WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS - PHOTOGRAPHY LIZA MOLNAR
When turning up to London's iconic and brand spanking new Koko you could feel the anticipation oozing from the crowds of fans waiting to go see the captivating Remi Wolf. Off stage, Remi was cool and calm and when on stage she brought an electrified energy, filled with expression, where her personality came out in a primal performance that had us, and all of her adoring fans, hooked.
Carrot sticks, hummus, deli meats and red wine in hand (what a combo!) F Word got to catch up with this sparkling sensation and chat about how she was feeling before playing her first headline London show... Remi, you certainly didn't disappoint!
Maisie Jane Daniels: Thank you for talking to us today! I love your name! Is it short for anything?
Remi Wolf: Nah, just Remi!
MJD: How are you feeling about today's show?
RW: I feel good! I feel... uh kind of nervous actually.
MJD: Do you often get nervous before shows?
RW: It depends on the show. I mean there's always like, a bit of nerves but there will be shows where I'm more nervous than others, depending on the city and who's there. Sometimes I feel less pressure performing in the smaller cities where people are less used to seeing shows all the time because in cities like London where people see shows all the time there's so much more that they have to compare to [laughs] - do you know what I'm saying?
MJD: I do - I've seen the crowds outside and they seem so excited, plus some nerves are always good! Do you have any pre-show rituals?
RW: Ummm, not much except we do this little circle where me and the band shake out all our limbs and we do a little secret chant...
MJD: I want to know what the chant is!
RW: [Laughs] It changes every time but it's us spelling out a word. I'm not going to reveal our words, they're close to us!
MJD: What do you think of us London types?
RW: Oh my god, the London crowds are fun, like rowdy. The last time I was here I played at Moth Club... so fun! All the glitter and everything was beautiful and felt like such a... punk show!
MJD: ... I've had a lot of sweaty nights in that place!
RW: [Laughs] so that was really fun! I've never played a show this big here but I have high hopes.
MJD: What do you ask for in your ryder?
RW: It's not that interesting... a bunch of sliced deli meats, veggies, hummous, chips, whiskey, wine, beer, health shots like those ginger turmeric ones, coconut water.
MJD: Nice, I like it! It's got a bit of everything there
RW: A half health party!
MJD: What do you want people to take away from tonight?
RW: Hopefully they have fun and I give them some sort of newfound sense of freedom. I want everyone to feel free and able to be themselves at my shows.
MJD: What I love about your music is that it's super raw, honest and uncensored. And I’ve heard you say the songs are super nostalgic to you... Can you tell me if you’ve changed in any way since writing the album?
RW: *Nods* Very much so. I've travelled the world since I wrote and released the album, so that changes you and your perspective. I mean... it's quite a hard question. I've experienced a lot more life in a very compact amount of time and I think in the past 8 months, I've probably played more than 100 shows, so I have a lot of shows under my belt! It changes you. I think I am less rattled by things and I think I have wayyyy thicker skin. I think for the most part I feel like I can plough through anything [laughs].
MJD: Do you think the way you feel now, will filter into your new music? And so that will become nostalgic?
RW: Definitely! Hopefully I don't develop a skin so thick that I start to not feel anything, which is always the danger [laughs] but I try to keep a balance. My emotions run very high, I'm definitely a pretty emotional person so it's just being able to temper that and get through the ups and downs of living this life.
MJD: And when you do perform live all these times, does it feel like a release for you?
RW: Yeah! It does in a way, I would say it doesn't feel like a release in the same way that it felt like an emotional release when I was writing the songs, but it feels like a physical [release]... on a more primal level because I'm screaming and jumping... it's very basic human emotions! Because of that, I feel like I can release whatever energy I'm feeling inside, I feel like a lot of it gets released during the show. And then it builds up very quickly and I release it again [laughs] but yeah! That's the main draw for me of performance; it's being able to scream but not into my pillow.
MJD: [Laughs] is there a song you are most excited about playing live and why?
RW: One of my favourite songs to perform is wyd, there's something about the groove that... *Remi starts to groove* yeah!
Both: {Laughs}
RW: They're very vocally challenging songs, I wrote myself into a bit of a pickle there! I have to gear up for some of them.
MJD: Tell me, do you really have a cake tattoo?
RW: I do! *shows tattoo on leg*
MJD: I love it! It's real, I've seen it with my own eyes!
MJD: I've got to mention your partnership with Crocs (and show you my Crocs!) *lifts feet to show* you've also done collabs with Uggs. So what’s your relationship like with fashion?
RW: I've done a bunch of stuff with Uggs. I love Crocs, I've been wearing Crocs forever so it was such a natural moulding of brands. Fashion in general... I grew up going vintage and thrift shopping, just kind of very second-hand heavy and that's still my main joy when it comes to fashion. Just going out and hunting for stuff and I love texture, I love pattern, I love mixing everything together... I don't think about it too much. Sometimes it gets... I don't know... there are so many 'micro-trends' on Instagram that are cool but I ignore them, you can get too deep into that stuff plus I get confused easily.
MJD: You seem very authentic!
RW: Yeah and I try to just ignore everything and go with my gut and what I like. I tend to not shop with new stuff a lot, I've dabbled in some designer stuff recently, you know, a little luxury! *smiles*
MJD: You should definitely treat yo self!
RW: I have some Prada and a little bit of Gucci. And Lazy Oaf, I love Lazy Oaf and they're a huge brand here, we just did a little thing with them the other day. Their new collections are really cool and they do a lot of collabs and I really like that because it feels like they do a lot of independent and small artist outreach, which I love!
MJD: You’ve got a stack of festivals and a US tour coming up - where are you most excited to play and why? Except for All Points East in London (of course!)
RW: [Laughs] Yes! That's in August. Wow wow wow, I guess the one that stands out is Lolla [Lollapalooza] which is in Chicago, mainly because I grew up my entire childhood hearing about people playing Lolla. I play this festival in Italy [Florence] in 5 days [Firenze Rocks ] with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers...
MJD: Yes! I was going to come onto this - how the heck does that make you feel?!
RW: I was pretty over the moon! I was verrrrry happy, I just love them, I've been obsessed with them since I was young. Yeah, it's just a sick line-up. Hopefully, I get to meet the band.
MJD: I want to know what they have in their ryder!
RW: I know, me too!!!
MJD: What's your favourite thing about being an artist?
RW: I guess just being able to express myself. I feel like if I wasn't able to write art in a way, I would be so emotionally constipated and congested because it's one of the ways I'm able to really authentically put myself out there. I'm not a great communicator [laughs] I'm working on it... yeah I feel like it's my most powerful form of expression and communication, so I love that!
MJD: I can see you surround yourself with a female team, is that important to you in this predominantly male-dominated industry?
RW: Yeah, it's very important to me. As my career has gone on, the team has gotten more and more and more women-centric. At this point, I only want to hire women wherever I can - it makes life a lot easier to be honest [laughs]. Because we have empathy that a lot of men don't have and especially when you're in the industry, it's such an emotional job and people skills - that's kind of what it is - and it's really important for me to have women around me who can support me through that and that are over-all supportive. It just helps the work environment so much having girls around! And of course, there's a couple of men on my team that I fucking adore! My drummer Connor has been with me for 7 years at this point and he's like my brother, so there are a couple of little gems here and there, and yeah it can be tough when you don't have the right people around you, whether it be men or women.
MJD: Well said. So finally Remi, what is your favourite f - word?
RW: Dude, honestly, Fuck. I say Fuck so many times a day... yeah! There's no other one really! I'm constantly saying fuck, I'm an absolute sailor!
MJD: Thank you so much, I can't wait to watch you perform later!
