Music > Interviews

Wolf Alice

29/01/16

Gigs have always been a place of discovery. New dance moves, new friends, but most importantly new music. It was at one of my very first gigs where I discovered Wolf Alice- an awe-inspiring four piece that sparked the love for music that I have today. After listening intently to their gorgeously crafted EP's and various oddball singles, my musical heart swelled at just how much I adored everything about them. Glittery, gritty, ballsy, fun…this Camden-ites not only created tracks that left me singing my lungs out, but have inadvertently helped me form some absolutely wonderful friendships.

Wolf Alice fans are like a little family, and having the pleasure of travelling all over the country to meet people who love this band as much as I do is such a wonderful feeling. Not only are the fans quite amazing, the band members are also the kindest people I have ever met. You always worry that meeting your idols won't meet up to expectations, but with Wolf Alice that most definitely isn't true. Taking time to talk to as many people as possible, the band actively engage with their little community of dedicated souls- tweeting, messaging and conversing happily with the people that respect them.

After relentless Megabus journeys, thousands of miles slogging between Manchester, London and Norwich, hours of queuing to be right on the barrier, I wouldn't trade in any of the time I've spent on Wolf Alice. And in the future when I look fondly back on my gigging years, Wolf Alice will hold the biggest and fondest place in my heart.

 I had the chance to catch up with the wonderful Ellie before their upcoming UK tour; here's what's instore for Wolf Alice before their return to Norwich this March.

Congratulations on being nominated for Best British Breakthrough Act at the Brits and nominated for a Grammy with Moaning Lisa Smile! How do you feel about the massive amount of recognition you’ve received lately and how far you guys have come since the beginning of the band?

Oh god! I feel very flattered by any accolade, or recognition or nod or whatever. Yeah, I think we’ve come very far in a lot of respects.

Coming back to your Camden roots, what are the origins of Wolf Alice and how did you form the group?

We were all doing different musical ventures. Theo and Joel were playing guitar in a couple of different bands and me and Joff were playing at open mic sessions in North London. We had a mutual friend who brought us all together and we realised we all wanted to do the same thing so we decided to do it together. From there we just kept playing loads of shows in London and eventually played around the country.

After various singles and two EP’s, finally your album My Love Is Cool was released last June. What was it like to have your debut completed and hold it in your hands?

It was amazing, a huge relief as the release date kept being pushed back. So when it did get released we were like “Finally!” It felt cementing and satisfying, regardless of how people received it, to have something out there.

On the next tour in March you’re coming back to headline Norwich for the first time since 2013. What was the crowd and atmosphere like then at Norwich Arts Centre?

Yeah I do remember it actually and it was a great response considering we pretty unknown and were probably really shit! There weren’t that many people there but I remember there were enough to make it fun and we played with God Damn which was funny. I remember a girl gave me a little felt Sylvanian Family figure which I kept in my pedal board for a long time. It’s sadly gone now!

You were also in Norwich back in February 2014 supporting The 1975, during which gig your equipment went a bit haywire and you finished by saying “Thank you, you were great, we were shit”. How was this gig for you and do you think playing the LCR will be different this time?

I hope it’ll be different! Hopefully we’ve got our shit together now and won’t keep breaking stuff every two minutes. That gig was really fun; if anything it made it a little bit more memorable for the crowd. I remember the crowd were really nice about it so it was fine.

Have you been working on any new material to play in March or will it be mainly My Love Is Cool tracks?

We’re always trying to write new stuff. Recently we’ve had a bit of time off, gone to the rehearsal room and messed about with some new stuff. So yeah, I would like to play some new songs but it would be very early stages demos. So people shouldn’t take it too seriously!

I hear you’re taking Slaves on tour with you to North America. Can you reveal anything about the support for your Norwich date at this point?

Nothing’s confirmed but people will really like it!

You’re playing lots of festivals this coming summer; you’re on the bill for Coachella, Shakey Knees Fest and Sasquatch already. Who would your dream headliners at a festival be and where would you hold it?

I’d love to see a festival on Brighton beach; that would be pretty cool. I’d have Nick Cave ‘cos he lives in Brighton. He can headline with the guests of his choice. I’d have maybe Miley Cyrus one day, and Oasis as Miley Cyrus’ backing band. 

As a band you have toured with various artists, from The Magic Gang to your most recent tour with Drenge and Made Violent. Who has been the most fun to tour with?

We’ve been lucky in that we’ve always toured, for the most part, with kind and fun bands so it’s a difficult question. I really enjoyed touring with Drenge because their new album was one of my favourite 2015 releases, so it was fun to watch that every night. Made Violent are the most fun, excitable and lovely group of boys so that was a really good tour.

Your musical skills don’t stop with creating music, as last month you did a little DJ set in Leeds. What would you say is your ultimate party tune to get everyone dancing?

Ha ha! That’s a hard one. The only thing that’s coming into my head is Wonderwall by Oasis because it’s all that Theo plays!  

You always seem to have a lot of fun in your music videos, from the new psychedelic drug infused Freazy to destroying TV’s and singing with cats in Fluffy. Which has been the most fun to make?

I think it was Fluffy. It was our first music video, we’d never made one before and we did it on a zero budget so it was quite hard, but I think it was the moment when I realised we were all kind of similar in our approach. We were taking the piss out of ourselves but in a serious way, which is a weird balance. It was funny..I think if we’d made a video about the making of that video it would have been the best thing in the world but unfortunately we didn’t.

Yeah, I think it shows in that video that you’re an excitable and happy band, and that vibe comes off at gigs too, that you just really enjoy what you do. Of all the gigs you’ve played so far, which has been the most memorable?

Playing at The Monarch was good cos it was small and crazy. I’ve had loads..I love playing Brixton and Manchester’s Albert Hall. We played this 200 capacity venue in San Francisco on the final night of the tour with Drenge and Made Violent. Everyone just went crazy, it was really fun, a good example of how bands can bounce off each other. We’ve played tiny shows which have been great..I don’t think I have one favourite gig though.

Finally I just wanted to mention the support your lovely fans give you. I know your fanbase is devoted to you, and almost seem like a little family, some travelling miles on Megabuses to see you and making friends with fellow Wolf Alice fans along the way. Did you ever think you would receive such vast and dedicated support?

No, definitely not. I think that’s what I’ve been most surprised about, I never thought of that. It’s really amazing and makes everything good!

Wolf Alice play UEA on 11th March. This gig is sold out.