students on the numerous opportunities and careers within the music world.