Wolf Gang : Interview

Max McElligott’s tentative venture into the UK music industry was fairly accidental until recent months.  Actually this self-taught, bedroom demo enthusiast was pursuing alternative climbs studying at the London School of Economics when the industry came a knocking.   The glamour of London provided the means to awake the dormant musical alter-ego that lurked within McElligott and with that Wolf Gang was born, with a desire to emulate the classic artists of yesteryear and reject the prevalent throw away nature of the music of many of his contemporaries.  So influenced by heritage records and the pomp and ceremony that once upon a time created musical icons like Bowie, Byrne and Eno, Wolf Gang set about bringing together his love of opulent sounds, grandiose melodies and a pure, melodic rock energy and has done it relatively under the radar up until now.

Initially picked up by Neon Gold, (the label that garnered possibly more attention than the artists on it this year) for debut single ‘Pieces of You’, Wolf Gang became a popstar in waiting, as he quietly built up his reputation for being something of a GarageBand whiz kid.  But it’s new single ‘The King and All of His Men’ that has the potential to echo within the consciousnesses of a much wider audience.

'The King and All of His Men’ is a flamboyant beast of a track, positively reveling in its huge chorus, whirling synths and the dominant beats that encapsulate the eccentric storytelling themes encased within the lyrics.  Its accompanying video is surreal by nature littered with opulence and a cast made up of a dancing chess set; its effect perfectly illustrates the unconventional yet pop-esque characteristics that Wolf Gang evokes.  But do not be lulled into a false sense of popular music security, as the maestro himself refuses to be quelled by genre boundaries.  As Wolf Gang he is working towards a debut album bursting with different sounds, instrumentation and production, which he himself hopes will re-establish the legacy of admired records of the past, where every song counts and its vision exposed.  

We caught up with Max during a busy day in his promo schedule before he hit the stage as part of the Levi’s OnesToWatch showcase revue alongside Marina & The Diamonds and Clock Opera. 

4TR: Max, your foray into music was more unconventional than most because you were never originally pursuing a career in music, choosing to study at LSE when you started to take being a singer/songwriter seriously, right?

Wolf Gang: Yeah that’s true, I didn’t really think about doing music properly at all before that even though I was always writing and recording music for myself; I just never thought it was good enough to do anything with it.  But then I did a few acoustic gigs for friends who encouraged me to start thinking about doing it for real, so I think somewhere down the line I thought maybe it could happen, but had no idea how.  So I did more gigs and then my manager found me and from then onwards there was a strict plan of action.  I guess it’s all happened very quickly since then, so I went from not really knowing what I wanted to do to with my life to suddenly being a musician, but actually when I look back over it now it makes complete sense to me.  

4TR: I saw you play a stripped back gig at the Sanderson Hotel back in the summer, which was really impressive and quite different to your usual shows.

WG: Yeah that was a show for Neon Gold Records.  For me stripped back gigs are a bit of a weird one because I like playing with a band when there’s more energy and I’m a bit more confident perhaps.  At the same time in those gigs the songs are much more apparent, so you can see it for what it is and sometimes that’s quite a nice way of hearing it.  

4TR: So you are responsible for writing the music and lyrics, but live you are now backed by band.

WG: Yeah exactly and I’m at a stage now where I have been playing with a couple of the guys for quite a long time plus we just had a drummer come on board, (Lasser formerly of The Rakes), which is great so it’s feeling really good at the moment.  To me it really feels like a band even though I write the songs, but when we play it looks like a band as well which I really like.  Alot of solo artists go out with session bands and it looks so obvious; there’s no charm or magic on stage and that’s what I want to try and create.

4TR: Sound wise it is unashamedly pop.  Was that something you naturally gravitated towards?

WG: Genres and stuff like that is never something I have thought much about, and I’m not really interested in defining my sound.  I just literally write songs and see how they come out, so how people then pigeon hole them I suppose isn’t really my concern; but yeah it seems to be that I write songs with relatively poppy choruses so it does fall into that bracket, I just never intend for that to be the case.

4TR: Ok with that process then in mind, I suppose the result could realistically be completely different from track to track.  How would that uncontrived method work when putting a cohesive record together?

WG: Well it’s an interesting point; what I hope one of the great things about the album will be that one song from the next will not sound the same.  Yes there will be some songs which push in different directions, so some upfront pop songs and some quirky more rhythmical stuff, or some with electronic drums, but I think as long as there’s a thread of similarity throughout it, which I think there is because its my writing and its my vocals on the top.  Ultimately I really want this album to push out in lots of different direction, [laughing] so it’s hard to say where it’s going to end up.

4TR: You released your debut single ‘Pieces of You’ earlier this year through Neon Gold who have worked with artists like Passion Pit and Marina & The Diamonds.  How did they get involved with you? 

WG: I think Derek from Neon Gold heard one of my really early bedroom demos about 3 years ago and somehow picked up on it through the Internet but nothing really happened, then when I came back as Wolf Gang and had these new songs they wanted to work with us.  They are really cool guys and it seemed like a very cool label to do the first release with, so it was actually quite simple and straightforward. This time I am releasing ‘The King and All Of His Men’ on Hit Club who are also a young, fresh up and coming label with great releases down the line and that’s definitely something we are interested in being a part of. 

4TR: ‘The King and All of His Men’ came out this week, and it’s full of imaginative lyrics.  But what is it actually about?

WG: Well generally in my writing I just get carried away and go into some weird place, nothing is ever too specific although there are some songs which are.  But I think with ‘The King and All Of His Men’ you can just define it as being a battle between good and evil, but there are quite a few metaphors in there so you could take it as something on a large scale like a battle or terrorism; and then there is a love interest written in there somewhere.  {Laughing] I don’t know I just have these thoughts and ideas and kind of write them down and it comes out how it is.

4TR: Are any of your lyrics about you in an autobiographical context?

WG: No its not autobiographical at all; I haven’t really lived a long enough life to start writing down my memoirs in songs, so I like to be imaginative and think about things that might be happening.

4TR: The accompanying video is very entertaining through its theatrical and whimsical theme.  Were you involved creatively in it?

WG: Yeah, I kind of had this general plan of there being lots of people and for some reason I thought about having like this chess set board with people dancing on it and stuff.  Then we got this brief through from Dan Brereton who was the director and he almost had the same idea, so it was a good joint effort.  I love the way its come out because it’s quite low key and arty but theatrical, which I love. Plus it doesn’t reference anything too obvious so its kind of quirky and totally suits the song.

4TR: The new single has been remixed by a number of people, unofficially and officially, including one by Joe Goddard from Hot Chip – were you actively approaching people to do something with the track?

WG: Well I met Joe about 6 months ago and he heard the song and was into it and said he wanted to remix it so that came about quite naturally from having met him.  Then we approached Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and as a result of that I am actually going into the studio to write a track with him because we absolutely love the remix he did and it’s the B-side of the single, so we are going to see how that goes.

4TR: So are you still at home making bedroom demos?

WG: [Laughing] Yeah well I’m trying to when there’s time and instruments around me; I’m always writing for my own sanity as its something I have to do but its nice because I think my writing is evolving and so until we have actually recorded the album its good to just keep going, trying something new out.   You are always looking to better what you have done before I guess.

4TR: And how do you approach songwriting?

WG: I usually just sit down at the piano or with a guitar and start messing around and something will just happen, or I will play something and think oh that’s good and focus on that and then soon I will have a rough verse.  I usually always make the music first and record it and then put the lyrics on top of that which enable me to feel out what kind of a vibe the track has and figure out what the story might be about to go with the music.

4TR: I read influence that you are not influenced by contemporary artists, in favour of more historic bands like Talking Heads and Roxy Music, is that true?

WG: Yeah definitely; I am such a big fan of those classic records, I don’t know if albums will ever be made like they were then just because the music industry has changed so much.  They are albums that will last forever, but I think a lot of music at the moment is just aimed at a particular audience but because those people have such a wide choice these days they can pick and choose and move from one thing to another very quickly.  There’s definitely a kind of throw it at the wall and see if it sticks attitude in the industry and if it doesn’t they then also move on to something else.  I think there are a lot less albums being made which are of like a heritage quality; but that’s not to say there’s not good music being made or out there at the moment, because there is huge amounts, but personally I don’t listen to too much contemporary music.

4TR: Is that heritage quality what you are aspiring towards with your album, where every track counts as opposed to it being made up of singles and fillers?

WG: Yeah totally, I know it’s quite ambitious but I would love for every track to be much more than just a filler for the 2 or 3 singles, which you have to have.  I want it to make sense as an album and for each song to try and push out into a different direction so different people who might not like one song might like another.  So I want it to be very well thought out and for the standard to be really high, every song has to be justifiable.

4TR: What’s next for you now that the single is out there?

WG: Well we are touring now for the single and I am playing some dates supporting Little Boots one of which is at the Shepherds Bush Empire which is very exciting.  After there will be a few more dates early next year and then I have to start recording more songs; I want to do a collaboration as well with someone as well.

4TR: Sounds interesting, anyone in particular?

WG: [laughing] um there are a few names that we are seeing if it will work but no one in particular at the same time.  So yeah there’s lots to do, but as its still very early days its nice there is no sense of being rushed, we all feel we can take our time and get it right rather than do anything too fast.

4TR: And finally you are playing the Levi’s Ones To Watch 5 night revue.  Is it nice to be showcased within that?

WG: Yeah definitely, and its especially nice because we all got some free jeans [laughs].

‘The King And All Of His Men’ is out now on Hit Club Records.

Words: Francesca Strange

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