The songwriter explains how a willingness to embrace change inspired ‘Hiss Spun’ and the anxious video for “16 Psyche." // Noisey

by Dianca London

Chelsea Wolfe’s sixth studio album Hiss Spun was catalyzed by a reunion. Around 10 years ago, the goth-folk songwriter had a band with Happy Fangs drummer Jess Gowrie, but the years since had been quiet for the pair. ”[We] didn’t talk for seven years after I left,“ Wolfe explains. "Two years ago, we started hanging out again, and along with our friendship the musical chemistry came flying back. It was important to me to play music with Jess again—she taught me a lot about music and how to be a front person of a band.”

The follow-up to Wolfe’s 2015 album Abyss began as a side project between the her and Gowrie, aided by friends like Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and Wolfe’s bandmate Ben Chisholm. Fueled by the comfort of their reconnection, Hiss Spun—due out September 22—came to life as an evocative meditation on finding stability and sanity in a chaotic world.

Accordingly, the record opens with a disorienting swirl of sounds. The distorted screech of “Spun” gives way to the soul-shaking swell of “16 Psyche” and the mesmerizing pulse of “Vex"—demonstrating the omnivorousness of Hiss Spun’s power. "Each song has many worlds inside it,” Wolfe says. “A way for me to bring the songs together on this record was a list of short words with big meanings: flux, hiss, welt, groan, swarm, spun, scrape, [and] strain. They became a sort of guide. Flux represents movement and flow. Hiss is life force and white noise. Welt is the brutality of life, [and] groan represented sensuality and death.”

Photo by Nick Fancher

During the earliest stages of the project, Wolfe kept these words among a list of ideas and notes to guide her through her songwriting process. “Some of it was written during a time when I was staying with family while looking for a new place to live,” Wolfe recalls. “I didn’t have much space to myself [so] I’d set up a little bedroom studio and would work on songs in headphones, creating my own world… It almost made me feel like a teenager again—understanding that feeling of escapism, a way out from physical surroundings. I found refuge in music.”

“16 Psyche"—the record’s second track and one of its standouts—is a clear result of that time spent alone. Sharing its name with the recently discoveredasteroid and the Greek goddess of the soul, this cosmic ballad examines how life’s restrictions—self-imposed and otherwise—can alter us. Shot in a single day at a studio located in downtown Los Angeles, the video for the track allowed for Wolfe to tap into what she calls the "claustrophobic,” “frantic,” and “feral” aspects of the song. Viewers bear witness as she attempts to break free from the faceless and bandaged attendees who try to restrict her mobility. The stylized confinement brings to mind the surreal panic of the videos for 1990s anthems by Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails, which she says she sent as references for the video to director Zev Deans, along with visuals by Smashing Pumpkins and Deftones.

Much like her videos for “Carrion Flowers” and “Feral Love,” Wolfe says the clip was shaped by grappling with her mental and physical health. “I deal with extreme anxiety that gets exacerbated by bouts of insomnia,” she explains. “I’m constantly trying to find ways to calm down… That has manifested into addiction at times [and] I carried a lot of that into this record, especially on "16 Psyche” and “Spun.” In doing so, Wolfe was able to open herself up to the world rather than closing herself off.

Photo by Bill Crisafi

Through vulnerability, she was also able to find healing. “There were some things I hadn’t dealt with before, from the dark past of my family, to relationships I’d had, to my own health,” she admits. “Some of the songs became a personal exorcism and some of them were written in dedication to the hardships that others have faced.” It seems only fitting that the album was recorded in Salem, Massachusetts by Kurt Ballou, a decision that added an additional thematic layer to the LP. “There is a lot of anger on this album for what my female and genderqueer antecessors have had to face, so recording in a town that historically murdered women for being "witches” was fitting,“ says Wolfe.

Because of this openness, Hiss Spun ends up feeling like a portrait of transformation and hope. "In this era, everyone is expected to really have their shit together at all times and present it as such on social media, but it’s okay to embrace the mess of yourself,” she says. “That’s the first step towards personal growth.” Wolfe encourages us to be at peace with transition. “Take it one day at a time,” she suggests, “Surround yourself with good, supportive people in real life. Know that it’s okay to change.”

Catch Chelsea Wolfe on tour:

August 17 – Las Vegas, NV, The Joint @ Hard Rock Hotel / Psycho Las Vegas *
September 28 – Santa Ana, CA, Constellation Room
September 30 – Los Angeles, CA, The Regent Theater
October 2 – San Diego, CA, Belly Up Tavern
October 3 – Tucson, AZ, 191 Toole
October 4 – Phoenix, AZ, Crescent Ballroom
October 6 – Austin, TX, Paramount Theatre
October 7 – Houston, TX, White Oak Music Hall
October 8 – Dallas, TX, Kessler Theatre
October 10 – Nashville, TN, Exit/In
October 11 – Atlanta, GA, Aisle 5
October 13 – Chapel Hill, NC, Cat’s Cradle
October 14 – Baltimore, MD, Baltimore Soundstage
October 15 – Philadelphia, PA, Theatre of Living Arts
October 17 – New York, NY, Irving Plaza
October 19 – Cambridge, MA, The Sinclair
October 20 – Montreal QC, Le National
October 21 – Toronto, ON, The Opera House
October 22 – Detroit, MI, El Club
October 24 – Chicago, IL, Metro
October 25 – St. Paul, MN, Turf Club
October 27 – Denver, CO, Bluebird Theater
October 28 – Salt Lake City, UT, Urban Lounge
October 30 – Seattle, WA, The Showbox
October 31 – Vancouver, BC, Venue Nightclub
November 1 – Portland, OR, The Wonderland Ballroom
November 3 – Sacramento, CA, Ace Of Spades
November 4 – San Francisco, CA, The Regency Ballroom

All dates with Youth Code, except *

Photo: Bill Crisafi

“It’s been a little while in the making, but we’re very happy to be releasing episode four of the CVLT CAST! This episode we were so lucky to be joined by the ethereal and mysterious Chelsea Wolfe, who beamed into our HQ from her peaceful California home. We spoke to her about her upcoming September 2017 release on Sargent House, Hiss Spun, as well as her take on working with Converge and Neurosis, weed and being a public figure. If you want to hear an intimate conversation with one of our favorite artists, subscribe to our iTunes podcast stream here, or stream it below!”

View full article and interview HERE.

sargenthouse:

Photo by Zohn Mandel

Chelsea Wolfe is about to release an incredible new album, Hiss Spun. She’s always embraced doom, but now it’s clearer than ever. Premiering today on The FADER is “Vex,” a stunning, breathy, pared-down metal track.

“Every day, at dawn and dusk, a mysterious hum resounds in the deep sea for about an hour,” Chelsea wrote in an email to The FADER. “The source of this hum is unknown, but it may be a kind of instinctual guide to the creatures who live in those dark depths, to rise and feed, surviving another day.

“I follow my own hum, pushing forward despite anxieties, nightmares, and scavengers that try to pull me down into their depths. I also acknowledge my own fragility in contrast to my own strength and anger.

”‘Vex’ began almost as a black metal song, with a pummeling blast beat, then Ben (Chisholm) and I stripped it back to a more industrial electronic sound. Once we were in the studio, Jess Gowrie’s drums and Troy Van Leeuwen’s guitar parts began to shepherd it back toward its heavy origins.

“I knew from the beginning that I wanted Aaron Turner’s voice somewhere on this album, and could hear him in my head on ‘Vex.’ I had already recorded my vocals for the song but decided to send it to Aaron without them on. Happily, the first time we played it back with both vocal parts they fit together in a very compelling way.” Listen below.

Chelsea Wolfe positions herself in the crossover folds of a metal venn diagram, embracing everything from doom folk on Apokalypsis to gloomy distortion on Abyss. With “Vex,” the latest release from her upcoming album Hiss Spun, Wolfe strides closer to black metal than ever before—a sound she’s long flirted with but never submerged herself in entirely. Wolfe has said the song is inspired by “a mysterious hum [that] resounds in the deep sea for about an hour” at dawn and dusk. No one knows where the hum comes from, but she speculates it’s an “instinctual guide to the creatures who live in those dark depths.” Wolfe structures “Vex” as a human version of that hum. Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen tries to mimic that distant call with crunchy guitar trills, while Wolfe’s long falsetto notes hover in the air. When co-vocalist Aaron Turner enters the song with a hollow, guttural bellowing, the track descends listeners in cacophony. She sounds at home at here, blending the worlds of metal and dark noise with ease.

Chelsea Wolfe was on The Metal Podcast Episode #26 at around 23 minutes.

Chelsea Wolfe has forged a sound that draws from a plethora of styles including heavy rock, ambient, folk, metal, and more, stripping them down to their basics and seeking out the commonalities between them to fuel her rich, textured songs. 

Over five albums (most recently Abyss in 2015), she’s become internationally celebrated for her far-reaching music, soulful voice, and charismatic performances and while her merging of darkness and ambiance have often been described as “haunting,” or “otherworldly,” she can pinpoint the origins of her love of genre-fusions to a familiar source that every musician has experience with: the playlist. “I’ve always created playlists (or in earlier days, mixtapes and mix CDs) and gotten them from friends, and I’m just able to hear the connections in different types of music,” she says. “Something will resonate for me in trip-hop that I’ll also find in an old folk/blues song, or I’ll find the same comfort in a 60s folk song as in a black metal song. I like music that has soul to it, soul that you can feel. Some music out there feels very sterile but fortunately there’s so much good, real music to block that out!” 

With such far-ranging influences, some artists may find their personal vision gets a little lost in the shuffle, but Wolfe’s sound that unmistakably her own. “I think all the different stuff I’ve listened to over the years eventually melded into my own weird thing,” she says. “One of the main reasons I’ve kept this project under my own name, even though it’s full band most of the time, is that I didn’t want to have to compromise on the sound. I wanted to always be able to follow my instincts in writing and allow the music to morph into what it needed to be.” She sites her ongoing collaborations with Ben Chisholm as an essential component of the project, especially in regards to its electronic components, but as always some of her best songwriting starts with the basics. “I’ve always gone back to writing on acoustic guitar though.” 

Chelsea Wolfe by Kristin Cofer 

For Wolfe, one particular acoustic guitar—her mother’s classical model—had a special and long-lasting influence on her music. Although it was missing a tuning peg, she used it to write her first two records, and its unusual, “imperfect sound,” became a cornerstone of her aesthetic. “I still write on that guitar!” she says. “Sometimes an instrument has just got the songs in it. I also write on a 70s Guild acoustic that my dad passed down to me.” 

“I have a few nice guitars and I prefer to tour with those for their tone and reliability but at home I tend to go for the older ones. The older instruments have a more mystical quality. Playing and writing on my mom’s classical in the early days was really key to my sound. That missing tuning peg and my lack of a guitar tuner caused me to tune the strings by ear to that string—turns out it was pretty much D standard. Over time I realized that tuning is much better suited for my voice so I still go low for the majority of my songs. “ 

This fall, Wolfe will release her sixth album, Hiss Spin. Recorded by Converge’s Kurt Ballou and featuring guest spots from Troy Van Leeuwen (Queens of the Stone Age) and Aaron Turner (SUMAC, Old Man Gloom), the album reportedly deals with the concept of scouring inner emotions to make sense of a chaotic world, and contains some of her rawest and heaviest compositions to date. 

Check out “16 Psyche,” the first single to be released from the album below, along with a selection of Wolfe’s most essential gear. Hiss Spin is available for pre-order now.

Guitars:

“I think finding some unique gear is important to a musician’s sound, but also it’s like, if you’ve always dreamed about playing a Fender Mustang then by all means save up for the Fender Mustang! If you can though, I think it’s really important to play the guitar in person first—go to some music stores or pawn shops and see what you’re intrinsically drawn to and what feels good in your hands. That’s how I found the first electric guitar I ever bought for myself, a simple satin brown Fender Jaguar.”

Fender Jaguar

Gibson ES-335

Taylor 716ce

Effects:

“I do have a lot of pedals at this point, but I always try to get pedals that I’ll actually use. I know I’m probably not going to use a tremolo or chorus pedal so I won’t get versions of those just to try. I go for the weird fuzz, distortions and delays most of the time. When I’m making a new album I’ll try out different pedals that are in the studio I’m working in and usually end up getting a couple of those after the record is done. For example, the Death By Audio Apocalypse pedal was my jam on Abyss and it still lives on my board.”

EarthQuaker Devices Talons

Boss RC-20XL Loop Station

DigiTech Supernatural Reverb

Via Issue No.12 She Shreds Magazine

Buy it now!

A trailer from the upcoming Chelsea Wolfe album “Hiss Spun” out on September 22nd on Sargent House 
Don’t miss her on tour this Fall all dates posted at: Chelseawolfe.net 

Chelsea Wolfe will be headlining a North American Tour in support of her new album ‘Hiss Spun’ She will be accompanied by Youth Code. 

Tickets and more info HERE. 

8/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Psycho Fest at HOB * 
9/28 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room 
9/30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater 
10/2 – San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern 
10/3 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole 
10/4 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom 
10/6 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre 
10/7 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall 
10/8 – Dallas, TX – Kessler Theatre 
10/10 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In 
10/11 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5 
10/13 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle 
10/14 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage 
10/15 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts 
10/17 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza 
10/19 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair 
10/20 – Montreal QC – Le National 
10/21 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House 
10/22 – Detroit, MI – El Club 
10/24 – Chicago, IL – Metro 
10/25 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club 
10/27 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater 
10/28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge 
10/30 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox 
10/31 – Vancouver, BC – Venue Nightclub 
11/1 – Portland, OR – The Wonderland Ballroom 
11/3 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades 
11/4 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom 

ALL Shows are with Youth Code except *

We follow Father’s Day weekend with a mix of powerful new pop and rock from a lot of incredible women, including “Exhumed,” a raging, cathartic song from Zola Jesus, and roaring doom metal from Chelsea Wolfe.

Via NPR

Chelsea Wolfe will be headlining a North American Tour in support of her new album ‘Hiss Spun’  She will be accompanied by Youth Code.

Tickets and more info HERE. 

8/18 – Las Vegas, NV – Psycho Fest at HOB * 
9/28 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room 
9/30 – Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater 
10/2 – San Diego, CA – Belly Up Tavern 
10/3 – Tucson, AZ – 191 Toole 
10/4 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom 
10/6 – Austin, TX – Paramount Theatre 
10/7 – Houston, TX – White Oak Music Hall 
10/8 – Dallas, TX – Kessler Theatre 
10/10 – Nashville, TN – Exit/In 
10/11 – Atlanta, GA – Aisle 5 
10/13 – Chapel Hill, NC – Cat’s Cradle 
10/14 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Soundstage 
10/15 – Philadelphia, PA – Theatre of Living Arts 
10/17 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza 
10/19 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair 
10/20 – Montreal QC – Le National 
10/21 – Toronto, ON – The Opera House 
10/22 – Detroit, MI – El Club 
10/24 – Chicago, IL – Metro 
10/25 – St. Paul, MN – Turf Club 
10/27 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater 
10/28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge 
10/30 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox 
10/31 – Vancouver, BC – Venue Nightclub 
11/1 – Portland, OR – The Wonderland Ballroom 
11/3 – Sacramento, CA – Ace Of Spades 
11/4 – San Francisco, CA – The Regency Ballroom 

ALL Shows are with Youth Code except *