This week The Music Slut got the distinct honor to interview one of our favorite troubadours, the incredibly talented, Patrick Wolf. The full transcript from our Q&A with the 'boy who likes to sing, make love and ride on waterslides' is below. Enjoy!1. Many online forums and message board topics have been dedicated to your choice of hair color/style/cut. For all curious, can you set the record straight on which 'do is your favorite, if you have one, and why?
I guess it would have to be the one I want next, that’s the point, to keep changing with my spirit and desire, with each song and season. I am going Elizabethan next. Being a werewolf, hair is a very metaphorical and emotional issue, when I am hairy, I am closest to nature and my creative, when I am hairless I am just Patrick again, a boy who likes to sing, make love, ride on waterslides and roller coasters.
2. The three contributors on this site are all around the same age as you so we remember quite vividly when electroclash made its first splash in our late teens (as well as its second, third and fourth resurgence). I was wondering if any of that movement affected your earlier work and if it still does today.
It was quite interesting in London but not something I really felt a part of. I had been involved and created within a group of many amazing and progressive electronic musicians up until the point electroclash arrived in my town and the beats were a little bit too 80’s or basic for me. Then the visual aspect I felt wasn’t emotional enough, I would like to challenge the perception that electronic music should be made [by] machines or music for people with robotic hearts.
3. Some of our favorite artists on The Music Slut include Radiohead, Belle & Sebastian, Mew, Morrissey, Sons & Daughters, Queen, and most recently, Klaxons. If you were to collaborate with any of the aforementioned artists, whom would you choose and what cover would the two of you tackle?
I think it would be the Klaxons, I listened to their album on the way over from England to New York on the airplane sound system… and really appreciate their duty to fantasy, the lyrics are probably more my spirit than Morrissey. Although I am fascinated by Morrissey, I’m not sure that taking on one of his songs would be that creative, a bit like taking on Elvis or Madonna.
4. Your last show in Brooklyn at Studio B (which we attended and adored) got a rave review in the NY Times. Your fan base seems to run the gamut from bloggers to journalists to indie kids to underaged Livejournal girls. Does one particular group's praise affect you more than another? In other words, would you rather see a glowing review in Uncut or your name mentioned amongst a teenager's list of favorite artists on their MySpace page?
Of course, it would be a Myspace page. I have never created to be adored or for a five star review anywhere. It’s encouraging to know the media is supportive of your work, but the most exciting and rewarding moments that have happened to me come from realizing my music has touched or changed peoples lives. To inspire someone is my biggest thrill. The good thing about a good review is that it helps people become aware of your creation and the good thing about a bad review is that it normally makes me laugh.
5. What's on your current playlist?
Nights at The Circus – Bishi
Earth Intruders – Bjork
Symphonie Fantastique – Berlioz
In the Sun – Blondie
6. Touring with The Arcade Fire - exhilarating or nerve-racking?
I had played the same sized venues before with Bloc Party and had played Brixton Academy as a 15 year old at a big transvestite festival with a group I was in called Toilet with Lady Bunny and Stella Stein. So the tour felt like a natural progression. I find when I am supporting, I give myself half an hour to put a usual hour and half of stage energy into. So I tend to end up getting over excited and by the final show, I had torn about three stomach muscles and slapped my legs so hard during my darker songs that my legs were black with bruises. It was great fun, I got to see so many of my favourite places in the U.K and ended up in Dublin with my cousins drinking hard Irish liquor and ending up on a random kiss-a-stranger rampage through its nightlife. It’s nice to do shows and spend nights where you wake up with a smile on your face and a headache in the morning.
7. Have you begun to think about the follow-up to 'The Magic Position'? If so, is it leaning towards the dark side or is it on a similar pop-esque wavelength akin to the bulk of 'TMP'?
I think I am going to be going back to my roots as a boy that writes all his beats on Atari ST computers, sampled the most extreme noises he could find and write with out any manners or needs to impress. I’m going to go back to being a dirty boy again.
8. Thanks for taking the time to chat with us. Any advice to our slutloyals out there in search of a spring fling?
For boys and girls, wear knee length socks, wear hot pants, don’t be scared of red gingham, please avoid miming to Kelly Clarkson when about to take your new sexy home from the disco. Avoid glowsticks at all costs. Try not to drink 12 White Russians before doing a video interview for online magazines. Be ginger and impolite. Prepare to get your heartbroken. Enjoy the spring!
MP3: Patrick Wolf - A Boy Like Me
The Magic Position gets its US release this Tuesday, May 1st. To check out previous '8 Questions With' features (including The Walkmen, Mew, Joan As Police Woman & Ash), click here.
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