I was introduced to mysterious New York artist Wolf Colony a few months back, and I’ve really loved every release since then – including Unmasked, his wonderful recent album.
Not only am I intrigued by Wolf Colony’s anonymity, but by the depth and emotion in their music and video clips. So it brings me great pleasure to bring you the Australian premiere of his newest video,
There’s actually a really cool story behind this clip. A Russian fan was so mesmerised by the tune, that he set out to create a little video for it. The artist actually saw the video and, impressed, asked the fan to create a full-length video clip to officially accompany the track. The clip is filmed and set in the fan’s hometown of Urals in Russia, and stars his lovely girlfriend.
The director says of the clip: “The deep sensuality of the song inspired me to make a fan-video. I asked my girlfriend to play the main part and we found a dog to embody the wolf image. When the fan video was done I thought it would be great to attract my idol’s attention to it. So I sent it to Wolf Colony and was really surprised and excited when he gave me the opportunity to make the official video for Beauty. It was a challenge so I got my friends in video production to help me and it turned out to be a great experience and wonderful adventure. I’m proud of the result. For me, it was an honour to collaborate with Wolf Colony and a good chance to show the beauty of Urals in Russia to the whole world!”
The stunning clip shows the snow-covered town and surrounding lands, a gorgeous husky, as well as the director’s girlfriend (who, much to my dismay, is unfortunately seen wearing an Indian headdress for much of the clip – my only criticism of the whole thing.)
It really is a beautiful song, and the video clip is sublime. Watch here.
Anonymous and mysterious New York based producer Wolf Colony won’t be able to hide in obscurity for much longer if his new album Unmasked is anything to go by. An eclectic blend of indie-pop and 80s synth-pop makes for a subtly electrifying and deeply contemplative album which will have you lost in thought.
A dark vein runs through the majority of the album; dark but not necessarily depressing. It’s more like an amorphous exploration of the self, with vast, existential ideas disappearing into the echoing fog of sound as quickly as they emerged. First track released off the album Paradise begins with a beautiful keyboard arrangement, followed up by some percussive beats, culminating in the monotonous refrain of ‘paradise’.
Pleasure follows suit, quietly building into a crescendo before quickly petering out. An abrupt halt at the end of each song seems to be a common theme for most of Wolf Colony’s album. But it’s an effect that leaves you hanging on for more as the deafening silence echoes all around you. Many of the track titles (as well as the tracks themselves) are singular words like Beauty, Holy and Calling, conceptually simple, yet laden with emotional anecdotes that could be applicable to anyone.
Based out of New York City, Wolf Colony is an anonymous singer-songwriter who began collaborating with music producer Neal Sarin in 2012 with no intention of pursuing a career as a recording artist. But rather than remaining anonymous, Wolf Colony has found a devoted following who hang off the beat of every on of his sparse arrangements, deep, resonate vocals and extremely personal lyricism. This is an album dedicated to the self; to be listened to while dancing on your own, doing chores or on a dark and windy road late at night. It’s an album that will stay with you long after the music has stopped.
Check out Paradise below:
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Hello and welcome to one of the very first Howl & Echoes premieres!
Today I’m excited to share with you a gorgeous remix of The One, an emotional tune that’s been stuck in my head for a few months now.
Wolf Colony is an anonymous artist based in New York who has been collaborating with producer Neal Sarin since 2012. Known for his relatively simple arrangements, he weaves musical bare essentials with intimate lyrics. The vibrant melody is velvety rich, complemented by charming yet sparse instrumentation. There’s something really genuine and heartfelt about it, and it really just puts a smile on your face.
Watch the video clip, inspired by photo series Humans of New York, here:
And now, ladies and gentlemen, ’tis time for the remix premiere. Ready for something completely different?
The duo responsible are LA-based TWiN SCALE, or Sean & Steven Jeria. That’s right, they’re brothers! The pair usually release music as solo acts – listen to Sean’s beautiful Odesza remix here, and Steven’s (who releases tunes under the name AWRY) trippy trappy tunes here.
Combining glitch with ambience, organic with electronic, this is an eerie but lovely remix. Future beats, synth trickles, delayed rhythms and shifted vocals place the original tune in a completely different atmosphere, and the results are really interesting. Each phrase and layer brings something new to the remix, forever keeping you on your toes, wondering what’s coming next!
Wolf Colony is set to release his debut album, Unmasked, later this year.