Chelsea Wolfe

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Chelsea Wolfe

Wolfe performing at Desert Daze music festival in Mecca, California; April 2013
Background information
Born (1983-11-15) November 15, 1983
Origin Sacramento, California, U.S.
Genres Folk, neofolk, experimental, gothic rock, ethereal wave
Occupations Singer-songwriter, producer, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active 2006–present
Labels Pendu Sound Recordings, Sargent House
Website www.chelseawolfe.net
Notable instruments
Taylor Guitars 716ce[1]

Chelsea Wolfe is an American singer-songwriter from Sacramento, California, currently based in Los Angeles.[2] She is known for her "specific brand of drone-metal-art-folk",[3] characterized by experimental guitar playing, hazy vocals, and surreal soundscapes.

Wolfe debuted with her album The Grime and The Glow (2010),[4] released on an independent label, Pendu Sound Recording, followed by Apokalypsis (2011), which gained her recognition from indie critics as well as an underground following.[5] In 2012, Wolfe released Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs (2012),[6] which featured a more folk-oriented sound as opposed to her earlier work, which had been heavily centered on droning guitars and distortion.

On June 3, 2013, Pain Is Beauty, was announced as Wolfe's fourth studio album, set to be released September 3.[7] An album trailer was released alongside this announcement,[8] as well as a North American headlining tour in the fall. A song in that album called Feral Love was featured in a trailer of the fourth season of Game of Thrones.

Early life

Chelsea Wolfe grew up in Sacramento, California. Her father was in a country band[9] and had a home studio, where by the age of nine, she wrote and recorded songs which she describes as, "basically Casio-based gothy R&B songs." [10]

Career

In 2006, Wolfe composed an album, titled Mistake in Parting, which she called "embarrassingly bad".[11] The album went unreleased, and Wolfe took a hiatus from writing music for several years.[11] Wolfe debuted her first two albums, The Grime and The Glow (2010) and Apokalypsis (2011) on Pendu Sound Recordings, a New York-based independent music label. Apokalypsis garnered Wolfe critical acclaim, receiving favorable reviews in Pitchfork[12] and CMJ.[13] Wolfe has said she composed her first two albums on her mother's classical guitar, which was missing a tuning peg; as a result, the strings had to be tuned down, which was a stylistic element carried on to the studio recordings.[14]

Wolfe toured extensively in North America and Europe to support both albums, and suffered from extreme stage fright, which she was able to overcome; when she initially began performing live, Wolfe would wear a black veil over her face.[11] In 2012, Wolfe signed with Sargent House Records to release her third album.[15] Wolfe's third album, Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs was released on October 16, 2012,[16] and was stylistically varied from her previous two albums, which were based around electric guitar. The acoustic album "contains 'once-orphaned' songs",[17] according to Wolfe. On July 28, 2012, the first single, "The Way We Used To," was revealed on NPR.[17] On September 20, the second single, "Appalachia," was revealed on The Fader.[18]

Wolfe's fourth studio album, Pain Is Beauty, was released in September 2013, with a North American tour to support the album. Wolfe also contributed guest vocals to the American post-metal band Russian Circles' fifth studio album Memorial released in October 2013. Russian Circles and Chelsea Wolfe toured Europe together in late 2013.[19][20]

Musical style and influences

Wolfe has cited an array of artists and specific genres as influences, including black metal and Scandinavian folk music, but has said: "I do have a hard time sticking to one genre, and honestly I prefer it that way. I'd rather be free to experiment and make the kind of art I want to make than be easy to define."[21] Various critics have noted elements of doom, drone, black metal, gothic rock, folk and dark ambient in her music.[21]

In regards to her vocals, Wolfe has said: "I think deep down I wish I had one of those really gritty voices like Kurt Cobain, so maybe I'm making up for it with distorted guitars."[14]

Wolfe has also cited the visual elements of filmmaker Ingmar Bergman and photographer Nan Goldin as influences on her.[14]

Discography

Studio albums

EPs and compilations

Live albums

Band members

  • Chelsea Wolfe – vocals, guitar
  • Ben Chisholm – synth, bass[27]
  • Kevin Dockter – lead guitar
  • Dylan Fujioka - drums

Music videos

Year Song Director
2009 "Gold" Brandon Schilling
"The Whys" Jason Rudy
2011 "Mer" Zev Deans
"Sunstorm" Sean Stout
2013 "Flatlands" Charlene Bagcal

References

  1. ↑ "Chelsea Wolfe on Taylor Guitars". Retrieved 27 January 2014. 
  2. ↑ Emily Savage (2011-07-20). "The Grime and The Glow: Doom Folk Liturgy, SF Weekly. 20 July 2011". Sfweekly.com. Retrieved 2012-02-07. 
  3. ↑ "BAND CRUSH: CHELSEA WOLFE". Nylonmag.com. 2011-11-07. 
  4. ↑ "The Grime & The Glow - Chelsea Wolfe". Chelsea Wolfe. 2010-12-28. 
  5. ↑ "Ἀποκάλυψις (Apokalypsis/Apocalypse) - Chelsea Wolfe". Chelsea Wolfe. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2012-02-07. 
  6. ↑ "Unknown Rooms on bandcamp". chelseawolfe.bandcamp.com. 2012-10-16. 
  7. ↑ "Pain Is Beauty announcement on Wolfe's official Tumblr". 2013-06-03. 
  8. ↑ "Pain is Beauty album trailer". 2013-06-03. 
  9. ↑ "Video interview with "Indie-eye network"". indie-eye.it/recensore. 
  10. ↑ "Interview with "The Writing Disorder"". thewritingdisorder.com. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 "Interviews: Chelsea Wolfe". Subbacultcha: 19–22. April 2012. Retrieved 2013-06-19. 
  12. ↑ Raposa, David (2011-10-20). "Chelsea Wolfe: Apokalypsis". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2013-06-19. 
  13. ↑ Patpatia, Sasha (2011-08-25). "Chelsea Wolfe: Apokalypsis". CMJ. Retrieved 2013-06-19. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Campbell, Karyn. "Q+A with Chelsea Wolfe (Issue No. 5)". Retrieved 2013-06-20. 
  15. ↑ "Chelsea Wolfe moves to Sargent House". chelseawolfe.net. 2012-02-27. 
  16. ↑ "Tracks". pitchfork.com. 2012-09-20. 
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Song Premiere: Chelsea Wolfe, "The Way We Used To" : All Songs Considered Blog : NPR". NPR.com. 2012-07-28. 
  18. ↑ "Stream: Chelsea Wolfe, "Appalachia"  : MP3/STREAMS : THE FADER". thefader.com. 2012-07-28. 
  19. ↑ Adams, Gregory (August 8, 2013). "Russian Circles Unveil 'Memorial,' Premiere New Track". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 14, 2013. 
  20. ↑ Blistein, Jon (September 13, 2013). "Russian Circles Brood on Meditative 'Memorial' – Song Premiere". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved September 14, 2013. 
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 Crowe, Jessica (2013-03-26). "Love Is What Remains: An Interview with Chelsea Wolfe". The Quietus. Retrieved 2013-06-20. 
  22. ↑ "Chelsea Wolfe – The Grime And The Glow". Pendusound.com. 2010-12-28. Retrieved 2012-09-26. 
  23. ↑ "PSR-0045: Chelsea Wolfe (Apokalypsis)". Pendusound.com. 2011-08-23. Retrieved 2012-09-26. 
  24. ↑ "Pre-Orders for Chelsea Wolfe's Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs - Vinyl & CD's Up Now". sargenthouse.tumblr.com. 2012-08-07. 
  25. ↑ "Chelsea Wolfe - Prayer For The Unborn [Vinyl]". shop.southern.com. 2012-09-24. Retrieved 2012-09-26. 
  26. ↑ "CHELSEA WOLFE Live at Roadburn LP pre-sale started. Artwork revealed!". roadburnrecords.com. 2012-08-15. 
  27. ↑ "Chelsea Wolfe". facebook.com. 2012-08-26. 

External links

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