Patrick Wolf
Patrick Wolf is a 23 year old from South London. If only it were that simple.
But no, when you’re a kid in your early teens rummaging around car boot sales for keyboards, old tape recorders and components so you can build your own Theremin, you know that there’s something a bit insane in the membrane going on.
At age 14, Patrick was a member of arty pop types Minty, but was already picked out as a promising solo proposition by the people at Fat Cat records, who would donate an Atari computer and a mixing desk to the boy Wolf to aid his creative endeavours. They became part of a collection of musical equipment that also includes a harp, clavinet, harpsichord, guitar, piano, autoharp, kantele, organ, mountain dulcimer, clavichord, harmonium, accordion, ukulele, viola and violin, amongst probably thousands of other curious devices.
Two years later, Wolf had left home. Acting on the advice of his career advisor (maybe), he made money busking in a string quartet and performing with the ‘noisy and rude white noise and pop music’ group Maison Crimineaux. It was at a Paris gig with the band that Capitol K would pick up on Patrick, eventually becoming the driving force behind the release of ‘Lycanthropy’, the boy’s first full length solo album, when he was 19 years old.
In between studying music composition at Trinity College, touring with Bloc Party and playing viola live for the likes of Chicks on Speed and The Hidden Cameras, Patrick recorded his second album, ‘Wind in the Wires’, released via Tomlab in 2005. It would be his final record before signing a deal proper, with Loog records, towards the end of 2005.
Winter of that year was spent in London and Vienna recording his third, and greatest record to date, ‘The Magic Position’. Prince style, the rapturously received record was written, produced, arranged and performed largely all by Wolf himself, and features guest contributions from Marianne Faithfull, Edward Larrikin, and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra - the posh git.
PATRICK WOLF OFFICIAL: Name me another artist whose site includes a ‘treasure chest’. Go on.
PATRICK WOLF MYSPACE: A dull, grey expanse of a background, made up for by the inclusion of three very colourful songs, and pictures of Paddy frolicking in a fairground.
PATRICK WOLF LYRICS: He’s a way with a word, this fella. Here, you can find out exactly what he blabbers on about over the course of his three albums to date.
LOOG RECORDS: Now Patrick’s long term home, this flashy, smooth site will introduce you to other Loog artists like The Horrors, The Bravery and Duke Garwood.
THE MAGIC POSITION: Music critics have been clambering all over each other to think of new ways to describe how special they thought this was. Here’s our attempt.
LIVE, STOKE SUGARMILL: Stellar set on the supporting tour for the above, current LP.
BLUEBELLS: “An irony-free baroque extravaganza; all grandiose piano chords and gothic-tinged lyrics about a ‘love coming too late’ and ‘the darker days taking hold at last.” – we loved it.
ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY VID: A typically atypical video for one of the highlights from ‘The Magic Position’.
AND - THE SCARIEST THING YOU WILL EVER SEE,: basically.
THE MAGIC POSITION VID:
TRISTAN VID:
BLUEBELLS VID:
THE LIBERTINE VID: