This London based four-piece have come a long way since their début record ‘Suego Faults’ came out in the summer of 2011. Not only having toured arenas with Keane, here in the UK, but they have also toured the US with heavyweights, Coldplay and more recently, Bastille. They have consecutively headlined their own successful tours, in doing so Wolf Gang have made a name for themselves as a must-see live band.
After signing to US record label, Cherry Tree Records, last year, Wolf Gang are not showing any signs of slowing down. With their career taking a major leap into the US, things can only get bigger and much more exciting from here on out. They have just finished working on their second record and are now in full on touring mode, Wolf Gang are well and truly back. We caught up with the band to discuss the journey so far, the new record and much more.
Firstly, I’d like to say thanks for this interview. What’s one thing that we should all know about Wolf Gang that we might not know about you yet?
The pleasure is all ours.
I don’t think we have much in the way of secrets as such but we currently have a body of work under our belts that we think people are going to love as much we as we do…this is our little secret that we’ll soon be telling everyone!
Your forthcoming second record has been a long time in the making and now that you’ve finished it, and it’s all ready to go, it must be a great feeling. During the writing and demoing process, you got the chance to spend some time at Jane Austen’s former house. How was that experience for you?
It was really good to get out of London & find some focus amongst the endless trees & fields…and the swimming pool, that was fun!
I’m always fascinated by song lyrics and phrases, your band is particularly good at writing the perfect lyric. So I wanted to ask, what’s your favourite lyric that you’ve written?
I love all of Max’s lyrics in ‘Ghost In My Life‘ it’s a wonderful lament to a lost love & the desire to rekindle it.
Album no. 2 is commonly typecast as the “difficult second album”. Did you find that this was true in your case and how did you find the process of working on the album?
The writing & recording of an album will always be difficult, if it becomes easy then maybe something’s been lost. That said, the process should always be enjoyed, it’s a very privileged position to be in so you absolutely have to make the most of it.
How do you feel this album moves on from Suego Faults?
It sounds like a progression, you can really decipher each of our characters from the music & themes from the lyrics, we’re all immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished on this record.
Your début album, Suego Faults, was based around the idea and concept of this magical, mythical place. Is there a theme that encompasses the tracks on your forthcoming album?
Lyrically this album encapsulates a personal evolution and the struggles that come with that process but ultimately there’s a strong positivity in it all.
Has the whole process of making this second record changed from how it was making your début LP, as obviously Max worked on the first LP mainly on his own and now with the second record the rest of the band have been there to help out and pitch in with the whole process. So I’d imagine that made a significant difference?
Yeah, as I mentioned before, all four characters shine through on this new record & this has given the album a very unique sound.
Knowing that Black River has gained such a positive response from critics and fans, and especially after you’ve taken such a long break from releasing anything new, it must be a great feeling to know that everyone’s loving your new material?
It’s an incredible feeling to have people enjoy the music you’ve spent so long creating, it’s quite a reward!
Is there a moment in the process of recording the album that stands out in your mind as being particularly memorable?
Just being afforded the opportunity to work with Flood & his team of incredible engineers in his amazing studio will always be a great memory for me, without sounding corny it was almost a dream come true.
What would you say the key influences on the new record are?
We all have such a varied list of individual influences so it’d be difficult to pinpoint any particular one. Just being in a room together, spurring each other on became a great way to eek out the best performances from one another. Shouting endlessly at Lasse proved to be an effective method of getting a thundering drum take!
You’ve supported the likes of Keane, Coldplay and Bastille. It must be great to be a part of such large touring shows, do you approach these shows any differently to your own headline tours? Do you like supporting bands?
First & foremost we love playing live which, I believe, is apparent in our performances & supporting bigger bands is definitely a great way of getting our music across to larger audiences.
We’re big supporters of new music here at Bitter Sweet Symphonies. Having said that, are there any new artists that have caught your attention recently that you’d like to share with us?
Thank you, we really appreciate the support!
Much like yourself, I’m always on the lookout for new music, a few of my current favourites are Future Islands, Fear Of Men & Teen.
You have a great relationship with your fans, is there anything that you’d like to share with them right now?
We love our fans, without them we wouldn’t have this incredible job, we can’t wait to share this new record with everyone!
—–
A special thanks to Wolf Gang for this interview and for more info on the band, check out the following links below:
