Vanderwolf On the Making of “A Time To Die”
What initial spark or idea led to the creation of "A Time To Die?"
For about 10 years working and living in the UK, all my travel was paid for. Living in close proximity to the culturally diverse European continental nations, it was easy to pick up a cheap flight and go anywhere. But when you’re mid-air, the plane bouncing around in turbulence, you start questioning your own frivolous motivations. “A Time to Die” was written in Groningen, NL, after a particularly uncomfortable flight to Amsterdam.
What impact do you hope this single will have on your audience?
I hope it instills a fanatical devotion to my music. I hope my audience promotes me as a demi-god and cult leader and we rise up and take our country back from the fascists. Then we place Trump and Musk on trial for destroying and stealing the public's wealth in healthcare, social security, medicaid, cancer research, veterans funds, etc. Then we repeal Citizens United and all the corrupt campaign finance laws that allow lections to be bought by billionaires. That's how good this single is. Let's go.
What did you enjoy most about making this track?
Usually it’s the things you didnt expect that make standout. The guitar synthesizer in the coda of the song and the extended keyboards that complete the song.
Can you tell us more about you as an artist?
What do you want to know? My shoe size? What type of guitars do I play? What kind of question is this? I'm not even sure what ''as an artist'' means? I can tell you that ''A Time to Die'' is the 2nd of 6 singles that comprise the Vanderwolf Singles Club-- a cultural initiative and public offering brought to you by the Vanderwolf Corporation.
The next single, ''Twice in a Lifetime,'' released next month addresses the fetishization, mythologizing and exploitation of musicians and artists that is so prevalent in the capitalist culture where all language, ideas and art are instantaneously commodified. Spotify, Universal and LiveNation squeeze every drop of blood out of a single penny in order to meet shareholders expectations. This all comes at the expense of fans, artists and what is now a deeply wounded music culture.
The song also addresses the mythology of martyrdom in popular culture - Janis, Jerry, Jimi, Marley, Morrison Lennon, Cobain -- all of them celebrated, marketed, mythologised, and remarketed.
Joseph Campbell discusses the importance of accepting death as rebirth as in the myth of the buffalo and the story of Christ. Rock stars are reborn in box sets, re-issues, books, and bio-pics. Campbell also discusses the role of sacrifice in myth — and so the story of Christ is neatly aligned with our favorite martyred rock stars. Paraphrasing Patti Smith, ''Kurt Cobain died for somebody's sins-- but not mine.''
The video directed by George Panagakos (Passion Play, Fate of the Apostles) is a hoot! He really brought the narrative to life.
Can you share a memorable experience from a collaboration that enriches your music?
It's all about ''play.'' And it's more fun to play with others than play alone. We know this from childhood and so we recreate and re-enhance our collaborative powers with more of the same. I've been lucky to have Robyn Hitchcock (Soft Boys), Adrian Utley (Portishead), Daevid Allen (Gong) and Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine) all appear and collaboratively work on my songs and I've got a couple of guest appearances lining up for my next record that are also notable.
