Raised By Wolves -> Interview /w Wolfram

Not since the assassination of that Archduke with the namesake of a Scottish rock band has an Austrian had as much influence on the world as this man. He might not be starting world wars yet, but Wolfram Echert (Amadeus to some)  is a man whose unique sound and attitude is bound, if not already, to seriously impact upon the face of electronic music as we know it. You might have known him formerly as Diskokaine or marfloW, but in late Febuary Wolfie cast all pseudonyms aside in favour of producing a full bodied work in the form of a self-titled, genre destroying, debut album. Who'd have thought Holy Ghost! would end up on a record with Haddaway, or SebastiAn alongside Hercules & Love Affair? Turns out Wolfram did and as soon as we heard Vice Magazine describe his Permanent Vacation released LP, as being like "...Christmas, your 21st Birthday and a negative HIV test result rolled into one", well it was obvious that Patricia had to hole this man up for a chat. California, it's time to get acquainted with your next Governor.

Some might be under the impression that Wolfram is a newcomer to the scene but truth is you’re actually a bit of a veteran previously going under the guises of Diskokaine and marfloW. A track with a beat as infectious as Rimini which you released under your Diskokaine moniker in ’08 is pretty hard to forget but it’s definitely a far cry from the sounds you explore in your album debut as Wolfram. What made you decide to start spelling your name the right way around? Why the style change?
Because i didnt want to show my grandmother my album with the word kokaine on it. And maybe i will have children in like 10years and they might also think that daddy got a weird name - the music is now more song orientated.

Before we go any further we have to ask – maybe it was because of all the big name artist contributions on the new record, but the hype surrounding it was massive, so  much so that the Wolfram album release party for Let’s Play House got shut down by police. What happened that night?

Yeah it was just too many people inside and  lots of people outside waiting that the police shut it down at 2am….but luckily it was full from 10am on….and I’m a big fan of sleeping so I was ok to go home .

At least now you can be known as a host of notorious events. On the topic, being a DJ spending a lot of time in New York, partying frequently would be more an expectation than a choice – a few years down the track are you still/were you ever living that lifestyle?

I think my English is not made for this question nevertheless I try to answer with ”no”

Fireworks ft. Hercules & Love Affair buy

The new record has really left the realms of house music in favour of something very Euro pop inspired. You were a child of the 80s, what draws you so much to those sounds – any particular artists you can name that have had a big impact on the kind of music you make?

My dad who played me all synth stuff like Kraftwerk, Moroder, Vangelis, Tangerine Dream, Tomita, Jean Michel Jarre, Art of Noise....and my mum always played the "graceland" album of paul simon, so I think those artists had the biggest impact.

In a recent interview you said that this album is the point for you to  “…start making pop albums that are influenced by the electronic music of the past 40 years”. No doubt our age influenced this but when we listened to your self-titled debut, the electronic music characteristic of the 1980s, ranging from acid to Detroit to techno, definitely stood out. How do you go about making music that is so unique, whilst drawing so much inspiration from such a wide range of genres, over a period of potentially four decades?

I don’t know I didn’t really think of that while making it I’m just doing it as an admirer/fan of old electronic music  and I want to have fun while doing it.

Teamgeist ft. Patrick Pulsinger buy

We really rate that you have no reservations about labelling the tracks on WOLFRAM to be pop songs. Was this a very deliberate choice, seeing as the term ‘pop’ in underground/indie circles can tend to achieve some pretty negative connotations, when you probably could’ve just as easily labelled WOLFRAM as nu-disco or something similar? In your opinion what makes a track a ‘pop song’?

If I always thought about what is best for marketing and trying to be on the safe side I wouldn’t have labelled it POP but I have nothing against pop. Sometimes underground stuff later becomes pop because it’s successful. 10 years ago when I started making music I also thought pop was crap and not cool. Genres are for journalists and people who like to talk about music. Just make whatever music as long as YOU have fun and a good time.

Is it true that of the album’s many contributors, Holy Ghost! were the only artists who gave input into their track other than vocals; they participated in the production process?

Yes they're the only ones who did not just do vocals.

How did you go about selecting each of the huge names featured on WOLFRAM, were they artists whose voices you just happened to really like or were they friends or just jilted former lovers you felt sorry for…?

Hehe mostly where friends. But Haddaway and Paul Parker I didn’t know before.

Modesty aside for a moment, where the hell did you get such pulling power;  the artist ID on the record basically reads like a  who’s who of everything that’s anything? Were most of the contributors already familiar with your work?

Yes they knew me so I didn’t have to pay. I’m still really thankful that all of those creative minds helped me sooo much. I’m a fan of all of them….and a friend!

Hold My Breath ft. Holy Ghost! (Sally Shapiro version) buy

In light of the huge stylistic change this album has brought about, if you’re asked to play as Wolfram somewhere now, is it still a DJ set AND what chances does Australia have of witnessing such a spectacle in the near future?

Oh I have a live set now but I can do both at one night because I don’t care if I play one hour or 4 hours -But unfortunately I have never been down, Wolf likes kangaroo’s though.

As you’re no doubt aware, Wolfram Amadeus is a name very similar to that of another Austrian guy who was big in the music business back in the 17/1800s. We’d like to know how old you were when you composed your first symphony; keep in mind anything post-kindergarten is a bit of a cop out. In all seriousness though, how were you when you were introduced to music – were you taught classically or otherwise as a child? How did you make the transition to electronic production?

I used to play piano.just classic stuff like Mozart, Haydn etc…but I was never good and stopped after 4 years. But now it helps me with writing songs/melodies.

What programs/equipment are you using these days to produce?

I try to keep it as simple as possible so I use a modular synth which is basically like a moog from the early 70s with sequencer and a Roland Alpha Auno combined with my Apple desktop and a laptop which I use to make sketches in hotelrooms.

As purveyors of music through a blog we’re interested to know how artists at the forefront of a genre find their music, what at the moment are you finding/listening to? What do you see as an upcoming development in electronic music, any predictions for the next big trend?

I'm actually really bad with being up to date with new music. I don’t really have music pages I go to to check out new stuff…friends of mine send me lots of music so they keep me up to date. Right now I'm sitting in the airport in Bergen,Norway and I played yesterday a show with Vito (Aeroplane) and he gave me some really nice upcoming stuff of his Aeroplane project to which I'm listening right now.

We know you just dropped an album and have earned yourself a big holiday, but what is next for Wolfram Amadeus?

Maybe just something instrumental or something with my dad with my mum yodeling over it. She actually can do it pretty well since she learned it in her childhood. I recorded her once but she always gets a bit nervous so maybe she is not perfect for live performances.

As an Austrian native, what do you think of the movie the Sound of Music? If they’re still around might you consider enlisting the Von Trapp family to do vocals on the next record – we hear Julie Andrews hasn’t had much work since Shrek.

Yeah Why not?!i like to help people out so if she needs  help she should hit me up.

And just to close can you name for us:
   
    an all time classic track

    Kraftwerk-wir sind die roboter
    an artist to look out for
    Shaun Wright (Hercules& Love Affair singer and next MR.INTL solo artist)
 

    one musical guilty pleasure, artist or track

    erasure-always

    worst request you’ve ever had

    the worst ones are usually better than the “cool” ones

    and most importantly, what is your drink of choice

    My all-time favourite is tap water! It’s affordable and the taste is  slightly
    different everywhere.

Aunt Hazel  +  Filthy