Naethan Apollo
Meet Naethan Apollo, a storyteller and world-builder on the verge of something legendary. With
over 1.4 million followers on TikTok, 250K+ on Instagram, and over half a million monthly
listeners on Spotify, Naethan Apollo is already a total phenomenon, building his realm one fan at
a time. But with an upcoming headline tour and the announcement of his most ambitious
release yet, he's inviting listeners to dive even deeper into his fantasy-rich universe.
Out on July 25, Tales From Cazilor: Wyldflowers is part concept record, part DIY musical, and
part animated series in-the-making. It's like nothing you'll hear this year, or maybe ever––think
Hobo Johnson meets Dungeons & Dragons, or EPIC: The Musical meets Gorillaz. At its core
lies a story about underdogs, outsiders, and a found family of “cranks” who find strength in
failure and chaos.
“Wyldflowers don’t get to choose where they grow,” Naethan says on the title track. That line
speaks to what this album is all about––the wyldflowers that society tosses aside; the misfits
who somehow find a way to bloom.
Raised in a rural town called Solon, Iowa, and later shaped by basement shows while attending
Iowa State for graphic design, Naethan Apollo creates a sort of DIY mytho-music where
everything is canon and the songs serve a bigger-picture narrative arc, not just algorithmic
playlists. Each scene on Wyldflowers is voiced by Apollo's real-life friends and fiancee, and ties
into lore that fans can later dig into across social media, music videos, and live shows, too.
He started making music about a decade ago, but that infectious determination to chase his
dream really took off when he lost a close friend and musical mentor, Praeditus. The "ae" in
Naethan is there to honor him, as they always promised one another they'd make it together. A
fan of Greek mythology, he chose the last name "Apollo" because it's the god of music, but it
also serves as a continued commitment to his vow to Praeditus––that now, he’s going to
succeed for them both.
That relentless drive shines through on the album’s first single, "Loser,” a braggadocious rap
song about being the best. It also dives into the mind of one of the main characters––Arthur
Kroane, a high-achiever whose cockiness masks deep trauma and insecurity with his place in
the world. It's an ego-fueled banger, strangely relatable, and yet it's just one moment on a
sprawling record that finds every song tied to a cinematic companion.
Throughout, we follow a squad of rejects, including our protagonist Apollo, as they train for an
impossible fight in a brutal fantasy realm called, The Wyld. Failure is expected, but isn't that also
when we find out what we're really made of? Across eight fully-scripted scenes and their
accompanying tracks, Naethan Apollo tells an epic story about resilience and finding the power
in being who you are.
But Wyldflowers isn’t just a nerdy side quest. It’s a bold and wildly entertaining album that
delivers tracks that go as hard as anything in the alternative scene today. Standouts like “Run
Away,” “Go! Go! Go!” and the title track showcases Apollo’s knack for humor and high-stakes,
singalong hooks. He weaves rap, folk, rock, and spoken-word to create something entirely his
own
