ABOUT
Les Ailes is the indie music project of singer/songwriter Rylie DeGarmo, synthesizing her early jazz melodic influences with a folk honesty derived from formative years spent writing songs in the american south. After cowriting and releasing an EP with her musician father in their hometown of Seattle (The Rue, 2015), DeGarmo spent much of her twenties sojourning across the southern united states developing her own writing style characterized by textural rhythm guitar in unique tunings and a clear, distinctive voice that pulls at the heart strings, waxing nostalgic. She independently released a debut full-length record as Les Ailes (Tennessee, 2021), produced by mentor and collaborator Mike McCarthy (Carson McHone, Spoon). Following several singles and an EP, 2024 saw the release of how to greet a praying mantis, made with UK producer Julie McLarnon (Lankum, New Order) and friends at a residential analog recording studio nestled in the foothills of the Mourne Mountains, in Northern Ireland. This collection of songs emerges out of a period of ongoing shadow work. It feels like an apology and an outcry at once: baring anger, sadness, and newfound self-love.
"'Loaded with the kind of liquid chord changes that make all distractions turn to dust, Portland based artist Les Ailes (Rylie DeGarmo) creates subtle jazz-infused folk soundscapes in which less is always more, and where every melodic twist and turn hits with devastating clarity."
"DeGarmo’s vocals often register as detached but yearning; always front and center spinning a tale of something unrequited and unfulfilled...the record is highly effective at reaching down and really stirring an emotional response of longing."
- We Own This Town, Nashville, TN
