London based singer/songwriter Alexander Wolfe returns with new single ‘Fixed For Today’, set for release on October 14th via Dharma Records. With 3 critically acclaimed albums to his name – 2009s Morning Brings A Flood, 2012s Skeletons, and 2014s From The Shallows – he’s gearing up to the 2017 release of what looks set to be his breakthrough fourth album.
Marrying influences of folk and Americana with a subtly deployed but devilishly effective horn section, ‘Fixed For Today’ is an exhilarating return from the south-Londoner.
In this interview feature, we chat with Alexander about influences, being a musician in the digital era and more.
Q&A along with links and streams below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre)
I’m from the UK. South London to be precise. I suppose I’m a singer songwriter… I don’t really know what that means anymore. But yeah, I do write songs and I do sing them.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
Music is just more exciting than anything else isn’t it. What’s more exciting when you’re 12 than hearing Jimi Hendrix for the first time?
What motivates me to stay the course?…
Just the inability to anything else, I’m in too deep.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
Being a human, trying to live in a world that doesn’t always make sense. That’s a constant source of inspiration. Musically my Influences change all the time, at the moment, Elliott smith, Kendrick Lamar, Joni Mitchell, Frank Ocean… I take a lot of inspiration from films, I watched a German film called ‘The Lives of Others’ the other day which moved me to write a song… Anybody who’s got the guts to express something real and is brave enough to stand by it.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
The new single, Fixed For Today, is the most poppy, upbeat track I’ve released for sure. All through 2015 I was stuck in a bad situation with a record label. It was a difficult time & I felt like there was no way out. Fixed For Today was the first song I wrote when I was released from the deal, it’s about taking the rough with the smooth.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
That’s an interesting question because on one hand the Internet has obviously made it easier to get your music out there for everyone, and that’s got to be good on one level. But the flip side is that it’s now more difficult to stand out because anyone can release music, so finding good underground music is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Which means that the major labels have free riegn free to do what they want with the mainstream. Which is why we’ve ended up with The Chainsmokers and David Guetta everywhere, which is like some distopian nightmare.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
I’m very romantically attached to vinyl, I love the big artwork and the ritual of putting the needle on the record. But I also like streaming, I listen to Spotify all the time, it’s massively convenient and it does what you want it to. That said, It would be nice if they found it in their cold hearts to pay the artists properly.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
You can indeed, I’m on all the different things. I talk inane bullshit on Twitter @alexanderwolfe, I take pictures of my dog on Instagram @alexanderwolfegram, and occasionally post the odd sentence on Facebook.com/alexanderwolfemusic
Anything else before we sign off?
This is an American magazine right? If you’re reading this please go out and vote for Hillary. Don’t let that racist lizard get his big hateful finger on the button.
https://soundcloud.com/alexanderwolfemusic/the-mirror-and-the-moon-the-mock-turtles-lament-from-alices-adventures-underground
