From the gently rolling plains of the American Midwest to the windswept, hilly coastlines of Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa, Sig Wilder has spent a lifetime chasing something just beyond his reach, but not beyond his sight. Now, with his band Sig Wilder & Friends, he captures the process of finding your place in the world on *Cowboy Practice*, their moody debut album.

Rooted in the traditions of folk, alt-country and ambient Americana, *Cowboy Practice* is a hard-won series of reflections on homesickness, resilience, and becoming. Born in a small town outside St. Louis, Missouri, and shaped by years spent in Austin, Melbourne and his new home, Sig’s songwriting carries the weathered grace of a handwritten journal—full of cracked memories, quiet revelations, and dust-kicked hope. Tracked between Lincoln, Nebraska and Te Whanganui-a-Tara, *Cowboy Practice* is adorned with spare slide guitar, harmonica, warm vocal harmonies, and the easy pull of a rolling rhythm section. Across songs like “Stop Myself,” “Texasman,” and “Light Tower,” Sig holds a cracked mirror to the long, slow work of making sense of who we are.

Together with Mads Taylor, Tessa Dillon and Sofia Machray, Sig Wilder & Friends have become fixtures of Wellington’s D.I.Y. music community. As Sig reflects, “*Cowboy Practice* is about becoming content with who I am. That’s how it started, and I am in no way finished on that journey. But I’m happy with the cowboy that I’ve become, regardless of any notions of how one “should” be a cowboy.” 

released August 1, 2025

Recorded at The Grid Studio in Lincoln, Nebraska and Lunchbox Studio in Wellington, New Zealand.
All songs written and produced by Matthew Campbell (Sig Wilder) and Ruby Leonard
Mixed by Philip Zach at The Grid Studio
Additional Mixing by Matthew Campbell (track 6) and Emily Wheatcroft-Snape (track 4)
All parts performed by Matthew Campbell
Additional Vocals by Mads Taylor (track 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10), Elias Davies (track 7), and Janie Shaw (track 4)
Additional Piano by Philip Daniel
Additional Bass Guitar & Drums by Philip Zach
Pre-production support from Adrianna Miranda, Ella Salome, Floyd Graham, and Zech Campbell
Music video for 'Stop Myself' by Collin Cook
Music video for 'Texasman' and 'Slow Time' by Taylor Nixon
Many thanks to Rangi Aniwaniwa, Courtney Ilton, Tasha Tziakis, Martyn Pepperell, Jake Ingram, Mary Catherine Cook, Tessa Dillon, Sofia Machray, and Barney Johnson
Album cover photo by Ruby Leonard
Mastered by Joshua Llewellyn at Downbeat Mastering in Auckland, New Zealand
Support from Home Alone Records

Cowboy Practice

Back Road

Birmingham, Al

Cool Down

Light Tower

Slow Time

Stop Myself

Sylvia

Texasman

Wind Up City