Name: Emily Wolfe
Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, guitarist
Recommendations: Bobby “Blue” Bland’s Dreamer album from 1974; Bully’s Luck For You album
Current release: Emily Wolfe's "Silencer" is out now. It's the latest single to be taken off her forthcoming full-length album The Blowback. That record is slated for release on October 20th 2023.

She is also currently on an extended tour. Catch her live here:

06.03.24  STOCKHOLM (SE) The Annex
07.03.24  OSLO (NO) Sentrum Scene
09.03.24  COPENHAGEN (DK) Gray Hall
11.03.24  BERLIN (DE) Columbiahalle
12.03.24  WIESBADEN (DE) Schlachtof
14.03.24  BRUSSELS (BE) Ancienne Belgique
15.03.24  COLOGNE (DE) Palladium
16.03.24  UTRECHT (NL) Tivoli/Vredenburg Ronda
18.03.24  GLASGOW (UK) Academy
21.03.24  SHEFFIELD (UK) Academy
22.03.24  MANCHESTER (UK) O2 Apollo
23.03.24  WOLVERHAMPTON (UK) Civic Hall
25.03.24  LONDON (UK) Roundhouse
26.03.24  LONDON (UK) Roundhouse
29.03.24  DUBLIN (IE) 3Olympia

If you enjoyed this Emily Wolfe interview, visit her website for a deeper look into her world. She is also on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

For an even deeper look into her creative process, read our previous Emily Wolfe interview.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I usually stare into space or close my eyes when listening to music.

When a part really strikes me I  close my eyes and move my head around in a weird way.

What were your very first steps in music like and how would you rate the gains made through experience - can one train/learn being an artist?

My first steps in music were scary but exhilarating. Between finding the right team, finding the right band, and using trial and error to make it up to this point, I think the gains made through experience have been exponential and necessary.

It’s been a grind and a journey, and will likely always continue to be, but with the right attitude and determination, one can train to be an artist I believe.

It does take a lot of vulnerability.

According to scientific studies, we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between the ages of 13-16. What did music mean to you at that age and what’s changed since then?

I locked myself away in my room and played music as much as possible at that age. Growing up as a gay kid in a conservative Texas town felt unbearable at times, and music was the only thing I could confide in.

It’s still that way for me. Most everywhere I feel like an alien, but on stage it feels like I’m supposed to be there.

Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I can always feel a song brewing inside me. It takes a really intense emotion – intense happiness or excitement, or extreme rage and sadness.

Either way, it has to be extreme. It’s like I have to let it out somehow and the best way for me to do that is writing a new song or playing drums, or writing a guitar riff.

Paul Simon said “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you describe the sound you're looking for?

If I listen to my own records and can separate myself from the music and listen from the perspective of a listener and not the artist, then it’s correct to me. I’m looking for the sound that puts me in a headspace where what I’m hearing is an exact reflection of what I’m experiencing.

The goal is to be the soundtrack to someone’s life.

Are you acting out certain roles or parts of your personality in your music which you couldn't or wouldn't in your daily life? If so, which are these? If not, what, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music?

The key ideas in my music most recently is the importance of stepping into your own power and being unapologetic.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

I think once a song is released, I have to let go of any expectations of it. Music I make means one thing to me, but once it’s out in the world, it can mean anything to people.

I like to allow that – after I release a song, it’s not my business how it makes people feel. They can use it anyway they need.

Making music, in the beginning, is often playful and about discovery. How do you retain a sense of playfulness as things become more professionalised and how do you still draw surprises from equipment, instruments, approaches and formats you may be very familiar with?  

I like the change guitar tunings, swap pedals out, add different sections in songs live to keep things interesting.

I like to also listen to music I wouldn’t normally listen to if I feel stuck in a rut.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to the waves of the ocean. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

The most moving non-human made sound to me is Cicadas. The sound is such a sign of life and how it never stops, even when the rest of the world seems to.

There is a rhythm in the sound of Cicadas as well that puts me at ease.

There seems to be an increasing trend to capture music in numbers, from waveforms via recommendation algorithms up to deciphering the code of hit songs. What aspects of music do you feel can be captured through numbers, and which can not?

The emotion and feeling a person gets from music can’t be captured in numbers.

How does the way you make music reflect the way you live your life? Can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

I’m constantly reminded to have fun by playing music, and not take things too seriously. It’s a good approach to life.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold from your point of view? What role do headphones play for you in this regard?

Silence is almost more important than noise. For decompressing, and for music. Some of my favourite parts of music are silence.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Making music is very vulnerable and requires a deep dive into your own psyche.

Mundane tasks are very robotic, which is the opposite approach I have when making music.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values which don't appear to have any emotional connotation. Do you, too, have a song or piece of music that affects you in a seemingly counterintuitive way – and what, do you think, is happening here?

A song called “Road To Ruin” off my new album is written in a bizarre time signature. Something about catching the groove of an odd time signature is exciting to me.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

I’d love to see more rock bands form.