WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.399 This is Wolfgang Valron, and I am with My Weekly 00:00:03.399 --> 00:00:07.059 Mixtape with Brian Colburn, and I hope that everyone 00:00:07.059 --> 00:00:20.199 is having a beautiful day. Welcome to My Weekly 00:00:20.199 --> 00:00:23.120 Mixtape, a podcast that takes the classic mixtape 00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.280 approach to building a modern playlist. I'm your 00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:29.059 host, Brian Colburn. On tonight's special album 00:00:29.059 --> 00:00:31.760 dive edition of the show, I'm joined by singer 00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:34.939 -songwriter Wolfgang Valbrun, whose album, Flawed 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.600 by Design, I discovered during one of my New 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:41.219 Music Friday searches, and I was instantly floored 00:00:41.219 --> 00:00:43.759 by what I heard. And now, a little over a week 00:00:43.759 --> 00:00:46.079 and change later, I'm excited to welcome Wolf 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.179 to the show so we can dive into his story and 00:00:49.179 --> 00:00:51.979 the music from this incredible debut release 00:00:51.979 --> 00:00:54.840 so more of the My Weekly Mixtape listeners can 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.799 discover it as well. Wolf, Thank you so much 00:00:57.799 --> 00:00:59.920 for joining me on the show, man. Thank you for 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:02.460 having me, man. Well, before we dive into the 00:01:02.460 --> 00:01:05.040 album, I always like to ask my first time guests, 00:01:05.159 --> 00:01:11.040 what does the word mixtape mean to you? It means 00:01:11.040 --> 00:01:13.920 the first gift that I gave to my first girlfriend 00:01:13.920 --> 00:01:23.079 when I was 13. I hope it went over well. Well, 00:01:23.099 --> 00:01:25.840 first off, congratulations on the debut album, 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:28.379 Flawed by Design. As I mentioned in my intro, 00:01:28.599 --> 00:01:31.379 this is an album I discovered on my New Music 00:01:31.379 --> 00:01:34.260 Friday hunting. And while I was listening and 00:01:34.260 --> 00:01:37.000 learning more about you, I discovered that before 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:40.140 embarking on this solo career, you were a part 00:01:40.140 --> 00:01:43.159 of Parisian funk band Marvelous, avant -garde 00:01:43.159 --> 00:01:46.900 UK soul and jazz band Ephemerals, as well as 00:01:46.900 --> 00:01:50.099 French hip -hop and soul legend Guts. who you 00:01:50.099 --> 00:01:53.379 co -wrote and performed on tracks of his Stop 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:56.579 the Violence record. Can you talk about how those 00:01:56.579 --> 00:02:00.420 collaborations and experiences led you to Flawed 00:02:00.420 --> 00:02:05.700 by Design? Really, really in a very weird way. 00:02:05.840 --> 00:02:08.219 So I started off with my band, Marvelous, when 00:02:08.219 --> 00:02:12.680 I was about 21, 22. And, you know, I wasn't a 00:02:12.680 --> 00:02:15.180 musician at that time. It was more just a kind 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:17.599 of a hobby. Just going out to sing with friends. 00:02:17.740 --> 00:02:21.819 And from there, we opened up for a band called 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:23.599 Hannah Williams and the Tastemakers at the time. 00:02:24.039 --> 00:02:27.300 And when that happened, I met the guitarist, 00:02:27.340 --> 00:02:30.759 so Olive Hillman. And she told me she wanted 00:02:30.759 --> 00:02:33.900 to have another band. And so we met over that 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:38.039 and just talked a bit. And then from that, after 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:40.560 touring the first and second album, we went to 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.240 Glastonbury. And from Glastonbury, we played 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:48.800 on a stage called Silver Haze. And that was really, 00:02:48.840 --> 00:02:50.520 really cool. But we were playing at the same 00:02:50.520 --> 00:02:53.900 time as Coldplay. So we didn't have much people 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:56.500 in front of us, but Guts was on right after us. 00:02:56.560 --> 00:02:58.479 And he was on the side of the stage and he watched 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:00.699 the gig. And from that, he kind of took me under 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:03.219 his wing, kind of became his little prodigy. 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:07.139 And so when... When we finished touring his, 00:03:07.340 --> 00:03:10.340 I think this was after Stop the Violence, it 00:03:10.340 --> 00:03:12.800 must have been like philanthropic, COVID hit, 00:03:12.939 --> 00:03:15.340 you know, and it kind of got to everybody. And 00:03:15.340 --> 00:03:18.620 so stopped touring with Guts, Ephemerals, you 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:21.319 know, we split, you know, after a while having 00:03:21.319 --> 00:03:23.800 been together. And then the question came of 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:25.639 like, what do I want to do next? What was the 00:03:25.639 --> 00:03:27.960 next thing that I wanted to discover? And it 00:03:27.960 --> 00:03:31.199 became, I wanted to discover myself because I 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:34.060 hadn't had that, the occasion to really delve 00:03:34.060 --> 00:03:36.620 into. What really touched me, even though I, 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:38.780 I felt a connection to all the other things I 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:41.800 had done before, but this was a very introspective 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:43.620 album. So that, I think that's how it really 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:46.800 came about. So then let's dive into flawed by 00:03:46.800 --> 00:03:49.939 design, which was released on May 31st, 2024 00:03:49.939 --> 00:03:53.120 via jalapeno records. And as I've mentioned countless 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:57.289 times on this show, I'm a sucker. for album opening 00:03:57.289 --> 00:04:00.689 tracks. So even when I'm looking to see where 00:04:00.689 --> 00:04:03.430 I stand on an album, I always tend to go to track 00:04:03.430 --> 00:04:06.889 one. Because if you could grab my attention and 00:04:06.889 --> 00:04:09.250 sell me on your music with the opening song, 00:04:09.550 --> 00:04:11.710 you probably got a fan for the rest of the album. 00:04:11.870 --> 00:04:14.689 And Sun Don't Shine, which is the opening song 00:04:14.689 --> 00:04:26.829 on this album, does just that. Strange bedfellows 00:04:26.829 --> 00:04:33.829 we sure are This could be the end of it all You 00:04:33.829 --> 00:05:09.149 want to be seen by This is the kind of song that 00:05:09.149 --> 00:05:12.290 immediately demands your attention. But while 00:05:12.290 --> 00:05:16.430 the music is joyous and uplifting, lyrically, 00:05:16.449 --> 00:05:18.269 you're painting kind of a different picture, 00:05:18.290 --> 00:05:21.509 that of a relationship that preserves only through 00:05:21.509 --> 00:05:25.750 the ups in life and inevitably crumbles when 00:05:25.750 --> 00:05:28.470 life's roller coaster takes you on a downward 00:05:28.470 --> 00:05:32.259 slide. Can you talk about that oil and water 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:34.779 marriage of the music and lyrics for this track? 00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:37.480 Because to me, the push and pull yin and yang 00:05:37.480 --> 00:05:41.000 dynamics is really what grabbed me. It's a weird 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:43.040 thing. I always do this comparison. It's like 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:44.980 when you listen to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift, 00:05:45.160 --> 00:05:49.019 right? And it sounds like a super happy message, 00:05:49.100 --> 00:05:50.980 but she's saying that she's being attacked and 00:05:50.980 --> 00:05:52.800 that she has to get rid of it, right? Or like 00:05:52.800 --> 00:05:56.199 when you think of Jay -Z and get the dirt off 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.519 your shoulder kind of thing, right? It's these 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:00.800 things where I think you can still talk about 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:02.819 negative, like not negative, but like things 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:05.519 that are difficult sometimes, but still give 00:06:05.519 --> 00:06:07.860 them that, you know, that beautiful twist of, 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:10.560 you know, it doesn't have to stop there. It can 00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:13.920 still be a beautiful day. Well, staying on the 00:06:13.920 --> 00:06:16.800 lyrical and musical dynamic for Sun Don't Shine 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:19.620 and even maybe broadening it out to the rest 00:06:19.620 --> 00:06:22.430 of the album. Are you a songwriter who prefers 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:25.430 to write the lyrics first and the music second? 00:06:25.509 --> 00:06:28.189 Is it vice versa or maybe a little bit of both? 00:06:28.649 --> 00:06:31.370 There is a little bit of both. So I'm lucky enough 00:06:31.370 --> 00:06:33.870 to have a great band behind me also, which are 00:06:33.870 --> 00:06:37.470 all friends from now a long day. And so when 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:39.689 I was writing this album, they helped me a lot. 00:06:39.850 --> 00:06:43.290 I mean, they kind of gave me the baggage, musical 00:06:43.290 --> 00:06:45.930 baggage that I needed to make this the best that 00:06:45.930 --> 00:06:48.490 I could. So we were sending each other music 00:06:48.490 --> 00:06:50.370 and then we met up and we did a lot of, you know, 00:06:50.730 --> 00:06:53.629 writing together also. In that sense, I think 00:06:53.629 --> 00:06:55.990 this was like, it's more of a collaborative album, 00:06:56.129 --> 00:06:58.470 if I can even say it like that. Even though most 00:06:58.470 --> 00:07:00.970 of everything comes from me, then with Derek 00:07:00.970 --> 00:07:02.470 Lee, et cetera, et cetera, the melodies. But 00:07:02.470 --> 00:07:06.209 again, I'm not a musician musician, right? I 00:07:06.209 --> 00:07:08.850 am someone who fell into music and then, and 00:07:08.850 --> 00:07:10.750 that thought that I couldn't do anything else 00:07:10.750 --> 00:07:13.730 after. And yeah, I think it was, it's more of 00:07:13.730 --> 00:07:15.829 a question of like, I'm passionate about having 00:07:15.829 --> 00:07:17.810 people, you know, being able to whisper into 00:07:17.810 --> 00:07:19.470 my ear and giving me the good decisions that 00:07:19.470 --> 00:07:22.189 I make. Well, the next song I'd like to dive 00:07:22.189 --> 00:08:23.639 into is the funky Love Yourself. First off, the 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:27.139 opening piano on this track is just absolute 00:08:27.139 --> 00:08:31.300 fire. You could feel the funkiness seeping into 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:34.240 the song before the rest of the band even kicks 00:08:34.240 --> 00:08:37.159 in. And that sets the tone right from the jump. 00:08:37.179 --> 00:08:40.919 And lyrically, this song really gives some great 00:08:40.919 --> 00:08:43.679 advice because let's be honest, if you're not 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:47.820 good to yourself, how can you be good to and 00:08:47.820 --> 00:08:50.779 for others? This is the kind of song that makes 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:54.200 me feel like I'm getting to know Wolf Valbrun, 00:08:54.320 --> 00:08:57.539 even though you and I have never personally met. 00:08:57.620 --> 00:09:01.460 Well, besides now, of course. But it's an extremely 00:09:01.460 --> 00:09:05.080 personal and vulnerable track. Was that your 00:09:05.080 --> 00:09:08.480 intention when writing Love Yourself? Yeah. I 00:09:08.480 --> 00:09:10.600 mean, so Love Yourself was one of the first tracks 00:09:10.600 --> 00:09:12.820 that I wrote for the album. And it was because 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:16.779 it became a mantra to myself or like during and 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:19.450 after COVID. It was. I was going through some 00:09:19.450 --> 00:09:24.250 hard times and I'm still in a relationship with 00:09:24.250 --> 00:09:26.490 someone that I love a lot, but it became this 00:09:26.490 --> 00:09:28.830 thing where I was like, I can't be good to this 00:09:28.830 --> 00:09:30.789 person if I'm not good to myself. It's impossible. 00:09:31.149 --> 00:09:33.009 How can I give her the best of me when I'm not 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:36.570 giving the best of myself to myself? So it became 00:09:36.570 --> 00:09:39.070 a mantra and then it became this thing that I 00:09:39.070 --> 00:09:41.490 started to tell everybody because I wanted everyone 00:09:41.490 --> 00:09:43.610 around me to kind of have that same energy for 00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:46.070 themselves. Take care of yourself. It's important. 00:09:46.570 --> 00:09:49.330 Don't... Don't, don't let yourself, you know, 00:09:49.389 --> 00:09:52.450 don't skip yourself before giving yourself to 00:09:52.450 --> 00:09:54.450 anybody else. And so it kind of just, yeah, kind 00:09:54.450 --> 00:09:57.009 of just snowballed like that. And along with 00:09:57.009 --> 00:09:59.090 vulnerable tracks like Love Yourself, you're 00:09:59.090 --> 00:10:02.350 not afraid to tackle topics like social consciousness 00:10:02.350 --> 00:10:05.429 in songs like My Next Choice, Keep Your Head 00:10:05.429 --> 00:10:42.940 Up. Keep Your Head Up tackles institutional and 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:46.200 social injustices with your horn section, adding 00:10:46.200 --> 00:10:51.159 this layer of heft on an already powerful rally 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:57.240 call. And you can truly tell how important this 00:10:57.240 --> 00:10:59.759 song is to you based on your vocal delivery, 00:10:59.960 --> 00:11:03.440 especially during lines like we are Kings and 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:06.779 Queens within you've got to lose before you win. 00:11:21.799 --> 00:11:24.860 You can hear how important these lyrics are to 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:27.759 you. Why is that? It was important to me because 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:31.440 I've been living in France for the last 20 years. 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:35.919 And even with living in France, I've had a deep 00:11:35.919 --> 00:11:37.559 connection with a lot of friends that I kept 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:39.320 from my childhood who are still in the States. 00:11:39.539 --> 00:11:42.620 And it was weird. You know, we went through the 00:11:42.620 --> 00:11:45.419 whole George Floyd thing and then in the States. 00:11:45.460 --> 00:11:48.820 And that kind of echoed into the world, right? 00:11:49.480 --> 00:11:52.639 and here it created this thing especially in 00:11:52.639 --> 00:11:55.139 france we've had these like there have been writing 00:11:55.139 --> 00:11:58.240 there's been a lot of like you know weird moments 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:01.159 also politically here and it was like and it 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:03.179 was literally to send that message like please 00:12:03.179 --> 00:12:05.919 don't forget that we are what makes this system 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:09.820 all right we are the people as much as you know 00:12:09.820 --> 00:12:12.919 we are we're treated as the small hands and this 00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:15.679 would say in french we're we're the ones that 00:12:15.679 --> 00:12:20.419 make this work if we stop Nothing goes on. No 00:12:20.419 --> 00:12:22.659 one can force you to go to work. No one can force 00:12:22.659 --> 00:12:24.980 you to do anything. So we are the kings and queens 00:12:24.980 --> 00:12:27.419 here in this situation. We are the cogs in the 00:12:27.419 --> 00:12:30.559 machine. But again, without us, the machine doesn't 00:12:30.559 --> 00:12:34.100 work. So we should keep our heads up and not 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:36.779 let ourselves be belittled by people who try 00:12:36.779 --> 00:12:39.919 to take away our importance in what we do. It's 00:12:39.919 --> 00:12:42.440 a powerful sentiment. The next song I'd like 00:12:42.440 --> 00:12:46.100 to dive into is the bluesy I'll Be Your Prey. 00:12:46.759 --> 00:12:55.220 I can't stand the feeling I'm losing you You 00:12:55.220 --> 00:13:03.759 left me alone for another lover Tell me what 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:12.620 did I do Whatever happened I said you loved me 00:13:18.919 --> 00:13:25.179 Please tell me, what did I do to make you go? 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:37.240 God knows I'm falling apart. Like all things 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:44.000 in life, nothing lasts. If love is a killer, 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:57.919 then lead me astray. Now, like I mentioned before 00:13:57.919 --> 00:14:01.679 starting the track, this song infuses, I'll say, 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:04.460 a hint of the blues. It's something I picked 00:14:04.460 --> 00:14:07.559 up on immediately, but the album as a whole, 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:11.519 while it's undeniably a soul album, I hear a 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.259 lot of different genres weaving in and out of 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:18.639 those tracks. Where does that musical cross -pollination 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.059 of genres come from for you? So it's funny that 00:14:22.059 --> 00:14:23.840 you say that. I'll Be Your Prey is one of the 00:14:23.840 --> 00:14:25.700 only songs that I didn't write on the album. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:29.019 And it was important for me to not write necessarily 00:14:29.019 --> 00:14:31.919 everything. I think it was super important to, 00:14:31.980 --> 00:14:35.220 again, have the input of my band and also know 00:14:35.220 --> 00:14:37.860 what they wanted to give to the world. And it 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:40.840 was actually written by a good friend and the 00:14:40.840 --> 00:14:44.399 guitarist of the album, Adam Hallgate. And me 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:48.539 and Adam, we have a very loving and caring relationship 00:14:48.539 --> 00:14:51.039 because we've gone through a lot of the same 00:14:51.039 --> 00:14:56.070 troubles. especially in love. And when he proposed 00:14:56.070 --> 00:14:59.929 the song, I was super happy about it because 00:14:59.929 --> 00:15:03.210 it resonated with me a lot. And the fact of it 00:15:03.210 --> 00:15:05.649 being this thing where, you know, it's asking, 00:15:05.710 --> 00:15:07.870 yeah, you know, I can't stand the feeling that 00:15:07.870 --> 00:15:10.809 you're leaving. And what can I do? What have 00:15:10.809 --> 00:15:13.789 I done? I will be the thing that will suffer. 00:15:14.370 --> 00:15:17.470 I will let you tear me down. Just, you know, 00:15:17.529 --> 00:15:20.639 tell me why. And so it kind of gave this thing 00:15:20.639 --> 00:15:22.460 where because everyone put in their input in 00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:24.980 this album, I wanted also everyone to, you know, 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:29.600 show me what they were. Right. So Adam is an 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:33.120 amazing guitarist and he is an incredible songwriter. 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.120 And that's really his touch on the album. Of 00:15:37.120 --> 00:15:39.399 course, there's a bunch more of it elsewhere. 00:15:39.720 --> 00:15:43.419 And he gave me the space of interpretation and 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:46.210 that I really, really love. Well, while we're 00:15:46.210 --> 00:15:48.549 talking about I'll Be Your Prey, I'd also like 00:15:48.549 --> 00:15:50.710 to bring another song into the discussion that 00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:53.929 holds an interesting similarity to it, and that 00:15:53.929 --> 00:16:44.610 is the song Paris. Now, how... Cirrus, along 00:16:44.610 --> 00:16:47.269 with I'll Be Your Prey, are available on the 00:16:47.269 --> 00:16:49.990 physical CD and vinyl editions of the album, 00:16:50.129 --> 00:16:53.950 but not on streaming. And I personally want to 00:16:53.950 --> 00:16:57.590 applaud this because I'm a huge proponent of 00:16:57.590 --> 00:17:01.789 physical media. And the trend over the 2000s 00:17:01.789 --> 00:17:05.069 that I noticed was companies were putting out 00:17:05.069 --> 00:17:07.970 bonus tracks digitally, whether it be on iTunes 00:17:07.970 --> 00:17:12.450 or streaming only tracks. and left them off physical 00:17:12.450 --> 00:17:15.190 copies. But here we are a little over a decade 00:17:15.190 --> 00:17:19.089 later, and I'm seeing that trend switch where 00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:22.529 physical copies are getting bonus tracks that 00:17:22.529 --> 00:17:25.289 are not available on streaming. Can you talk 00:17:25.289 --> 00:17:28.130 about your or maybe the label's decision and 00:17:28.130 --> 00:17:32.029 mindset behind this decision? It was a way to 00:17:32.029 --> 00:17:34.410 really thank the people that invest themselves 00:17:34.410 --> 00:17:37.950 in this project. I mean, I wrote, I wanted to 00:17:37.950 --> 00:17:39.589 write this album because I wanted it to be a 00:17:39.589 --> 00:17:43.289 love letter. Right. A love letter to the people 00:17:43.289 --> 00:17:46.130 that have supported me for years, that have given 00:17:46.130 --> 00:17:48.950 me the opportunity to be who I am musically. 00:17:49.069 --> 00:17:51.130 And I think it was really, really important, 00:17:51.250 --> 00:17:53.549 like even for me and even for the label, just 00:17:53.549 --> 00:17:56.670 to, you know, give that not an incentive, but, 00:17:56.710 --> 00:17:58.809 you know, it's a personal thank you when you 00:17:58.809 --> 00:18:02.089 buy this album physically to, you know, have 00:18:02.089 --> 00:18:04.549 that extra because you deserve it. Like it's 00:18:04.549 --> 00:18:08.920 all efforts deserve something. I know today, 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:12.799 you know, not necessarily everyone has a vinyl 00:18:12.799 --> 00:18:16.819 player or, you know, uses CDs. But, you know, 00:18:16.839 --> 00:18:18.460 it's a way to say, you know, when you do, thank 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:20.059 you. Thank you for, you know, thank you for making 00:18:20.059 --> 00:18:21.779 the effort. Thank you for loving what we do. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:24.660 So, yeah. And I want to add to that because it's 00:18:24.660 --> 00:18:28.460 no big secret that artists take home more from 00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:32.140 a physical album sale versus a stream. And depending 00:18:32.140 --> 00:18:34.420 on what streaming service we're talking about 00:18:34.420 --> 00:18:37.410 here. Somebody would have to stream your album 00:18:37.410 --> 00:18:41.690 approximately a thousand times before you as 00:18:41.690 --> 00:18:44.589 the artist or the band would profit the same 00:18:44.589 --> 00:18:49.089 as a single CD sale. Which is why I always recommend 00:18:49.089 --> 00:18:52.250 purchasing physical copies of the albums that 00:18:52.250 --> 00:18:55.970 you enjoy because these artists... need to be 00:18:55.970 --> 00:18:58.849 able to afford to continue to create this art 00:18:58.849 --> 00:19:03.849 and to think that one CD sale equals 1 ,000 streams 00:19:03.849 --> 00:19:05.630 of an album. Because let's be honest, who is 00:19:05.630 --> 00:19:09.029 streaming an album 1 ,000 times in a row? No 00:19:09.029 --> 00:19:12.130 one. And that's the problem. I think also we 00:19:12.130 --> 00:19:15.690 as a society really need to realize we all love 00:19:15.690 --> 00:19:18.269 music. No matter what the type of music, it could 00:19:18.269 --> 00:19:21.769 be metal, it could be electro, it could be whatever 00:19:21.769 --> 00:19:24.400 you want. And at a moment or another, when we 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.259 love music and we love what it does to our soul, 00:19:27.619 --> 00:19:30.980 we can't deny that there is an investment to 00:19:30.980 --> 00:19:32.680 make. When I say investment, not necessarily 00:19:32.680 --> 00:19:36.200 monetarily, but spiritually in a sense, right? 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:40.319 We used to see so many artists in development 00:19:40.319 --> 00:19:43.940 in like big labels, right? And the thing is that 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:47.039 when streaming came along, yes, everyone had 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:49.519 access to everything. But all of a sudden, all 00:19:49.519 --> 00:19:51.890 these... artists in development couldn't be developed 00:19:51.890 --> 00:19:53.990 anymore because there wasn't that investment 00:19:53.990 --> 00:19:57.269 that could be made. So a lot of great projects 00:19:57.269 --> 00:20:01.589 fell into nothingness. A lot of beautiful and 00:20:01.589 --> 00:20:04.269 amazing voices and talented musicians all of 00:20:04.269 --> 00:20:07.089 a sudden found themselves without the possibility 00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:10.950 to even sometimes even feed themselves, right? 00:20:11.190 --> 00:20:14.529 So I think it's, I understand it. And in a way, 00:20:14.569 --> 00:20:17.150 it's a great thing that you have so much access 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:20.210 to everything all the time. But at a moment or 00:20:20.210 --> 00:20:23.529 another, we also have to, you know, I think as 00:20:23.529 --> 00:20:26.269 fans of music, I'm a fan of music. I buy CDs. 00:20:26.670 --> 00:20:30.190 I buy vinyls. I support the things that I love. 00:20:30.589 --> 00:20:33.549 And I love music. I go to the movies because 00:20:33.549 --> 00:20:36.349 I love seeing good cinema. You know what I mean? 00:20:36.369 --> 00:20:38.609 I buy a good book because it feels good. And 00:20:38.609 --> 00:20:40.410 also I know it's going to help the author write 00:20:40.410 --> 00:20:44.690 another one. And that's, I mean, yeah, it's a 00:20:44.690 --> 00:20:46.329 weird choice to make, but sometimes it's the 00:20:46.329 --> 00:20:49.660 choice to make. Amen to that. Well, I talked 00:20:49.660 --> 00:20:51.880 about at the beginning how much I love myself 00:20:51.880 --> 00:20:55.920 an opening track. But equally as important, when 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.539 you're talking about an album listen, is that 00:20:58.539 --> 00:21:02.180 defining stamp to close out an album. And in 00:21:02.180 --> 00:21:05.960 this instance, the defining stamp is the title 00:21:05.960 --> 00:21:22.140 track, Flawed by Design. Focus needlessly fighting, 00:21:22.240 --> 00:22:29.880 but then there's you We are built to be perfect, 00:22:29.940 --> 00:22:33.920 but flawed by design. That is a poignant lyric. 00:22:34.099 --> 00:22:37.180 And it really does bring the themes that are 00:22:37.180 --> 00:22:40.579 woven throughout the album to almost this full 00:22:40.579 --> 00:22:44.740 circle moment. Was that song written with that 00:22:44.740 --> 00:22:47.240 in mind? Like, here is the exclamation point 00:22:47.240 --> 00:22:50.559 for this album? Or maybe should I say, was it 00:22:50.559 --> 00:22:57.500 done, sorry, by design? Strangely, no. Flawed 00:22:57.500 --> 00:23:00.019 by Design was something that I thought no one 00:23:00.019 --> 00:23:02.940 was going to like. Really? Because it was, it 00:23:02.940 --> 00:23:06.740 was, I was angry when I wrote it. I was, I was, 00:23:06.779 --> 00:23:12.019 I was, I was in this instance of, of thinking 00:23:12.019 --> 00:23:15.900 to myself, what is this all for? Right? What 00:23:15.900 --> 00:23:19.240 is where we are? We are in this position where 00:23:19.240 --> 00:23:24.430 we ask so much of everyone. And you put on the 00:23:24.430 --> 00:23:27.190 mask. We all put on the mask. We go to work and 00:23:27.190 --> 00:23:29.950 we're polite and we try and so we take sides. 00:23:30.970 --> 00:23:35.230 And we do the circus bit. We are the bear on 00:23:35.230 --> 00:23:38.029 the balloon. We are the trapeze artists trying 00:23:38.029 --> 00:23:41.410 to get a bit of fanfare, trying to get a bit 00:23:41.410 --> 00:23:46.509 of, you know. That's so great. But you never 00:23:46.509 --> 00:23:50.309 become a civilian in that sense, right? You're 00:23:50.309 --> 00:23:55.150 always. trying and wanting someone's affection, 00:23:55.549 --> 00:23:59.509 someone's acceptance, what is it all for? There's 00:23:59.509 --> 00:24:02.569 this phrase that I put between everything. It's 00:24:02.569 --> 00:24:06.470 literally, and what about you? But there's always 00:24:06.470 --> 00:24:09.049 you. You who think that you're not playing the 00:24:09.049 --> 00:24:11.910 game. You who think that this doesn't concern 00:24:11.910 --> 00:24:16.150 you, but it does. All this concerns us. So yeah, 00:24:16.190 --> 00:24:18.829 we're built in this way that people want us to 00:24:18.829 --> 00:24:25.509 be too petite. to a T, polite, nice, not angry, 00:24:25.710 --> 00:24:32.089 not frustrated, not, but you know you are. So 00:24:32.089 --> 00:24:36.589 yeah, let's not be perfect. Let's not do the 00:24:36.589 --> 00:24:40.910 thing and go through the BS to be polite. I like 00:24:40.910 --> 00:24:44.750 to refer to it as perfected imperfections. Exactly. 00:24:44.890 --> 00:24:48.529 And let's accept who, let's again, and it does 00:24:48.529 --> 00:24:50.450 go full circle because let's accept who we are. 00:24:50.839 --> 00:24:53.039 And it doesn't mean accept who you are and be 00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.720 assholes that we may, you know, let's make an 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:58.279 effort. But let's not make an effort for anybody 00:24:58.279 --> 00:25:02.720 else other than ourselves. Because, again, you 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:05.259 can't be happy if you're trying to please someone 00:25:05.259 --> 00:25:07.980 else. You can't find love if you don't love yourself. 00:25:08.200 --> 00:25:09.880 You can't do all these things if you don't have 00:25:09.880 --> 00:25:13.099 that introspection. And we all need that introspection. 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:15.339 We got to stop doing the circus bit. We got to 00:25:15.339 --> 00:25:18.640 stop. Got to stop trying to people please, man. 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:21.480 It's not going to work. It's not going to work. 00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:24.759 It's a saddening, saddening thing where you want 00:25:24.759 --> 00:25:26.359 to be loved by everyone else, but you look at 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:28.099 yourself in the mirror and you can't stand it. 00:25:28.440 --> 00:25:31.480 And as someone who has struggled with self -doubt 00:25:31.480 --> 00:25:33.920 and anxiety in my life, when I listen to songs 00:25:33.920 --> 00:25:37.380 like this, I feel like we're on the same page. 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:40.710 I'm not alone. When I think that way, if I have 00:25:40.710 --> 00:25:43.369 doubts about the podcast or doubts about an interview 00:25:43.369 --> 00:25:46.609 I did or doubts about myself as a podcast host, 00:25:46.789 --> 00:25:49.369 this is something that everybody struggles with. 00:25:49.470 --> 00:25:52.509 And to have a song that's kind of a rallying 00:25:52.509 --> 00:25:54.549 call that says, hey, we're all in this together, 00:25:54.769 --> 00:25:56.829 I think is a great thing. And that shows the 00:25:56.829 --> 00:25:59.750 power of music. Exactly. I mean, it shows the 00:25:59.750 --> 00:26:03.069 power of just the human being. Again, it's a 00:26:03.069 --> 00:26:05.450 beautiful thing to have people like you spreading 00:26:05.450 --> 00:26:07.589 the good word. And this is not only about my 00:26:07.589 --> 00:26:12.089 album. It is, again, we do, you know, we've never 00:26:12.089 --> 00:26:15.130 been so connected as people, but we've never 00:26:15.130 --> 00:26:19.049 been solo. Yep. Right. Yep. I've seen so many 00:26:19.049 --> 00:26:21.730 people believe that they're not part of something. 00:26:21.809 --> 00:26:25.029 And so they cling on to things that sometimes 00:26:25.029 --> 00:26:28.529 alienate them even more. Right. We horribly have 00:26:28.529 --> 00:26:31.630 people trying to separate us constantly and trying 00:26:31.630 --> 00:26:35.450 to tell us these lies of what we are and who 00:26:35.450 --> 00:26:39.400 we're supposed to be. And I say this from the 00:26:39.400 --> 00:26:41.500 bottom of my heart to anybody that will listen 00:26:41.500 --> 00:26:45.380 to this today. You are not alone. And it sucks 00:26:45.380 --> 00:26:48.279 to be alone. And it hurts to not feel accepted. 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:52.420 And it feels weird to want to have to beg for 00:26:52.420 --> 00:26:55.460 attention. But this is the thing. You don't have 00:26:55.460 --> 00:26:59.680 to. Don't beg for attention. Give yourself the 00:26:59.680 --> 00:27:02.420 attention. Don't ask for people who are not going 00:27:02.420 --> 00:27:06.819 to love you for your actual value. Give yourself 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:09.269 the time. Time is the only thing that you can't 00:27:09.269 --> 00:27:13.210 get back when you've wasted it away. So give 00:27:13.210 --> 00:27:15.529 yourself the time. Be patient. I can assure you 00:27:15.529 --> 00:27:18.750 everything's going to be okay. Everything's really 00:27:18.750 --> 00:27:22.529 going to be okay. Amen, man. Well, I want to 00:27:22.529 --> 00:27:25.009 continue to talk about this album because I listened 00:27:25.009 --> 00:27:28.230 to it over and over again. But one thing I noticed 00:27:28.230 --> 00:27:31.309 more and more with every listen is that each 00:27:31.309 --> 00:27:34.950 band member gets their moment to shine on the 00:27:34.950 --> 00:27:37.309 album, whether we're talking about the tasty 00:27:37.309 --> 00:27:39.789 piano opening to Love Yourself, which I had mentioned 00:27:39.789 --> 00:27:43.690 earlier, or to the reverb -bathed guitar goodness, 00:27:43.869 --> 00:27:46.289 I guess you'll call it, of a song like Almighty 00:27:46.289 --> 00:28:56.619 Dollar. talk about the overall musical arrangements 00:28:56.619 --> 00:28:59.299 on the album how they were decided upon between 00:28:59.299 --> 00:29:02.160 you and the rest of the band and how that balance 00:29:02.160 --> 00:29:05.599 was struck between the musicians and when their 00:29:05.599 --> 00:29:09.279 time to shine happened it's a weird thing because 00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:11.920 we took it i i like i guess we can say we kind 00:29:11.920 --> 00:29:14.039 of took it old school we did everything together 00:29:14.039 --> 00:29:17.430 we we did everything together We sat down and 00:29:17.430 --> 00:29:19.150 we listened to the tracks and we wrote them and 00:29:19.150 --> 00:29:22.549 we rewrote them. And it was just really, really 00:29:22.549 --> 00:29:26.069 important for everyone to be happy. And again, 00:29:26.130 --> 00:29:28.789 to give themselves. Because yes, there's a lot 00:29:28.789 --> 00:29:30.309 of me, but there's a lot of everyone in this 00:29:30.309 --> 00:29:33.009 album. Everyone invested so much time and so 00:29:33.009 --> 00:29:35.609 much effort and so much, again, just so much 00:29:35.609 --> 00:29:39.390 love and attention to the details. So I think 00:29:39.390 --> 00:29:41.690 that's how it really happened. We just, you know, 00:29:41.769 --> 00:29:45.049 we took a first week and then we just chilled 00:29:45.049 --> 00:29:47.809 out together. out of that first week, we wrote 00:29:47.809 --> 00:29:50.269 seven songs, seven songs in seven days. And then 00:29:50.269 --> 00:29:53.849 we did it again. And we, and, and, and, you know, 00:29:53.869 --> 00:29:56.009 they live in Bristol and I live in Paris and 00:29:56.009 --> 00:29:58.650 our sax player, he lives in, he lives in Leipzig. 00:29:58.809 --> 00:30:01.529 And, but we came together every time because 00:30:01.529 --> 00:30:03.430 it was, it was important to us to, you know, 00:30:03.430 --> 00:30:06.230 to be able to communicate, but for real, again, 00:30:06.309 --> 00:30:08.809 seeing each other, you know, sometimes, you know, 00:30:08.809 --> 00:30:11.930 arguing and, you know, just, and, but, you know, 00:30:11.930 --> 00:30:16.559 taking the time to hear and touch and feel get 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:18.900 the things. And I wanted, you know, I wanted 00:30:18.900 --> 00:30:21.740 to, I wanted everyone's emotions to truly shine 00:30:21.740 --> 00:30:24.900 through. And that it does. And you could see 00:30:24.900 --> 00:30:27.619 it visually because you've posted a bunch of 00:30:27.619 --> 00:30:30.559 live in studio performances of songs from the 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:33.660 album, which I'll embed over on the episode page 00:30:33.660 --> 00:30:38.349 at myweeklymixtape .com. This band is. ridiculously 00:30:38.349 --> 00:30:42.009 tight are there any plans to tour in support 00:30:42.009 --> 00:30:45.109 of flawed by design and if so where can people 00:30:45.109 --> 00:30:47.609 keep up with your upcoming dates and catch you 00:30:47.609 --> 00:30:52.390 live so yeah we um we're looking to tour later 00:30:52.390 --> 00:30:55.730 in this year so end of 2024 uh beginning of 225 00:30:55.730 --> 00:30:59.329 we're all excited to be able to tour but we're 00:30:59.329 --> 00:31:02.630 you know we're it's hard and you know we're trying 00:31:02.630 --> 00:31:08.259 to eat and trying to eat is is you know is a 00:31:08.259 --> 00:31:10.500 hard thing these days horribly for a musician 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:13.420 so um because we also want to i think we want 00:31:13.420 --> 00:31:15.960 to we want to stay honest to ourselves we don't 00:31:15.960 --> 00:31:19.819 want to you know do this half -assed so we want 00:31:19.819 --> 00:31:21.980 to tour we're looking for you know people that 00:31:21.980 --> 00:31:23.980 love the message and you know want to help us 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:27.480 out with all that so yeah the game plan is late 00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:31.000 2024 uh beginning 2025 well wolf this has been 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:33.799 such a fantastic conversation but before i let 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:37.269 you go How would you describe the current state 00:31:37.269 --> 00:31:41.509 of soul music in 2024? And how do you feel the 00:31:41.509 --> 00:31:45.690 genre has evolved over the decades to get from 00:31:45.690 --> 00:31:49.930 the classics of the 50s and 60s to what we're 00:31:49.930 --> 00:31:53.509 hearing now in 2024 along the lines of bands 00:31:53.509 --> 00:31:57.009 like Black Pumas or artists like Marcus King, 00:31:57.190 --> 00:31:59.750 Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, Charles 00:31:59.750 --> 00:32:03.509 Bradley, Gary Clark Jr.? J .J. Gray and Moe Froen 00:32:03.509 --> 00:32:07.809 as well as Wolfgang Valbrun. I think we're lucky 00:32:07.809 --> 00:32:12.569 as a genre to have stayed more or less in contact 00:32:12.569 --> 00:32:17.009 with all the things that had been before. I would 00:32:17.009 --> 00:32:19.190 have never written this album if there would 00:32:19.190 --> 00:32:23.529 have been no Otis Redding or no Wilson Paquette. 00:32:23.789 --> 00:32:28.289 So we are the descendants of, we are the children 00:32:28.289 --> 00:32:30.740 of what we used to listen to. And it's a great 00:32:30.740 --> 00:32:32.740 thing. I find it beautiful. I mean, there's people 00:32:32.740 --> 00:32:36.000 like Arlo Parts that I love and I find amazing. 00:32:36.619 --> 00:32:40.839 Or Jacob Banks. Yeah. Who for me is a guy. I 00:32:40.839 --> 00:32:44.339 mean, he, I love what he does. And it's because 00:32:44.339 --> 00:32:48.000 it's just so, so true that he has that old sound, 00:32:48.119 --> 00:32:51.660 man. And it's, and you know, you close your eyes 00:32:51.660 --> 00:32:54.619 and you feel like you're in the 60s. And you're 00:32:54.619 --> 00:32:57.160 like, that's what we need. We need people just 00:32:57.160 --> 00:33:00.180 to keep it alive. Just to keep it alive. And 00:33:00.180 --> 00:33:02.099 that's what, that's what I'm trying to do. I'm 00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:05.240 just trying to keep what I love alive. Well, 00:33:05.319 --> 00:33:08.420 this album gives me excitement for what the future 00:33:08.420 --> 00:33:11.880 of soul has to offer the world. Wolf's new album 00:33:11.880 --> 00:33:14.960 flawed by design is available now on all streaming 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:17.380 sites, or you can head to his band camp page. 00:33:17.519 --> 00:33:20.980 If you'd like to purchase it on vinyl CD or a 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:23.720 digital copy of the album, take advantage of 00:33:23.720 --> 00:33:27.289 band camp Fridays, because. 100 % of the proceeds 00:33:27.289 --> 00:33:30.529 go to the artist on Bandcamp Fridays. And I'm 00:33:30.529 --> 00:33:33.069 also going to make sure to have that Bandcamp 00:33:33.069 --> 00:33:36.809 page linked up on the episode page at myweeklymixtape 00:33:36.809 --> 00:33:40.069 .com for easy access. Wolf, thank you so much 00:33:40.069 --> 00:33:42.470 for taking the time to dive into your amazing 00:33:42.470 --> 00:33:45.150 debut album with me. And I can't wait to see 00:33:45.150 --> 00:33:47.990 what the future holds for your music and catch 00:33:47.990 --> 00:33:50.309 a live show when you're over on this side of 00:33:50.309 --> 00:33:52.849 the pond in the States. With pleasure, man. I'd 00:33:52.849 --> 00:33:55.220 love to, hey, I'd love to come back home. Love 00:33:55.220 --> 00:33:57.460 to come back home. So it was a pleasure being 00:33:57.460 --> 00:33:59.059 with you and I really do appreciate it, man. 00:33:59.119 --> 00:34:01.640 Thank you very much. And remember, you can find 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:04.039 my weekly mixtape on almost all the social media 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:07.180 haunts at... My Weekly Mixtape. You can also 00:34:07.180 --> 00:34:09.820 head to myweeklymixtape .com to check out the 00:34:09.820 --> 00:34:12.960 full catalog of My Weekly Mixtape episodes. And 00:34:12.960 --> 00:34:14.860 finally, if you like what you're hearing on the 00:34:14.860 --> 00:34:16.619 show, you can help me out by either telling a 00:34:16.619 --> 00:34:18.860 friend, leaving the show a five -star review 00:34:18.860 --> 00:34:21.940 wherever you're tuning in, or becoming a Patreon 00:34:21.940 --> 00:34:26.320 mixtaper at patreon .com forward slash myweeklymixtape. 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:28.840 That's all for this week. Thanks again for listening. 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:31.119 And until next time, enjoy the tunes.