Chelsea Wolfe returns to the most essential sounds of her repertoire with “The Dark”, her ninth studio album out on August 21st for Loma Vista, a record born from a period of profound personal and artistic transformation. In an interview with Nme, the Californian singer-songwriter says she wanted to recover the darkest and most gothic heart of her music, after the electronic experiments of the previous “She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She”.
The idea for the new album took shape thanks to the collaboration with producer Jennifer Decilveo. “We wrote together very naturally and quickly,” explains Wolfe, recalling how one simple question guided the entire project: “When Jen asked me directly, 'What do you want this record to be?', everything became clearer. We go back to the instruments, start the songs with acoustic guitar or piano and vocals, and build from there.”
From a sound point of view, “The Dark” once again favors guitars, without giving up the more intensely rock moments. “I strongly felt the need for there to be a lot of guitars in this album. I don't consider it an acoustic record, because it also contains decidedly rock moments”, says the musician from Sacramento. The central theme of the work is the border between life and death, between loss and rebirth. “There is the feeling of crossing the veil that separates life from death, of searching once again for something that has been lost,” says Wolfe, explaining how this journey can represent both a real death and an internal transformation or the end of a relationship. Films like “What Dreams May Come” and “The Others” helped define the suspended atmosphere of the record.
The Californian artist also reveals that the album was born from a very personal awareness. “I realized how much I was abandoning myself,” she says, explaining that she spent years putting the needs of others before her own. “I understood that I had to face difficult moments and conversations to stop neglecting myself.” This path also involved moving away from loved ones and aspects of one's identity that no longer felt authentic.
The process was a natural evolution from the previous album, written immediately after he stopped drinking. If then the enthusiasm of the newfound clarity prevailed, today Wolfe describes a more complex phase: “This album talks about the deepest work, the hardest part of the journey. I understood that I had to continue working on myself, even if it meant moving away from people and situations that I loved”. In “The Dark” a reflection on the passing of time also emerges. “I'm literally starting the second half of my life and trying to embrace it, to embrace the person I am today,” explains the “Abyss” singer.
Among the guests on the album is once again Troy Van Leeuwen of Queens Of The Stone Age, already present in “16 Psyche”. “It was the perfect place to give Troy the space again to do what he knows how to do, and he came up with a fantastic solo,” Wolfe says of the song “Swallower.”
The album's final message is anything but pessimistic. “I believe that the best things come from darkness, rest, dreams and imagination. The darkness creates space for the light to come,” he says. “This record is a love letter to the dark and gothic side of my music, but also to the ability of darkness to give birth to something beautiful.”
Chelsea Wolfe will present the new songs live with an extensive international tour. Here are all the dates.
August 18 – London, UK – The Dome
August 20 – Bristol, UK – ArcTanGent Festival
September 16 – San Francisco, California – Curran Theatre
September 18 – Seattle, Washington – The Moore Theatre
September 19 – Salem, Oregon – Elsinore Theatre
September 20 – Portland, Oregon – Roseland Theater
September 22 – Salt Lake City, Utah – The Union Event Center
September 24 – Denver, Colorado – Paramount Theatre
September 25 – Lawrence, Kansas – Liberty Hall
September 26 – St. Paul, Minnesota – The Fitzgerald Theater
September 28 – Chicago, Illinois – The Riviera Theatre
September 29 – Columbus, Ohio – The Bluestone
September 30 – Detroit, Michigan – Masonic Jack White Theatre
October 5 – Boston, Massachusetts – Boch Center Shubert Theatre
October 6 – New York, New York – The Town Hall
October 8 – Munhall, Pennsylvania – Carnegie Of Homestead Music Hall
October 9 – Glenside, Pennsylvania – Keswick Theatre
October 10 – Washington, DC – Sixth & I
October 12 – Asheville, North Carolina – The Orange Peel
October 13 – Atlanta, Georgia – Buckhead Theatre
October 14 – Nashville, Tennessee – Marathon Music Works
October 16 – Dallas, Texas – Texas Theatre
October 17 – Austin, Texas – Emo's
October 20 – Tucson, Arizona – Rialto Theatre
October 21 – El Cajon, California – The Magnolia
October 23 – Los Angeles, California – The Orpheum Theatre
November 21 – Utrecht, Netherlands – TivoliVredenburg
November 23 – Berlin, Germany – Admiralspalast
November 24 – Hamburg, Germany – Große Freiheit 36
November 25 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Vega
November 27 – Oslo, Norway – Betong
November 28 – Stockholm, Sweden – Vasateatern
November 30 – Tallinn, Estonia – Helitehas
December 2 – Vilnius, Lithuania – LOFTAS
December 3 – Warsaw, Poland – Progresja
December 5 – Prague, Czech Republic – ARCHA+
December 6 – Vienna, Austria – Budocenter
December 7 – Budapest, Hungary – Akvárium Klub
December 9 – Mannheim, Germany – Capitol
December 11 – Fribourg, Switzerland – Fri-Son
12 December – Milan – Live Club
December 13 – Munich, Germany – Isarphilharmonie
December 15 – Antwerp, Belgium – Trix
December 16 – Paris, France – Casino de Paris
December 19 – Athens, Greece – FLOYD
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
