Yngve

Yngve is the nom de plume of singer/songwriter Yngve Wieland. Born in Germany but raised in Ireland, Wieland received his musical education during weekly music sessions at his parents' house in Sligo, where he was exposed to American folk, blues, and country music as well as the boom era of rock & roll. In the world of contemporary Americana, he found kindred spirits in the likes of Wilco, Bright Eyes, and Rilo Kiley, and the female voice has henceforth played a strong role in his music, both in terms of support vocals and the duets featured on his debut record, Tell Men This.

Yngve Wieland was born in Kirchheimbolanden, Germany, and moved as a child to Sligo, in the rural west of Ireland. Wieland's interest in music began with those early sessions, but he began to forge his own path once he started taking guitar lessons and was exposed to great fingerpicking bluesmen such as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Boy Fuller, and Robert Johnson. He developed his palette from there, becoming familiar with musicians who had been similarly influenced and beginning to write his own original songs. Initially a solo artist, he moved to Dublin and released his first EP of original music, Four Weeks, on his own Posttone Records label in 2004.

Later, Wieland began to experiment with a full band, and was involved in founding an experimental arts group called the Space to Be Yourself Collective, which would form the basis for his touring and recording band. The first incarnation of the group disbanded shortly before Yngve was offered the opportunity to put together his first album, and a new revolving lineup was assembled that totaled 16 members in all: it featured singers Bennie Reilly and Michelle Considine (both of Dublin band little xs for eyes) as well as drummer Finn Murray and bassist Paul Diamond, who had contributed to the group's first lineup.

Throughout 2007 and 2008 Yngve recorded, produced, and mixed his debut album, entitled Tell Men This. It was released in Ireland in October of the following year. After the release of Tell Men This, Yngve relocated to London and assembled a third band, featuring his brother Demien Wieland on drums, Finnish bassist Pálmi Gunnlaugur Hjaltason, and keyboardist Ned Cartwright. The new band released a final single and EP, Have You No Love, under the Yngve name in July 2009 before rebranding as Yngve & the Innocent for subsequent releases.