Axel Wild
UK-based, born in Trieste, Italy, Axel Wild (Axel Drioli) turns every wildlife sound into a beat before even hitting record. His music merges electronic grooves with organic natural sounds, shaped by years of international travel through his project Sounding Wild. Sampling the rhythms of nature, he blends contemporary electronic influences with traditional sounds and percussion, crafting sets that evolve like the natural world—starting with deep, contemplative grooves and building into powerful, high-energy instrumentations, echoing the dawn chorus.
In 2013, he moved to London with a one-way ticket, chasing his dream of becoming an electronic music producer and DJ. Inspired by the French Touch sound of Daft Punk, DJ Mehdi, FKJ, and the underground UK Bass scene, he studied Sound Engineering for Music and Film, specialising in Spatial Audio design. There, his passion for field recording deepened, capturing everything from birdsong to Gibbons in the South-East Asian rainforest and the calls of Golden Jackals close to his Italian home—sounds that reconnected him to nature like never before.
His expertise led him to work as a Spatial Audio designer for the Philharmonia Orchestra and as a wildlife sound recordist and producer for BBC Springwatch and The Guardian, earning him recognition and awards. Seeking to push his creative vision further, Axel and his brother Ario—a photographer and filmmaker—set out on an ambitious expedition, following migratory bird routes through Europe and West Africa in 4x4 vehicles. They recorded rare bird calls, shared them with local communities using VR and Spatial Audio, and transformed them into new sonic experiences, launching the Wings Across Continents (2023-2024) and Sounds Across Continents (2024-2025) overlanding expeditions.
Alongside his travels, Axel has also performed at Shambala Festival 2024, where he improvised a live set with Sam Lee and the Murmuration Choir, and delivered an immersive multichannel performance at Future of Sound 2024 at Alexandra Palace with Sam Lee, pushing the boundaries of live spatial audio experiences.
During the expeditions, Axel refined his signature sound, blending nature’s raw energy with funk, house, hip-hop, and jungle. His debut EP, Wildifyed, released in 2024 under his label Sounding Wild Records, embodies this vision—where music gives back. A portion of the label’s royalties directly supports NGOs protecting wildlife and soundscapes, ensuring that the very creatures inspiring his work remain part of our world.
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