An Interview with Alternative-Rock Group, WOLF ALICE On Their Latest Tour, The Band Formation and More!

Meet Wolf Alice! They are a four-piece alternative band from North London, consisting of Ellie Rowsell (vocals, guitar), Joff Oddie (guitars, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass), and Joel Amey (drums).

In 2013, they released their debut single “Fluffy” followed by the “Bros” single. They went on to put their debut EP, “Blush” later that year and then a second EP “Creature Songs” was released in May 2014 on Dirty Hit Records.

This brings us up to 2015. This June, Wolf Alice released their debut album, “My Love Is Cool” also through Dirty Hit Records and RCA Records. The lead single from this collection, “Moaning Lisa Smile” charted within the top 10 of the Billboard Alternative Songs Charts. This song was featured during the episode Solace for Tired Feet of HBO’s show, “The Leftovers”.

Learn more about Wolf Alice in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time today! How’s your summer tour been going? How was Summer Sonic?

Hello! This summer has been super fun. We’ve been quite literally all over the place doing festivals. Europe, Australia, American and Asia. Bit of a dream come true for us to be able to go to all of these different places and do our thing.

Summer sonic was a definite highlight in all of this. It’s been high in our list of places to go to and to get to go and play some really great shows to great audiences has been wonderful!

Looking back, what made you all think you could be in a group together? How did you all meet one another? Was it difficult to come up with a band name that you all agree on?

Well, me and Ellie were Wolf Alice (or a version of) originally and both them and Joel were brought in by our manager at the time to replace members that had to go on to do other things. Of course they both stuck! When something works and feels natural it’s pretty obvious what to do if you understand me. The guys both brought things to the table that we really needed and more importantly were both individuals that we immediately got on with and enjoyed spending time with.

As for the name, it was actually Ellie’s mum that picked out a book randomly from the book shelf and opened it up. Inside was the Angela Charter short story, “Wolf Alice”. We loved the aesthetic of it so it stuck.

Why do you think you all work so well together today? How do you think the band dynamics have changed through the years?

Finding the right people to be in a band is honestly very much down to luck. Thankfully, we were very lucky and are four individuals that pull together and can work well as a team. It’s not always the case but here we are!!!!

In June, you released your debut album, “My Love Is Cool”. Why do you think it took so long to finally put out a full-length collection?

In all honesty, there were a lot of extrinsic forces that prevented us from releasing this earlier. Things to do with finding a producer, scheduling, touring.. stuff like that. We could have released something a lot earlier than we did but I don’t think it would be anywhere near as good as this record is. Sometimes being patient is super important.

What was the inspiration for your single, “Moaning Lisa Smile”?

“Moaning Lisa Smile” is loosely based on Lisa Simpson and that feeling of growing up and feeling a bit lost. She’s a character a lot of us can relate to.

How do you think the band’s music has grown since you first formed?

Well hopefully it’s been a natural progression and that we’re coming to a place where we all feel a lot more confident in our song writing and live performance. We want to carry on growing and changing. I think when a band stops trying to grow and change a lot of the time it can mark the beginning of the end for them.

What artists have consistently inspired you and the group as a whole?

Queens of the Stone Age, Patrick Wolf, Arcade Fire, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Pixies, Nirvana, Velvet Underground, Beck, Outcast and really all pop music in general. Lots of stuff. But individually, we’re all into a lot of different stuff now.

What has been a favorite tour experience so far? Do you have any pre-performance rituals?

It’s hard to pick one thing out specifically as there seems to be so much great stuff happening to us at the moment. Japan was a real highlight for us though.

We usually sing some songs in the dressing room, tie our shoelaces really tight, have a hug then run on stage..

What’s it like spending more time on the road then at home? How do you keep up the energy night after night?

It’s kind of strange but it’s the dream and what we’ve always wanted to do. I’d like to think we’re pretty motivated so putting in the effort every night never feels like a chore
At the end of the day, what do you hope listeners take away from your music?

Whatever they decide to. It’s up to them. What I do hope though is that it will be a record that people will keep coming back to time and time again throughout their lives.

Where do you see the band in 10 or even 20 years?

Who knows! Making music hopefully! Keeping the Wolf Alice dream alive!

Here’s where Wolf Alice will be touring the rest of the year: