Emily Wolfe

Welcome back to Uncharted, an Uproxx original series highlighting the best artists you haven’t heard of, yet. With the support of our friends at Honda, we are following some of the best emerging talent as they follow their dreams and make great music.

Do me a favor and picture a rock star. Not just an everyday drummer or a local gig guitarist, but a true blue rock n’ roller. Follow that image in your head offstage after a raucous gig. Put them on a plush couch in a green room or standing in a hotel suite just waiting to being trashed.

Now, tell me, what’s in their hand?

If you’re anything like me, your hypothetical traveling musician has a firm grip on a bottle of something fermented, distilled and gut-rottingly strong. Alcohol and rock music are intrinsically linked in the cultural imagination and with good reason. The vast majority of the genre’s icons spent their salad days pickling their insides. But that’s not the case with Emily Wolfe. The Austin-based musician only found how to properly rock out after kicking a rocky alcohol addiction to the curb.

Though you wouldn’t know it if you saw her on a stage now — playing a vicious brand of rock and roll that would make her idols Jenny Lewis and Jack White proud — Wolfe was painfully shy about performing well into her young adulthood. Even though she started playing guitar at the age of 5, Wolfe said she was always uncomfortable performing for a crowd.

“I never liked to sing in front of people,” she tells us. “Even in church, I felt like I sounded weird.”

Wolfe fell into an appropriately quiet style, writing folk music songs with her college roommate. And even though she wrote all the lyrics, she couldn’t bring herself to sing because she was “too afraid.”

“I played guitar and she sang… That was the first band or project I was in that allowed me to be on stage as a guitar player,” she says. “And we got booked at [Austin venue] Spider House… we sat down cause we were too afraid to stand up and play.”

Wolfe did sing though, when she was writing her own music and lyrics — she played the songs to herself inside the closet of her apartment. It was around after she graduated college that Wolfe fell into habits more associated with hard rockers than folkies. She says that she felt “super stuck” in both her music and the office job where she was working and that led to raw, alcohol-soaked writing sessions.

“I was working a boring day job. I’d work 8 to 5, come home, toss a bunch of drinks back and write bad songs. It was a very emotionally driven, drunken and messy process,” she confesses.

Wolfe describes the songs that came from this period as the work of a “clearly depressed” person. Though she was drinking like a stereotypical rockstar and writing sorrowful songs, Wolfe had yet to make a turn toward blues music’s most famous offspring.

The drinking eventually crept into her daily life with Wolfe sneaking drinks at her day job and downing as much as a half-liter of tequila every single day.

“After a while I was putting whiskey in my water bottle,” she reveals about her past. “Who’s gonna notice? They didn’t say anything if they did.”

Wolfe explained at first, drinking all day at work and coming home to drink even heavier just seemed like something that a musician was supposed to do.

“I was ashamed of it, but it also felt like it was what I was supposed to do…I thought it was the way to be a badass musician,” she admits.

Through she was able to write in this state — producing some dark and heavy folk tunes — such a punishing lifestyle could never last. The drinking eventually caught up with Wolfe. Bruises began to form all over her body. She was hospitalized several times for alcohol poisoning and began to have seizures thanks to a bad mix of medication and spirits.

After one of these seizures, doctors discovered via CAT scan that Emily had blood on her brain. They had to perform emergency surgery to drain it. However, even such a traumatic event wasn’t enough in and of itself to stop Wolfe’s drinking. She began to drink again just weeks after being released from the hospital.

That’s where her girlfriend and manager Brittany Durdin came in. She gave Wolfe an ultimatum: alcohol or their relationship.

“My girlfriend said, ‘You can’t do this anymore. She is the best thing in my life and I didn’t want to lose that,” Wolfe said.

Rehab left Emily with a clean slate that extended well beyond just alcohol consumption. Suddenly, she felt repelled by the softer acoustic style that had soundtracked her darker days.

“When I first started playing the electric guitar, it brought me into a different realm. I don’t connect with the acoustic anymore. I hated it,” she remembers. “I was in a box with that acoustic and folk stuff. I was drinking a lot and the music that came from that was emotional and super vulnerable.”

“Once I got sober, I approached things in a different way,” she adds. “It felt like it was the real me and it was a lot more rock.”

That newfound clarity has found its way into all parts of Wolfe’s life, even as her music gets fuzzier. Gone are the nights where she raised a shot glass to pictures of drunken troubadours and hoped for a decent song.

“Now, I’ll start with a melody or riff in my head,” she explains. “I’ll have that core of the song and the way the song comes together is much more calculated. it has the big picture in mind. It’s better to have that idea in my head rather than just vomiting onto a whiteboard and hoping some of its good.”

Emily_Wolfe_Uncharted
UPROXX

She’s also pared down her team, leaving almost all managerial tasks to Brittany and falling in with a backing band of locals that she feels a true connection with. The straightening out seems to be paying off, with larger tours at bigger venues forthcoming and her first rock n’ roll full-length on the way. She still thinks her voice sounds strange for rock, but rather than shy away from that or numb the nagging doubts, the newly confident Wolfe has decided to form her own lane.

“I want to be the core of a new genre. Sometimes I do wonder if my ambitions are too big, but I want to be a pioneer of a new genre,” she boldly proclaims. “I’ve always wanted to leave a legacy that’s undeniable.” - Uproxx

Every year, the SXSW Music Festival features thousands of artists from around the world. And every year, The Austin 100 winnows them down to an even hundred discoveries and highlights across genres. Each song on the list is streamable through NPR Music's gorgeous Austin 100 app until March 31, 2017.

This is a remarkable six hours of music — painstakingly culled from a bulk playlist spanning nearly five days — all designed to trigger further exploration. It's also only the beginning of our SXSW 2016 coverage: You can find full concerts, photos, videos and dispatches from this year's festival at NPR.org/SXSW. So check out the app, come back for more from SXSW and, most of all, enjoy the music. - NPR

Austin-based dream rock musician Emily Wolfe has a cool new single, “Atta Blues,” and she’s premiering it exclusively with AfterEllen.

“It’s the first song I’ve ever released that’s very guitar-driven,” Emily says of the track. “I’ve been playing guitar for 20 years so I really wanted to tap into my guitar roots; especially because every release prior to ‘Atta Blues’ has been so lyrically driven and I wanted to do something a little different. I’m also really proud of this song because I performed every instrument on the recording. It was a blast working with [producer] Mike McCarthy again on this. It was just him and I in his studio for three days, not really talking much, just working side by side and letting the song unfold naturally.” - After Ellen

After releasing two stirring EPs in 2013 — Mechanical Hands and Night & Day — Austin singer-songwriter Emily Wolfe is coming out of the gate strong this year. On “Swoon,” the latest offering from the transcendent songstress, we’re shown the ease with which Wolfe can slip from delicate folk and slide effortlessly into a more aggro atmosphere. The track finds Wolfe exploring new territory — a blues-rock/psychedelic bar-room brawler with Wolfe’s signature, sultry croon tying it all together.

Channeling the likes of fellow Austin-ers White Denim and heavy psych-rockers Tame Impala, Wolfe set out “to write a really sexy song,” she explained. Complete with fuzzed-out bass and hard, driving drum beats, Wolfe seems to have hit that goal with gorgeously growly results.

“The chords initially came out on the piano, and I actually wrote the lyrics at work,” while producer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Dead Confederate), “put his touch to it.” The result? A growling, erotic inhale of a track that feels like Ingrid Michaelson after a few whiskeys and wouldn’t feel out of place couched between Metric and Muse.

Wolfe is gearing up to perform at this year’s SXSW festival in her Austin hometown. If you’re making the trek down, don’t miss your chance to see her live. Check out “Swoon,” and grab a free download of the track below. - MTV

To find out the best new bands in Austin for our Sense of Place visit we went to the source at KUTX Radio, program director Matt Reilly. We asked him to pick five, knowing it wasn't an easy task. Matt was careful to represent the many styles of music in Austin's always churning music scene. Today we will hear from Max Frost, Emily Wolfe, Latasha Lee and The BlackTies, Abram Shook, and The Digital Wild. - NPR

Austin-based musician Emily Wolfe is working on her second full-length album but it is going to be significantly different from her first. The out singer-songwriter is writing, for the first time, while in recovery, and she said it’s been a scary but ultimately rewarding process.

“My records previous to now, I had a struggle with addiction. So when I would write, it just kind of came out because I was so hopped up on drinking that words just came out,” Emily said. “And now, it’s hard for me to write and I do enjoy it, though, because it’s more of a game and it takes more, I guess, practice. I don’t know, it’s weird but I’ll be interested to see what this record will entail because it’ll be written totally sober, which is amazing.”

Emily’s music is lush rock n’ roll with compelling lyrics and a voice to match. Songs like her latest single “Cigarette Burns” are perfect for driving fast with your windows down, dancing in your kitchen or sitting with your eyes closed and your earbuds in. She’s like a friend who will tell you the truth, but it sounds way more appealing coming out of her mouth and guitar.

We talked with Emily about making music in Austin, coming out and what we can expect from her upcoming album.

AfterEllen.com: What’s it like to be coming up in a music town like Austin? Is it easy because there’s a lot of opportunities to play or is it hard because it’s oversaturated?

Emily Wolfe: I’d say a little of both. It’s easy in the way that if you want—if you’re an up and coming artist like me, I think it’s easy because you can just go to shows and experience what professional musicians do on stage and kind of take advice from them by watching them, going to shows and seeing what do’s and don’ts are of being on stage. It is hard because it’s just saturated. If you want you can get on stage anywhere any night but not everybody’s lucky enough to get gigs where you can get people to show up. [laughs] But it’s fun. I like it here and I think it’s the perfect city for me and what I’m trying to do. I’ve made lot’s of really good friends and allies here.

AE: Have you always written and recorded there? Do you find that it changes your music if you go outside of Austin?

EW: It might, actually. I’ve only recorded here. I normally record with a guy named Mike McCarthy and he’s done Spoon and Patty Griffin and a ton of big bands. He’s really great. It’s really funny though because his studio is right off I-35—a major highway—and his studio feels kind of like an underground no man’s land. But, you know, if I were in the hill country recording, I’d probably do more acoustic stuff. I’ve recorded here in Georgetown, which is an hour outside of town. That’s where I recorded my first record.

AE: How did you come to develop your sound?

EW: Well, I’d say the sound kind of grew with where I lived in terms of housing. My first record was very much acoustic, slower stuff and more quieter, I guess, because I lived in a third story apartment. I wasn’t allowed to have drums or have an amp so that was just kind of—I just used whatever I had. Then I moved to a duplex and started playing with a band, and luckily, a lot of musicians live around me so I don’t get noise complaints or anything when we have band practice. Yeah, I’d say that had the most do with it. And the band I play with now, interestingly enough, they all knew each other before the band from like childhood and stuff, and then met up later and they’re the band that I formed.

AE: Since you have a band, why did you decide to call it Emily Wolfe instead of, like, The Wolves or something? [laughs]

EW: Well I write all the songs, I write all the lyrics. The musicians that I play with, actually I can’t really tell it’s that they’re excited about the music or they really like writing their parts—could be both. But I think it’ll always be just my name because that’s what I want. I want it to be a solo project and I’ll play with the band whenever I want and solo the rest of the time. I think it’s fun to change it up.

AE: How did you decide you would be out in your career?

EW: Well, you know, it’s been kind of a long journey. Like I always knew I was gay since I was, like, five years old. I knew I was not straight. I didn’t know what I was, but I knew I was not into the boys. So my whole life, I’ve just known, “Okay, I’m interested in women. I’m going to have to come out sooner or later.” I came out to my parents when I was 20 or 21 and they’re great. They’re really supportive. They were kind of shocked, which I don’t know how, but they love me and they’re great and I’m super lucky to have a family that supports me no matter what I do or feel or believe in. I think Austin, too—there’s such a huge gay scene here that it’s just really common. You can walk down the street and hold hands with whoever you’re with and nobody really cares. And so at shows, just having my girlfriend there playing, people still show up to shows and don’t care. It’s kind of nice, not having to worry about it. But going on tour through the West Coast and everything, we’re fine there but little towns you stop in, you kind of realize we’re spoiled in Austin. I feel like where I live had a lot to do with me being as comfortable as I am with my sexuality. Everyone here is so open-minded and a lot of my friends are gay. It’s not even really anything people seem to focus on really.

AE: On tour, did you find anything out about your music when you were playing in front of different kinds of crowds? Anything that surprised you?

EW: I think I was surprised in the very first show that I played. I played with a guy named William Elliot Whitmore. He was cool, I liked him a lot. I was like “Well, maybe I should just play solo, because he’s playing solo and it might be weird to have full band energy before a solo act.” So I decided to play by myself and it went really great, surprisingly. I thought a packed room—I didn’t expect anybody to really listen because I was the first one up and nobody would heard of me so I generally felt they’d be kind of at the bar and not really listening, but the crowd was amazing. I just sang to them and they all listened.

AE: Are you planning on touring again soon? What are you working on now?

EW: Well, right now I’m finishing writing for a full-length I want to put out, probably next year.

AE: Have you noticed any differences in your writing now that you’re in recovery, outside of how easily and quickly you used to be able to write?

EW: Yeah, I have learned a lot about my addiction before recovery and when I would write, I would really feel—because if you numb one thing you numb everything. But now when I write, I get really emotional and have to take a break because I cry while I’m writing and singing. It’s like “Oh my god! What an estrogen fest!” I definitely get more emotional when I’m writing which is actually nice. It kind of feels good to feel that much.

AE: Were you nervous? I can imagine it might be kind of nerve-wrecking to make such a big change.

EW: Yeah, totally. For a while there, I was like, “Oh man, I hope that wasn’t a phase, that writing wasn’t a phase.” But I have written songs since then so I just have to remind myself, “That was just a little bit of writers’ block. Get back on the horse and you’ll be fine.”

AE: Is there anything else you’d want people to know about you?

EW: I used to be a comedian, for about a year in college. I entered this contest called Funniest Person in Austin and I was a finalist and then I didn’t ever really intend for it to be like that, but I did pretty well and went far so after a while I started to realize “Okay, I probably did this so I could get comfortable on stage.” It was hard. Whoever can make a career out of that is just, like, some kind of being from another world. I had this one show that I opened for a guy named Jon…Jon something—I don’t remember his name. [laughs] But I just totally bombed and I gave up on being a comedian. But I thought maybe I could tell jokes in between songs. - After Ellen

Emily Wolfe made a name for herself around the Austin music scene with her debut folk rock album, Director’s Notes. But as she began the writing process for her second full length, she says she felt pulled in two different directions stylistically.

Wolfe made the decision to instead record two strikingly different, yet completely honest, EPs. The first of these EPs, Mechanical Hands, was released in May of this year.

In the wake of the success of Mechanical Hands, Wolfe has released a video for “Lion Heart.” The video, directed by Jacob Hamilton, is a beautiful representation of the themes of the song. “‘Lion Heart’ embodies the feeling of being held back by something – whether it’s guilt, the past, a mindset or you, is up to the listener,” said Wolfe.

While the video begins as a fairly straightforward collection of shots of the band playing in a dimly lit warehouse, the layers and colors aptly grow and bloom as the video progresses, keeping it an exciting visual experience for the viewer.

Watch the video for “Lion Heart” in the player below. Emily Wolfe’s second EP is set for release in September of 2013. Wolfe will headd to New York to play a sold-out Brooklyn Bowl with Allen Stone on July 24, followed by a show on July 26 with Suzanna Choffel at Rockwood Music Hall. - Paste

Austin, TX has long been known as a town with a rich and vibrant independent music scene. The home of Willie Nelson and Gary Clark, Jr. sports no shortage of interesting acts, some of which I've had the pleasure of seeing in my travels.

An artist who's starting to build some buzz is Emily Wolfe.

A few weeks ago, I watched her set at the Collabosphere conference at which I was speaking. I tracked her down and voila! She's got major chops, but judge for yourself.

In it, we speak about her background, influences, and her forthcoming single "Atta Blues" produced by produced by Mike McCarthy. Look for it in January of 2016. - Huffington Post

After listening for hours while a friend kvetched, Emily Wolfe came home with an idea for a song. The tune she ended up writing, “Cigarette Burns,” premieres today on Speakeasy. “I just soaked up all her emotions and put them out in a song,” Wolfe says.

The song, a sparkling rocker with a propulsive groove and atmospheric guitars that frame Wolfe’s soft-but-tough vocals, underwent quite an evolution. “I wrote it first on a kick drum and a bass guitar, so it was really stripped down at first,” the Austin, Tex., singer says.

When she brought it to her band, they fleshed out the number and began playing it live, then rearranged it again in the studio, where Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Heartless Bastards) produced and mixed it.

It was the first time the musicians worked together so closely on a song, says Wolfe, who generally comes up with detailed parts she brings to the band. The previous way worked well enough on the two EPs and one full-length album they’ve released since 2012, but Wolfe predicts more collaboration in the songwriting as they work on their next album, which she hopes to begin recording this summer. “Cigarette Burns,” she says, will be a single.

As for the friend who inspired the tune, Wolfe says she remains unaware of her role.

“I don’t think I’ll ever tell her,” Wolfe says. “It’s interesting, because she used to chain smoke. That’s where the title came from: She was just talking and I was listening for a couple hours, and she was chain smoking and talking about all the things that were going wrong. I was glad to listen, but after a while, it became clear that she was using her problems as a crutch.”

“Cigarette Burns” will be available digitally starting April 3. What do you think of the song? Leave your thoughts in the comments. - The Wallstreet Journal

Considered to be one of Austin, TX’s best up-and-coming young artists, here’s Emily Wolfe with a track from her debut record Director’s Notes. Her album (which I’m looking forward to hearing) is rooted in folky-pop melodies accompanied by a unique, soothing vocal quality, and polished with catchy lyrics about the ups and downs of young love.

Check out “Lion Heart“, vocally similar to Land of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell, musically similar to Broken Social Scene. - Indie Music Filter

"....Emily Wolfe is the dark shattering spark, the hand reaching out to hold, an important statement as to the relevance of pop music amongst such a strong tide of mediocrity..." - OnStage Magazine

We’re rolling out our 10 Bands to Watch for 2015 this week. To help you get to know these terrific artists, we ask them to give you the lowdown on their music and more. Meet Emily Wolfe.

How would you describe your music?
“Dream rock”

Fill in the blank: Emily Wolfe sounds like…
“Rilo Kiley, Spoon, Grace Potter & The Nocturnals, Linda Ronstadt, Young the Giant”

Why should people come see a live performance?
“Because it'll be a great experience. The band and I have a goal to make every performance as electric and engaging as possible.”

How does it feel to be named an Austin Monthly Band to Watch?
“It feels great. I've been kind of dreaming about that since I first started out in the music scene. It's exciting that people are taking notice and latching on to the music.” - Austin Monthly

Emily Wolfe's first installment of a two-EP debut introduces the 23-year-old Austin singer/guitarist/fireball with musical muscle and uninhibited joie de vivre. Despite the upbeat tempo of the opening title track, it layers on the melody in trained prudence. By the chorus, however, the song's full-on decadence, with the whimsy of a synth figure rooted by her growling axe work. "Rabbit Cage" rides the sky-high waves of its predecessor, while jungle drums bust open "Howl," where Wolfe's echoing "ahhs" and major chords emulate a Southern-twanged Vampire Weekend. Both "Lion Heart" and "Shadow Boxes" briefly scale back the disc's up-tempo before tearing off into the distance, but Wolfe saves her slow burn for "White Collar Whiskey." If the closer's blues guitar previews her promises of a darker half to the follow-up EP, then Emily Wolfe's about to break out. Big time. - The Austin Chronicle

Two words: electrifying, adventurous.

Emily Wolfe‘s latest EP Mechanical Hands, which dropped May this year, is electrifying and adventurous–something that’ll take you for a ride as you listen. There’s the girly, indie-rock energy disguised behind the artist’s signature synth. Each song takes the time to build up, charging you with immense anticipation, until you’re ready to be propelled completely.

It’s an understatement to say that this album is entirely well-crafted from the most obvious details to the subtlest ones but it is, well-crafted; so much so that it pains me that I’m not part of the team that created this. Well, that was a tad dramatic but hey, this record is special. It definitely is something else.

The EP’s self-titled track, “Mechanical Hands” is its strongest. Starting off with a 59-second instrumental, gathering your momentum before she starts off singing about a romance that’s, well, mechanical. It kind of parades the modern music which most college girls and 20-somethings would love. It lies somewhere between Florence + The Machine and Lana del Rey, but a little less depressing; so much less depressing that even when she sings, “stop loving things that can’t love you back”, it still makes your head bounce with the music.\

But the EP’s bravest track is, easily, Rabbit Cage–the song is poetry and music in one; songwriting at its finest. It’s emotional but at the same time cold and unfeeling, like a pool of questions and feelings trying so hard to be denied.

The overall arrangement of of this EP is what’s gonna make you buy her music–the pace, the way it quickens, and the way the drums pound; it’s a masterpiece altogether with Wolfe’s undeniably sultry vocals.

And on a side note, props to Emily Wolfe’s team for putting up the lyrics on her website. I always love it when artists do this. Another thing, the EP cover rocks! - The Magic Room Project

Emily Wolfe has been performing every Monday in September as the artist-in-residence at The Cactus Cafe, most recently with Nano Whitman. Her final show is tonight (after performing at KUT earlier in the day), and you should check it out - Updated: archived on KUT. From Cactus' site:
Wolfe's debut record "Director's Notes" is rooted in folk-pop melodies accompanied by a unique, soothing vocal quality and topped with inspired lyrics about the ups and downs of young love."Director's Notes" displays her extraordinary musicianship as a multi-instrumentalist, including guitar, banjo, drums, percussion, bells, piano and Rhodes, helping her weave a layer of vulnerability through each recording. Her style has been compared to the likes of an upbeat Sarah Jaffe, an indie-rock Brandi Carlile, or Sara Bareilles with a guitar.
The quarterly residency series is designed to continue the Cactus Cafe's tradition of providing a platform for promising local talent to reach new audiences. This year, Lone Star Beer's support helps promote the free concert series.
You can get tickets here; it is a free show (with Dawn and Hawkes as openers), though you are welcome/encouraged to donate to support programs like this, and will have a chance while reserving the tickets.
More pictures from the 9/17 show below. - Brooklyn Vegan

Filming at Haddington’s with the Picture Room as the backdrop, Emily Wolfe charmed the crew with her soul stirring masterpiece, "Born Blind." Accompanied by background vocalist, Hannah Hagar, their voices form together like a beautiful musical sculpture.

All musicians in Austin know how much hard work and day-to-day dedication it takes to make it in this town, and Emily Wolfe is no exception. Her debut album, Director’s Notes, has gotten the buzz that she undoubtedly deserves. Wolfe was identified, along with nine other Austin ladies, as one of the Discoveries 2012 finalists.

With a mini Texas tour in the works, you should mark your calendars for her show along side another Sessions veteran, David Ramirez at The Parish on Friday, August 31. Just do yourself a favor and pre-order tickets here. You will become a believer, if you haven’t already, once you see Wolfe in her element.

Whether you’re going through a break-up or falling in love, Emily Wolfe should be your soundtrack through it all. Her lyrical style and haunting voice will guide you exactly where you need to be.

Don’t forget to “like” Emily Wolfe and The Sessions Music LLC on Facebook.

"Born Blind" by Emily Wolfe
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About The Sessions:

Producers CJ Vinson and Lauren Bucherie are musical tastemakers based out of Austin, Texas. They built their company around a simple wish: To diminish the boundary between art and audience. Their unwavering style and eclectic creative collaborations have made The Sessions sought-after team for musicians around the world. CJ and Lauren have worked with everyone from local favorites Cowboy and Indian, Suzanna Choffel and Dan Dyer to internationally-renowned acts like Fitz and the Tantrums and two-time Grammy award winners The Civil Wars. - CultureMap: Austin

Seasoned Sessions gal Emily Wolfe is back and ready to take over your weekend plans. While still basking in the success of her first release, Director’s Notes, Wolfe is finally ready to show her fans what exactly it is that she has been creating outside of the spotlight.

Wolfe is currently in the studio recording her sophomore album with master producer Mike McCarthy who has worked with Austin’s Spoon, Heartless Bastards and folk legend Patty Griffin.

Slated for release late this summer, Wolfe’s highly anticipated album promises to bring a powerful and dynamic sound hinting at the likes of Rilo Kiley and that famous rock 'n roll edge of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.

You can catch a glimpse of the new record at Emily Wolfe's upcoming show at the Cactus Cafe on Saturday, February 16. The Sessions will be releasing a limited run t-shirt that’s only available for purchase during this special set.

"White Collar Whiskey" by Emily Wolfe


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About The Sessions:

Producers CJ Vinson and Lauren Bucherie are musical tastemakers based out of Austin, Texas. They built their company around a simple wish: To diminish the boundary between art and audience. Their unwavering style and eclectic creative collaborations have made The Sessions sought-after team for musicians around the world. CJ and Lauren have worked with everyone from local favorites Cowboy and Indian, Suzanna Choffel and Dan Dyer to internationally-renowned acts like Fitz and The Tantrums and two-time Grammy award winners The Civil Wars. - CultureMap: Austin

Artists | Songs Featured:


Frank Bell | Surrender
Feist x Timber Timbre | Homage
Jungle | Platoon
CSS | Honey
Echosmith | Cool Kids
The Laurels | Changing the Timeline
Hooded Fang | Ode to Subterrania
Sleeping At Last | You Are Enough
Broncho | Try Me Out Sometime
Painted Palms | Carousel
Apostle of Hustle x Zeus | Bizarre Love Triangle
Emily Wolfe | Lion Heart
Arthur Beatrice | Carter (Cut)
Robyn Hitchcock | Devil On A String - Guitar Center Connections

During SXSW 2013 Hack Studios had the opportunity to work with The Sundance Channel to create a branded content broadcast commercial for their client Kia. It focussed on "Fresh Faces" to watch for in Film - Music and Art.
Interviewing and following the great young minds of Ryan White - Emily Wolfe and M. Brady Clark was so great, you could hardly call it work. A huge Thank You to everyone involved.
Credits:
Hack Studios - Production/Post/finish
Dir/DP - Jake Hamilton
Creative Editorial - Malcolm Hardiman
Executive Producer - Dianna Colton
Line Producer - Jordan Godbolt
Sound: Digital Domain/Austin
The Great People at The Sundance Channel:
Mark Williams, VP/Creative Director, On-Air Promotions
Stuart Weiner, Executive Producer, Branded Entertainment
Evan Fleischer, VP, Integrated Marketing and Branded Entertainment
Sheyna Kosberg, Director, Strategic Marketing - Kia / Hack Studios / The Sundance Channel

from Moody Theater | Austin, TX | 02.14.2013, released 22 February 2013 - http://newfrunk.bobschneider.com/

NBT Playlist 08182013
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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

NBT Playlist 07/28/2013
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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands"

NBT Playlist 06/16/2013
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Emily Wolfe - "Mechanical Hands" - 101x Blog

Emily Wolfe’s new EP Mechanical Hands sounds like soulful, candy coated rock n’ roll, with pop undertones that give each melody a catchy quality that’s hard to ignore. Wolfe’s vocal performance is impeccable. Highlights off the EP include the title song “Mechanical Hands” and “Shadow Boxes,” but all tracks are worth a listen. Check out her soundcloud below.

Words by Leah Norod
- New Dust Music Blog

Today's free and legal mp3 downloads:

Bronze Radio Return: free and legal A Bit of Bronze album [mp3]

The Comettes: free and legal The Comettes album [mp3]

Emily Wolfe: free and legal Mechanical Hands EP [mp3]

Fialta: free and legal NoiseTrade Sampler EP [mp3]

Ivory Layne: free and legal Volume One EP [mp3]

Leftover Cuties: free and legal Past and Future album [mp3]

Luke Wesley: free and legal Because We Never Talk About It album [mp3]

Sara Groves: free and legal Invisible Empires Extras album [mp3]

Various Artists: free and legal The Round Compilation album [mp3]
Various Artists: free and legal 2013 Summer Mix Tape compilation album [mp3] - Largehearted Boy Music Blog

Emily Wolfe’s new EP Mechanical Hands is here just in time to be a part of your summer jams playlist. The release show is this Saturday at Holy Mountain along with Walter Lukens and The Tontons.
My highest compliments for a breakout girl vocalist who defies the popular trend of trying to emulate British pop singers. Wolfe’s new album is full of upbeat tunes with bright synths, moving rhythms, and wavering guitars. “Howl” is somewhat reminiscent of Vampire Weekend with its danceable beat and catchy synth lines with a burst of high energy at the end.
Wolfe’s soothing, southern tinged vocals soar on every track showcasing her musical prowess. She has already been booked for a bill with Allen Stone at The Brooklyn Bowl this summer on July 24. The show this Saturday may be your last chance to see this emerging artist before she hits the big time. Emily Wolfe will play May 25th at Holy Mountain, doors at 9pm. - The Austin Chronicle: Chrontourage

Emily Wolfe is a singer-songwriter from Austin, Texas who released her full length debut album, Director’s Notes, in February 2012. She played almost all the instruments on the album herself, and returns with the first of two EP’s, Mechanical Hands. Wolfe recorded with Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Patty Griffin, Heartless Bastards) and the result is an excellent set of five songs made of acoustic guitar, washes of synthy-keyboards, bursts of electric rhythms, some well played, effectively hurried indie-rock rhythms, and some memorable hooks, all put together by Wolfe’s confident, slightly Southern tinged, vocals. Mechanical Hands has an impressive range of musicality across it’s five songs. Below, in exchange for your e-mail address, download Emily’s new EP, available for a limited time. - WXPN 88.5 The Key

I feel like I need a soundtrack to my summer. Does anyone else feel like that? You need a set of anthems that you can emote and dance to during the hottest days of the year, days that hold the most promise for adventure, change, and fun. Considering what my summer soundtrack has been made of the past few years (from CocoRosie to First Aid Kit), I feel confident that Emily Wolfe’s second album, Mechanical Hands, will be a main part of my playlist this coming season.

Upon first listen to the title track, “Mechanical Hands,” I instinctively nodded my head along to a familiar sound that felt like my thousandth listen to Rilo Kiley’s “More Adventurous,” or even the xx. Wolfe’s sound is something that college girls and femme-indie-rock fans alike will smile along with and appreciate for its fresh burst of energy. The song “Mechanical Hands” spends a long time gathering momentum and building to the point when the lyrics finally appear. She creates a space where the listener accumulates some anticipation that allows her lyrics about a cold, mechanical romance. Again and again in her songs, she boldly puts an emotion out there as if waiting for the listeners to respond. (I can only imagine that she hits this home while playing live.) Some of her most striking words – “mechanical hands giving love I need / oh your hands are so unsettling … heaven is a place in my memory / metal’s rushed and the wire’s cracked / oh stop loving the things that can’t love you back” – illustrated an image of a “tin man” of sorts, cold and stiff, unable to respond with affection. Or perhaps it’s a fear within herself of anything unwelcoming and mechanical. We are left to interpret as we wish.

I came across a quote from Wolfe on her website (emilywolfemusic.com) that encompasses her upbeat and badass image. She said, “I don’t want to be a writer with mechanical hands; I want to be an innovator – an artist who is constantly evolving.” Her voice is anything but mechanical and she has certainly evolved since her debut album. Her music could be on its way to being considered innovative, but for now all I know is that I want to listen to her indie rock songs all summer.

Check out Emily Wolfe’s EP Release Party with special guests The Tontons and OVRLD favorite Walker Lukens at Holy Mountain (617 E 7th St) on May 25th. - Ovrld

For an artist that generally goes the acoustic route, it’s somewhat surprising that Emily Wolfe started her musical life on drums. She was placed behind the kit at age seven after failing to learn how to read sheet music (can you blame her?), but she eventually found her way to guitar and piano. This kind of well-rounded musical education is immediately apparent on Wolfe’s debut album, Director’s Notes. She recorded nearly every instrument herself, resulting in a record that’s personal and brimming with energy.

Wolfe was born in North Carolina, but she made her way to Texas at a young age. Like so many musicians, Wolfe’s first public performances were in her school’s marching band where she played French horn. She later moved to Austin and graduated from St. Edward’s University, but a chance encounter has helped kick-start her career. While taking an audio engineering course at Austin Community College, her professor Tim Dittmar took a liking to her music and offered to record her. Despite her young age, Wolfe confidently used the studio, recording most of her parts while also getting assistance from Diana Burgess and Joshua Zarbo.

Director’s Notes is as self-assured as debuts come. Album opener “Dance On The Record Grooves” hints at Wolfe’s love of old sounds: there’s that unmistakable crackle and hiss of vinyl, and Wolfe’s singing and intricate acoustic guitar take it from there. It’s a perfect formula, and you’ll be able to see it for yourself next Monday (September 24) when Wolfe winds up her month-long residency at the Cactus Cafe. - KUT 90.5

AUSTIN, Texas—Aug. 28, 2012—Singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Emily Wolfe is the September Artist in Residence, presented by Lone Star Beer, at Austin’s legendary listening room the Cactus Cafe.

Wolfe will perform Sept. 4, 10, 17 and 24. All shows are free and begin at 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 8 p.m.). Susanne Abbot will open Sept. 4 with other opening acts to be announced soon.

Her debut record “Director‘s Notes” is rooted in folk-pop melodies accompanied by a unique, soothing vocal quality and topped with inspired lyrics about the ups and downs of young love.

“Director’s Notes” showcases Wolfe’s extraordinary musicianship as a multi-instrumentalist — including guitar, banjo, drums, percussion, bells, piano and Rhodes — helping her weave a layer of vulnerability through each recording. Her style has been compared to the likes of an upbeat Sarah Jaffe, an indie-rock Brandi Carlile, or Sara Bareilles with a guitar.

The quarterly residency series is designed to continue the Cactus Cafe’s tradition of providing a platform for promising local talent to reach new audiences. This year, Lone Star Beer’s support helps promote the free concert series.

In addition to a weekly spotlight at the Cactus Cafe, artists-in-residence receive on-air exposure on KUT 90.5, KUT.org, in the form of the KUT Song of the Day and the Austin Music Minute, and through KUT’s social media channels.

Wolfe is the fifth artist-in-residence at the Cactus Cafe. Previous artists-in-residence include David Ramirez, “Hello Wheels,” “Wood and Wire,” and “The Carper Family.”

The Cactus Cafe is an intimate live music performance venue with a national reputation for showcasing top local, regional, national and international acoustic music acts. Billboard magazine listed the Cactus as one of 15 “solidly respected, savvy clubs” nationwide “from which careers can be cut, that work with proven names and new faces.” Lyle Lovett, Robert Earl Keen, Lucinda Williams, Shawn Colvin, Nanci Griffith and Ani DiFranco are among the singer-songwriters who frequently played the Cactus Cafe early in their careers. In 2010, the Cactus Cafe and KUT 90.5 formed a partnership to continue and enhance operation of the iconic venue. - KUT

An artist’s duty is growth. But with growth and change comes risk. Change too much, and you can turn off your old fans. Change too little, and you, well, aren’t really doin’ your job. Local singer-songwriter Emily Wolfe finds the sweet spot between on her excellent new EP Mechanical Hands (out today). Wolfe hit the scene last year with her debut disc Director’s Notes, a spare, beautiful acoustic record. But that record wasn’t the beginning of her story. She began playing music before she hit 10–drums first, then guitar, piano, and more. For her new record–the first of two EPs planned for this summer–she teamed up with local producer Mike McCarthy (who’s worked with Spoon, Trail of Dead, The Heartless Bastards, and Patti Griffin, to namedrop a few). Mechanical Hands is a noticeably more rock-centered album than Director’s Notes. Electric instruments and driving drums replace the minimal arrangements. But the yearning spirit that drove the previous work, and made it such a good listen, carries over effortlessly on the new. The new EP even contains a slightly re-worked version of “Lion Heart,” which appeared on Director’s Notes. But it’s the lead, title track, “Mechanical Hands,” that’ll really grab you by the collar. The ethereal synth line that begins the tune greets you like a sunrise. Then the pace quickens–the bass and drums pound, and a slightly crunchy, but sprightly, guitar signals this is something different, yet very familiar. You can get a taste of Wolfe’s new tunes this Saturday (May 25) at Holy Mountain, where she’ll be celebrating Mechanical Hands‘ release along with Walker Lukens and Houston’s The Tontons. MECHANICAL HANDS Mechanical Hands Emily Wolfe DOWNLOAD HERE - KUTX Music 98.9

Emily Wolfe transcends the ranks of ordinary musicians. Already the charming innocence and genuineness that are all her own are apparent as she confesses that this is her very first time inside Caffe Medici. Wolfe graduated from St. Edward’s University last May and has lived in Austin for more than 10 years. It seems there are many places she has yet to explore and conquer, but her profound maturity and grace make up for any lack of experience the 22-year-old singer-songwriter possesses at this point in her budding career.
Wolfe has graduated from strumming out Eagles’ hit “Tequila Sunrise” on a battered, pawn shop guitar for her parents in her self-described “super suburbia” home, to filling venues across Austin with self-written songs about everything from heartache to family to strange and inspiring dreams. Austin Community College professor Tim Dittmar agrees.
“Emily’s music definitely stood out. I immediately knew there was something special about her,” Dittmar said. “She doesn’t have an ego, she’s not pretentious and, above all, she has a natural talent.”
During a summer audio engineering course at ACC, Wolfe approached Dittmar with a homemade CD of songs and asked if he could help her record what turned out to be her debut album, “Director’s Notes.”
“Emily knew what she was doing throughout the entire recording process. She’s very mature for her age, and she has a very natural voice that makes you believe a lot,” Dittmar said. “She is very real and honest.”
‘Real’ seems to be a theme that radiates through Wolfe’s personality and music, which is a rarity in an industry that breeds more celebrities than actual musicians. She partially attributes this to the cornucopia of classic rock and Motown hits she grew up listening to with her parents.
“I think older music just seemed really real back then,” Wolfe said. “The songs move people in a way that’s kind of transcendent, and that’s the kind of music I want to make.”
When it comes to her album, however, real is somewhat of an understatement. With a track list of songs all drawn from Wolfe’s personal experiences, “Director’s Notes” is about as close to her personal diary as listeners can get.
“There were times when I felt like I couldn’t direct my own life, or like someone else was doing it for me, so all of the songs are notes of things that were going on in my life at the time,” Wolfe said.
Wolfe’s goal is for listeners to be able to relate to her songs in their own ways. This makes for a very personal concert experience, a fact to which friend and bandmate, Hannah Hagar, can attest.
“As a performer, I think Emily is relatable on-stage, and that allows the audience to really connect not only with the music but with her as well,” Hagar said.
This intimate connection is established by the way Wolfe gives everything she has to each show, providing the audience with a raw glimpse into a life that isn’t very much unlike their own. For Wolfe, relatability is key.
“I feel like that’s the goal of a live performance: to feel like you’re in your room and nobody’s watching you. You’re just putting out an emotion and it’s like, ‘Here’s what I feel, connect with it or not, but I feel that,’” Wolfe said.
Wolfe’s chilling honesty and her natural ease of character, both sparkling rarities in such a cutthroat business, have successfully charmed those around her and are now being used to charm audiences in Austin and several cities around the state. Wolfe isn’t wasting any time, and she’s already hinting at having plans for her sophomore album.
As her tour circuit grows bigger, so will the venues, fan base and already-high expectations for an artist that is quickly claiming her place in the promised land that is the Austin music scene.
Wolfe will be playing at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q Sunday as the opening act for Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk. - The Daily Texan

Emily Wolfe made a name for herself around the Austin music scene with her debut folk rock album, Director’s Notes. But as she began the writing process for her second full length, she says she felt pulled in two different directions stylistically.

Wolfe made the decision to instead record two strikingly different, yet completely honest, EPs. The first of these EPs, Mechanical Hands, was released in May of this year.

In the wake of the success of Mechanical Hands, Wolfe has released a video for “Lion Heart.” The video, directed by Jacob Hamilton, is a beautiful representation of the themes of the song. “‘Lion Heart’ embodies the feeling of being held back by something – whether it’s guilt, the past, a mindset or you, is up to the listener,” said Wolfe.

While the video begins as a fairly straightforward collection of shots of the band playing in a dimly lit warehouse, the layers and colors aptly grow and bloom as the video progresses, keeping it an exciting visual experience for the viewer.

Watch the video for “Lion Heart” in the player below. Emily Wolfe’s second EP is set for release in September of 2013. Wolfe will headd to New York to play a sold-out Brooklyn Bowl with Allen Stone on July 24, followed by a show on July 26 with Suzanna Choffel at Rockwood Music Hall. - Paste Magazine

Going into the studio with Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Patty Griffin, Heartless Bastards, Trail of Dead) earlier this year, Emily Wolfe had the full intention of putting together a full length LP. But as the new songs came to life, it was clear she was hearing two different sounds, two different sides of herself.

At first this was unsettling because Emily Wolfe thought she needed to put her sound in a box, be more consistent, stay loyal to the fluidity of Director's Notes. But then she realized she could create her own box; she could create as many boxes as she wanted.

Emily does not want to be a mechanical artist, and the only way to do that is to cover the spectrum - from one extreme to the other - but ultimately, to do what motivates her to keep creating music.

The two new EP's, set to be released in May and September of 2013, are like night and day. One is a collection of summer rock anthems and the other has an intimate acoustic feel. Emily does not want to be a writer with mechanical hands; she wants to be an innovator - an artist who is constantly evolving.

Each track pulls you further into the mood of the melody allowing your mind to wander through the stories until eventually, they become your own. "Dance on the Record Grooves" and "Never Let Me Go" make you yearn for love; punchy tunes like "Heavy" and "Lion Heart" make you crave independence from love; and the acoustic-pop vibes of "Before You Were Mine" and "Anywhere" make you fall in love all over again.

Director's Notes displays Wolfe's extraordinary musicianship as a multi-instrumentalist -- guitar, banjo, drums, percussion, bells, piano, Rhodes, helping her weave a layer of vulnerability through each recording.

Though Wolfe's magnetic voice attracts listeners of all generations and genres, her style has often been compared to the likes of an upbeat Sarah Jaffe, an indie-rock Brandi Carlile, or Sara Bareilles with a guitar.

Whatever your story or opinions of love, the genuine nature of Emily Wolfe's debut album, Director's Notes, will leave you pressing repeat. - Brooklyn Bowl Website

The exceptionally talented multi-instrumentalist, Emily Wolfe is finally ready to show her fans what she has been creating outside of the spotlight.
Wolfe and her band spent most of February in the studio recording her new EP "Mechanical Hands" with master producer Mike McCarthy. Mike has worked with Austin’s Spoon, Heartless Bastards and folk legend Patty Griffin.

Slated for release next week (May 23rd), Wolfe’s highly anticipated EP promises to bring a powerful and dynamic sound hinting at the likes of Rilo Kiley and that famous rock 'n roll edge of Grace Potter and the Nocturnals. - KUTX Live

For an artist that generally goes the acoustic route, it’s somewhat surprising that Emily Wolfe started her musical life on drums. She was placed behind the kit at age seven after failing to learn how to read sheet music (can you blame her?), but she eventually found her way to guitar and piano. This kind of well-rounded musical education is immediately apparent on Wolfe’s debut album, Director’s Notes. She recorded nearly every instrument herself, resulting in a record that’s personal and brimming with energy.

Wolfe was born in North Carolina, but she made her way to Texas at a young age. Like so many musicians, Wolfe’s first public performances were in her school’s marching band where she played French horn. She later moved to Austin and graduated from St. Edward’s University, but a chance encounter has helped kick-start her career. While taking an audio engineering course at Austin Community College, her professor Tim Dittmar took a liking to her music and offered to record her. Despite her young age, Wolfe confidently used the studio, recording most of her parts while also getting assistance from Diana Burgess and Joshua Zarbo.

Director’s Notes is as self-assured as debuts come. Album opener “Dance On The Record Grooves” hints at Wolfe’s love of old sounds: there’s that unmistakable crackle and hiss of vinyl, and Wolfe’s singing and intricate acoustic guitar take it from there. It’s a perfect formula, and you’ll be able to see it for yourself next Monday (September 24) when Wolfe winds up her month-long residency at the Cactus Cafe. - KUT 90.5

I feel like I need a soundtrack to my summer. Does anyone else feel like that? You need a set of anthems that you can emote and dance to during the hottest days of the year, days that hold the most promise for adventure, change, and fun. Considering what my summer soundtrack has been made of the past few years (from CocoRosie to First Aid Kit), I feel confident that Emily Wolfe’s second album, Mechanical Hands, will be a main part of my playlist this coming season.

Upon first listen to the title track, “Mechanical Hands,” I instinctively nodded my head along to a familiar sound that felt like my thousandth listen to Rilo Kiley’s “More Adventurous,” or even the xx. Wolfe’s sound is something that college girls and femme-indie-rock fans alike will smile along with and appreciate for its fresh burst of energy. The song “Mechanical Hands” spends a long time gathering momentum and building to the point when the lyrics finally appear. She creates a space where the listener accumulates some anticipation that allows her lyrics about a cold, mechanical romance. Again and again in her songs, she boldly puts an emotion out there as if waiting for the listeners to respond. (I can only imagine that she hits this home while playing live.) Some of her most striking words – “mechanical hands giving love I need / oh your hands are so unsettling … heaven is a place in my memory / metal’s rushed and the wire’s cracked / oh stop loving the things that can’t love you back” – illustrated an image of a “tin man” of sorts, cold and stiff, unable to respond with affection. Or perhaps it’s a fear within herself of anything unwelcoming and mechanical. We are left to interpret as we wish.

I came across a quote from Wolfe on her website (emilywolfemusic.com) that encompasses her upbeat and badass image. She said, “I don’t want to be a writer with mechanical hands; I want to be an innovator – an artist who is constantly evolving.” Her voice is anything but mechanical and she has certainly evolved since her debut album. Her music could be on its way to being considered innovative, but for now all I know is that I want to listen to her indie rock songs all summer.

Check out Emily Wolfe’s EP Release Party with special guests The Tontons and OVRLD favorite Walker Lukens at Holy Mountain (617 E 7th St) on May 25th. - Ovrld