Armed with a penchant for the melodramatic and a bevy of musical toys, Patrick Wolf, a lanky 21-year-old singer-songwriter from South London who stands six-foot-four with dyed black hair and elfin, pasty-white features, can at times come off as a little too precocious for his own good. Luckily for him (and us), he's a damn good composer. Patrick spent a year at Trinity College music conservatory following the release of his solo debut Lycanthropy, after which he retreated to a harbor town in Cornwall, England, to record the follow-up Wind In The Wires. He took a break from his European tour to introduce himself to Slant Magazine and briefly discuss composing, skinny-dipping, 19th century heroines, and Britney Spears.

SLANT MAGAZINE: You spent a year studying composition at the Trinity College Music Conservatory in London. What did you bring from that experience to your new album, Wind In The Wires?

PATRICK WOLF: My classical training really stretches back to the age of seven, through choirs and orchestras. I loved being a part of the orchestra—it's the most humble, magical feeling to be one small violin in a huge ocean of strings. When I decided to "study" composition, I quickly realized that everything the music academics wanted to teach me I didn't want to learn.

SM: When you weren't working on your album, how did you spend your time in Cornwall?

PW: Taking my clothes off and swimming naked among the rocks. Collecting shells. Jumping off cliffs. Ghost-hunting and sometimes fishing for my supper.

SM: There seems to be a preoccupation with domesticity on the album, particularly on songs like "The Railway House." At 21, is "settling down" something you think about?

PW: Being a teenage runaway with a suitcase and violin, I always had an idea that a house, garden, and a goat to milk would sort out a lot of my problems. Now that I have a house and a garden, I can say it does help having an anchor and soil to grow things in but I will always be a gypsy no matter how settled I appear to be.

SM: The first single from the album is "The Libertine." Do you think of yourself as one?

PW: The song is about overcoming all restriction and repression, that includes having headlines and catchphrases to live up to. I would never say I was a "libertine" but I will say I do my utmost best to stay free in all shape and sense.

SM: What are your thoughts on America: the politics, the culture, conquering the music market here?

PW: I don't know much of the politics. The culture I find engrossing…it's a whole new encyclopaedia that hopefully one day I will have time to read. Right now I find it important to document what I know best and that is my homeland. There is a lot of England that I think has been hiding in the shadows for centuries and that I really want to bring into life again over time. I never think about conquering music markets. I worry about making the best music I possibly can. My favorite American book is Even Cowgirls Get The Blues. That book makes me want to walk the deserts and prairies.

SM: Who are your heroes, musical or otherwise?

PW: At the moment my biggest hero is Grace Darling. She used to live in a lighthouse and save people from shipwrecks in her little rowboat.

SM: Analog or digital?

PW: That's like asking…food or water? Both are cornerstones of technology that I believe should under best conditions live in a perfect marriage or war.

SM: Madonna or Kylie?

PW: Britney.

SM: Do you own a wind-powered electricity generator?

PW: No…I would love to have such a thing…I would put it up on the roof along with the sex-mad pigeons. They keep me up all night. They are very loud under their covers.

SM: If you could meet a younger version of yourself, what would you say to him?

PW: Very hard question to answer. I always keep myself in check with the younger Patrick though. I carry all his hopes and dreams very carefully. I think he gives me a lot of strength whenever the ropes start fraying.

Sal Cinquemani
© slant magazine, 2005.