Lilly Wolf
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Lilly Wolf

Brooklyn, New York, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF

Brooklyn, New York, United States | SELF
Established on Jan, 2012
Band Pop Rock

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Music

Press


"CMJ A-Z: 37 Bands You Need To See"

The CMJ Music Marathon has been around for 34 years, and every year it gets bigger and bigger. It has grown so large, it’s impossible to come anywhere close to seeing and doing everything. There are 1,200 bands playing in every venue NYC has to offer (one I’m headed to is even at a Starbucks!), and weeding through them all is a daunting task.
I can’t say I heard everyone on the roster, but I did spend the better part of the past week listening to several hundred of the artists playing this year’s Marathon, and I’ve picked 37 that have me the most excited. They’re listed alphabetically, because there’s no way I could play favorites. Well, no more than I already am.
If you like what you hear, check the CMJ schedule and come to a show. See you there! - BuzzFeed


"Artist of the Day - Synth Pop Duo Lilly Wolf Trades In Silicon Valley For New York"

By day vocalist Lilly Wolfson and producer Alex Neuhausen both work in tech, but by night they grace the stages of loft and warehouse parties across Brooklyn under the name Lilly Wolf. Their electronic music marries pop sensibilities with danceable melodies and beats. Covering everything from the quest for wealth to personal relationships, Lilly Wolf tackle a variety of topics with the glistening precision they've come to perfect since forming in the Bay Area and relocating to New York. Fresh from a short tour, we got to chat with Lilly herself about their inspiration, influences and what's to come.

What's been the biggest influence on you as a band?

We listen to a lot of hip hop together, and go to a lot of local hip hop shows, so that's probably found its way into our style. We'll also listen to Top 40 and talk about production techniques, break down what's happening melodically, etc. I like listening to film soundtracks, which I think has influenced how I construct the narrative arc of a track. We also both have a programming background, and we both obsess over the technical aspects of the production. Occasionally we fight over something in the production and it's always really nerdy.

What were your biggest musical influences while you were growing up?

Classical music, because I grew up playing piano. My dad gave me a Mendelssohn cassette tape for my eighth birthday. I still love Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, lots of Romantic and Classical composers. I'm a hip hop fan now, though, too. So my loves list includes Logic and Kendrick and Schoolboy and Drake.

What's the song writing process like for you?

I have song ideas at strange moments, like when I'm out walking or at the grocery or something, so I use a shorthand to write them down in my phone. I'll develop the ideas in Ableton Live later, try to get down the important melody lines plus bass, some basic drums, that sort of thing. Alex prefers to start his ideas in Live and then kick them over to me. We have the same exact setup on our laptops, and we do a lot of passing tracks back and forth. I find it easier to write when I'm in particular moods, and I'm opportunistic about that—if I feel like I'm having a 'songwriter' moment, I'll look for the darkest, most solitary place I can find, crack open my laptop and try to work. I do a lot of writing inside the vocal recording booth at my loft. It's 4x4 feet, just big enough for me to sit on the floor.



What's been inspiring your newer songs?

Films, plays, other people's art. Living messily. I say yes to a lot more things than I used to, which is bad for my health but good for my writing.

What are the best and worst things about being a band in New York?

Best: We meet so many artists, and perform alongside some incredibly talented rappers, singers, producers, bands etc. I have so much fun at our shows cause the people we play with are so good. I really love living in New York in general. It keeps me awake.

Worst: It's tougher to get noticed locally, cause there's so much competition, so many things to do, so much artistry and showbiz. Kind of a double edged sword, obviously. So that's maybe not ideal, but I think we can make it work. I appreciate that it's not a laid back city.

Where in the world/what stage would you most like to play and why?

We'd love to play a nightclub with a really top of the line sound system, like Output in Williamsburg. Or a big festival, specifically Sasquatch, the Pacific Northwest's premier music festival. The Gorge Amphitheater sounds great and it's at this really beautiful part of the Colombia River. And the amphitheater is built into a hill, so everyone in the crowd has a great view, which never happens at festivals.

What's been your most memorable show of late?

[A couple weeks ago], we played a Quentin Tarantino-themed party. It was our third show of the day, 12:30 AM set time. Alex dressed like a gangster from Reservoir Dogs and I went as O-Ren Ishii from Kill Bill. - MySpace Artist of the Day


"The Baeble Next: The Beauty Beneath The Dark of Lilly Wolf"

MONDAY, OCTOBER 05, 2015|
POSTED BY: DON SAAS
Dissonance is an underrated quality in music. And I don't mean "dissonance" in the noise rock sense of that word although throw on Daydream Nation and you'll see why that's A-Okay as well. I mean thematic and sonic dissonance. Write a sad song with an upbeat melody. Write a happy song with a sad melody. make a song about sex as intentionally unsexy as it can be. Pair gorgeous vocals with thrashing guitars. Do something to make your music unpredictable. I mean, I'm not saying you have to go down that route, but throw a curve ball into the formula from time to time. And Brooklyn synth-popper/alt-pop songwriter Lilly Wolf understands how to hit just the right notes of dissonance.

Lilly Wolf has a new LP, Deleted Scenes, that just came out last week (which you can snag from iTunes here), and we had the chance to chat with the rising starlet about her new single, "Violence." Pairing some grunge-y guitars which sound like they should be soundtracking a fight scene in the next sequel to The Raid with her gorgeous voice and shimmering synths, Wolf has crafted a track that is as much a whirlwind of emotions and unsettling dread as 'violence' itself. Check out the track and our chat with the young star. We're pretty sure this isn't the last we'll be seeing of her.




Dance-pop is back in a bigger way than at any point since the 80s. Why do folks resonate with pop music that you also want to dance to?

You know, I think it's a cycle. Everything sort of comes back around 30 years later. We've been reliving the 80s but I think the next thing will be like a grunge or a surf-rock revival. Or maybe 4th-wave ska will happen, who knows?

For the bigger question of why people like pop music, it really depends on what you think pop music is. For us, it means music that's accessible, like you can get hooked on it right away. It doesn't mean it isn't challenging or complex (in fact a lot of pop arrangements are super-complex), but it is broadly appealing. Add dancing to that, and you've got the perfect recipe for a good time.

You went to Stanford. Do you think that having that sort of intense academic background makes your music resonate in a different way?

Being weird nerds has probably impacted our sound a lot, although it's hard to say exactly how. We're pretty technical and detail-oriented about production. And I'm fairly obsessive about lyrics, which is maybe a byproduct of having read so much as a kid.

With its title it might be expected, but there's a churning darkness to "Violence." What emotions were you trying to translate with this track?

The song is about invisible monsters, the sort of expanding desperation that we keep to ourselves. And the alienation we experience when we look around and see the blank smooth faces of people who are doing the same thing. We're good at hiding from each other.

This might be me projecting as someone who suffers from social anxiety, but I also hear elements of anxiety in that yearning to connect with other folks that you seem to allude to in the track. Was that an intentional element of the song?

Sort of. Inasmuch as someone with society anxiety perceives a wall between themselves and others -- that's definitely there.

For folks who hear "Violence" and want to hear Deleted Scenes, what can they expect from your recently released LP?

There are some recurring themes in the album that show up in "Violence." A lot of it's about isolation, like how we're participants in our own exile, and about the kind of brittle or threatening ways in which we perceive others. The unseen parts of a person's head, the weight of solitude.

The album's up pretty much everywhere now -- It's posted to Spotify and Bandcamp. It's on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play etc. as well. - Baeble Music


"The POPDOSE Premiere: Lilly Wolf ‘Burn With You’"

Charli XCX is taking forever and a day to release her second LP. Lady Gaga is moving on from her Artflop with a promising jazz duets album with Tony Bennett. So what’s a boy to do who is craving a dark, lush and gothy synth pop track in the vein of M83, Goldfrapp and the aforementioned dark divas? Enter Ms. Lilly Wolf.

I’m usually not one to repeat publicist correspondence verbatim, but this damn near poetic piece of press prose describes the song way better than I can:

Verses float spare, haunting vocals over a Dirty South beat with a boomy kick, 808 snare, and glitchy hi-hats. Choruses open up into the big-indie feel of a Naked & Famous or M83 track, with melodically expansive vocals (similar to Lorde or Purity Ring) over a menacing low end. The bridge folds back down, settling into a major lift before building into the final chorus. The song is intentionally cinematic, tracking the tension, explosiveness, and calm in a cycle of violence.

I would have merely said, “With one keyboard-playing hand in the 1980’s and the other in the distant future, ‘Burn With You’ throbs with epic, corset heaving, synth-pop orchestral intensity. If the 50 Shades of Grey trailer had this song in it, perhaps we’d all be a bit more excited about the film.” No offense to Queen Bey of course. As for everyone else involved, the flick looks about as erotic as a Dove Bar commercial.

Back to Ms. Wolf, she is a classically trained pianist who has been writing songs since age 8. The track was produced by her college friend, Alex Neuhausen, aka Dr. Nu. The duo have built a dedicated following in the underground dance-pop community in Brooklyn, frequenting events like Brooklyn Wildlife and The SFX Party. A residency at Pianos NYC begins this weekend.

Download this track and other Lilly Wolf songs for FREE (for a limited time) and stay up on live dates by connecting with her on facebook. - Pop Dose


"New York based electro-pop duo Lilly Wolf premiere new album ‘Deleted Scenes’"

New York based duo Lilly Wolf is the collaborative project of Stanford brainiacs Lilly Wolf and producer Alex Neuhausen, better known as Dr. Nu (who derives his pseudonym from his doctorate in electrical engineering). Since their formation, Lilly Wolf has made a name for themselves with their high-energy sets that have earned them quite the dedicated following in the Brooklyn underground dance-pop community. They two have been hard at work on their new album ‘Deleted Scenes‘ and it is premiering now exclusively on GroundSounds.

Lilly Wolf had this to say about the album:

“The album is about disappearance and information loss. Forgetfulness as a coping mechanism, the warping and dissolution of old memories. The unseen parts of a person’s head, the dark invisible mind, the way society is complicit in hiding and rug-sweeping. Things we do that no one sees.”
‘Deleted Scenes‘ is officially out now, stream it below and check back for more from this artist soon. - GroundSounds


"Lilly Wolf - Violence"

Having previously had their songs regularly featured on hit TV shows such as The Real World, Keeping Up With the Kardashians and The Bad Girls Club, in addition to drawing comparisons to high-profile artists like CHVRCHES, Lorde, and Grimes, Brooklyn-based trio Lilly Wolf, who play catchy, sometimes-dark synth pop while also describing their sound as pop music for pop music snobs, are gearing up to release their long-awaited 10-song album called Deleted Scenes on September 16th. Listen to their new track titled "Violence" below. - Wonky Sensitive


"Lilly Wolf - Pop Dream"

Describing themselves as “pop music for pop music snobs”, Brooklyn duo Lilly Wolf has not missed the target. Their latest single comes in handy as an example: a tinkling piano drives the song over a prickly hip-hop beat, while vocals morph from barely lo-fi to full and very firm in the chorus. A mellow melody, just as song’s title implies, of which we can only take delight. Does it make us snob? - Going Solo


"Lilly Wolf – ‘Moving Pictures’"

Sometimes I just can’t help but attempt to imitate the sounds around me. At times I sound amazing, others I just look deranged. Having a crack at this one form Lilly Wolf proved me to be more of the latter. ‘Moving Pictures‘ sees the NY-native falsetto the shit out of a chorus that has the grip of chewing gum under your shoe. Stutters of snares roll under as a cheerleader handclap commands you to clap along as if it were integral to your life. If you can listen to this track and not get it stuck in your head for the foreseeable future, I will happily remove myself from the internet. - Bang Tidy!


"Lilly Wolf – ‘Moving Pictures’ (NBHAP Song Premiere)"

Attention world of pop music. LILLY WOLF is ready. Not only is she the one to make ‘diamonds out of blood’ (according to their new track Moving Pictures) but she’s also aiming for the world’s attention with her catchy high quality electropop sound. Moving Pictures sounds the lovechild of a less extroverted GRIMES tune and the grooving dreampop of PURITY RING. In the middle of it singer Lilly Wolfson provides an eclectic vocal work. Her musical partner, producer Alex Neuhausen (alias Dr. Nu), likes to stay in the shadows, LA ROUX-style, to give the extroverted singer the spotlight she deserves. Quite a working chemistry that goes hand in hand with solid material.

The duo from New York is one to look out for, that much is for sure. NOTHING BUT HOPE AND PASSION is happy to give you the exclusive premiere of Moving Pictures, the latest single by LILLY WOLF. Witness this smooth little piece of urban pop right here. - Nothing But Hope and Passion


"Week in Pop: Lilly Wolf"

Every so often there is a song that encapsulates the cause, fight, and struggle of producing self-made pop songs that are made up from the materials and recipes that dreams and grand visions descend from. Enter Lilly Wolf, a Brooklyn based artist who has been penning her own songs with longtime collaborator, Alex Neuhausen, aka Dr. Nu, who pull the rug out from beneath the obscure core of consciousness with the debut of, “Pop Dream”. This is a song for everyone who has dared to dream big, for everyone who has ever tried their own hand at recording, for everyone who has ever stuffed a nightstand full of poems/songs/stories read by no one but the author, and for everyone that has every fantasized about winning life's marathon spring in record time—”Pop Dream” was made just for you.

In our following interview with Lilly Wolf, we were able to deconstruct and explore the single from every angle. The opening slowly seeps in waves that wash in revolutions like signals from a home studio pirate-radio transmitter-antennae. The production of warping key-rotations starts the sidewalk hopscotch-can-kick percussion that frames Lilly's voice that stays mostly au naturel in the mix. This facet of focusing on the power of voice in the mix is becoming a large focus lately amongst various rising independent singer-songwriter-productions [i.e. the recent songs from Caitlin Frame], where the availability of limitless and over-abundant vocal effects has artists returning to the naked power of controlled and pointed exhalations of breath. “I can speak to the silence, play a singular refrain, I can pull back the curtain but the view remains the same,” Lilly sings while reflecting on the journals and sketch books full of unheard songs, “I've been writing pages that no one ever reads.” Emerging from the vanishing point of weeds and wild flowers from the pale horizon, Lilly Wolf utilizes an economy of poetics and production that emerges with a self-designed glamor expressed in the pop dreams ripped from the spirit of spiral bound-best kept secrets.



We had a chance to talk to Lilly Wolf about the debut of her new single, “Pop Dream”, music theory analysis breakdowns, artistic missions, running around Brooklyn, and much more.

What first inspired you to take up the balladry arts of song?

I started writing music when I was eight. I'd been playing piano since I was six, and I thought composing music was something everybody tried at some point, like drawing or baking cookies. My parents entered my first song in a contest and I won because I was the only entrant in my age group.



When did you first begin collaborating with Alex Neuhausen/Dr. Nu?

I was in my senior year of undergrad at Stanford and Alex was starting his PhD. We formed a band and played shows around San Francisco. True fact: we didn't get along that well for the first three­-ish years. Alex is pretty blunt and no­ nonsense, he doesn't mind getting a little confrontational (he prefers NYC to SF). I was a total shrinking violet and I was always inching away from criticism. Then I grew a spine. Now we're best friends. Alex taught me to produce, we both use Ableton Live and pass tracks back and forth. We get together a couple times a week to demo ideas, tweak instrumentals, record vocals etc.

How do you describe the synergy that comprised the drifting, space shifting “Pop Dream” single?

I'm gonna pull out my Owen Pallett impersonation here and give you some nerd talk about what's going on in the song.

Melodically, it's pretty straightforward. It's the only song we've written in C. The chord progression doesn't have the strongest motion, going I ­ IV ii ­ vi. No climactic V ­ I transition; instead it's a vi ­ I, which gives it a mellower vibe. The idea is more 'bathe you in sound' than 'get super tense and then release.'

We use some contrasting styles in the instrumental and vocal production. The beat is a kind of mean sound with a powerful kick and big claps, and the bass is a pretty dubby low end sound. The kind of stuff you'd hear on a hip hop track, except over the top we have these dreamy piano lines and that reverse swell sound. The vocals also switch up, going from the lo-­fi, up­front verse to the really reverb-y interlude and then to the big sound in the chorus with the doubled lead. It's like 50's jazz to chilly indie to Top 40. The 'space shifting” comes in part from all the different vocal positions: the up front vox in the verse move way back in the interlude, and then you're surrounded by them in the chorus.

If you listen carefully in the intro, we also kick the track off with some space­ shifting, as the swell sound starts in mono and then spreads out to surround you. Kind of like you're descending into this dream world.



(Lilly Wolf photographed by Janelle Claire Beranek)

There are some interesting meta­-narratives about thoughts and frustrations on song writing prose that you tell in spans of settings like, “roses in the graveyard, roses in the garden.” How do you describe your own creative approaches to song construction, and development?

Some parts of the writing are more procedural while others are what you might call inspired. Instrumental production, effects, vocal delivery, some lyrics, that's routine. That's getting up, going to a coffee shop, pulling up the track, shuffling through the plug-in libraries, tweaking settings, deleting the whole line cause I hate it, rinse, repeat. Other stuff, basic vocal melodies and certain lyric lines, I need those to come to me. I wait for them. They'll show up when I'm not looking, like when I'm shopping for groceries or eating a donut.

“I have been writing fables no one ever reads… pop dreams.” I like how that line really brings to life this parable of the obscure trove the best under­ heard pop songs recorded, you know, posted on Bandcamp, Soundcloud, and left with a couple meager play counts. How do you take this kind of poetic hunger and translate that raw energy into a cool hazy pop single like “Pop Dreams”?

That line, 'I've been writing pages,' I wrote that at three in the morning. I was lying in bed picturing my work burning, reams of notebook paper and sheet music going up in flames. And it came out sounding like that. Maybe because there's a sort of resignation in it, an allusion to the inevitability of making art. All these people struggling in obscurity, athletes and writers and engineers, they fail over and over but they keep making their thing or doing their thing because there really isn't anything else for them. Like for me, it's music until my mind goes.

I also like too at some points where when you sing “pop dreams” it sounds like “palm trees.” Was that intentional in any way? The song totally has one of those “up­-too­-late” west coast electro­-dream pop vibes coasting the whole time.

It wasn't! I knew I wanted to keep the vocals relaxed, and the pronunciation is a funny by product of that. Or maybe there was some intent there that I'm not fully conscious of. I like that you made that connection.

What are you and Alex working on right now?

We're making the next album, the one “Pop Dream” is part of. We have a theme and six more songs at varying stages of completion. We have some other stuff going on too, a music video in the works and performances around NYC. We're at Pianos this Saturday!

I'm pretty focused on the album at the moment, though.

What are the two of you listening to right now?

That Kiesza song, “Hideaway”. I love her vocal line and the minimal production. Tycho, Disclosure, Julian Casablancas, Twenty One Pilots. Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q, A$AP, Stromae, Rick Ross, assorted Vivaldi concertos and Chopin waltzes, occasional Rachmaninoff. I've been on an Ace of Base kick too. And Ariana Grande. Don't judge.



Is there a release or tour scheduling in the works?

We'll release an LP with about 10 songs late this summer or this fall. So far we keep putting off touring ­ it's part of this general disease where New Yorkers don't give a shit about the rest of the world. Also, with the internet, we can churn out songs from our home studio and get feedback off SoundCloud and excellent blogs like this one. So, we'll tour soon.

Parting words, and any wisdom, advice, shout outs, grievances, et. al.?

People sometimes ask us about how to get started playing music in NYC. Like what bookers we work with or clubs we play at, but that's putting the cart before the horse. The thing I always say now is, 'go find your scene.' Find people who are making music that you like and who might like your music, and hang out with them and go to their shows and start collaborating. Right now we do a lot of events with Brooklyn Wildlife and I get a lot of support from my running club, North Brooklyn Runners, what up NBR! - Impose Magazine


"Lilly Wolf premieres video for "Pop Dream" at Hail Hail Bar tomorrow (09.19)"

Lilly Wolf premieres video for "Pop Dream" at Hail Hail Bar tomorrow (09.19)

Lilly Wolf is the electro pop brainchild of Lilly Wolfson and (invisible) producer Alex Neuhausen, who recently relocated to NYC from the San Francisco Bay Area. Described as “pop music for pop music snobs,” the duo crafts melodic, sophisticated tunes that don't shy away from melancholy or sadness, like in single 'Pop Dream," whose video we are premièring here. Entirely shot in the big apple, the video contrasts the deep greenery of an empty Forest Park, Queens, with the concrete, graffiti-covered landscape of East Williamsburg. Video release party tomorrow (09.19) at Hail Hail Bar at 10.30. - The Deli NYC


"This Painted Life"

Lilly Wolf is a New York City based dance pop collaboration of singer Lilly Wolfson and producer Alex Neuhaussen, AKA Dr. Nu. Their songs are expertly crafted, extremely danceable tracks with "the perfect dose of melody, hard hitting beats and insightful lyrics."

The two met while studying at Stanford University (Lilly earned a degree in music, and Neuhaussen in electrical engineering). They were originally based in the San Francisco Bay area for a few years before making the decision to relocate to NYC and rising to new levels of inspiration, artistic creativity and success. Since moving to New York City, the two have played many more live sets, have licensed their music to Bunim-Murray and have had their songs featured on "The Bad Girls Club" and "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" and have developed a dedicated following in the Brooklyn underground dance pop community.


GLAM: The title of "This Painted Life" is inspired by a quote from Nabakov, suggesting a well developed literary background. Do any other literary references make their way into your lyrics?

Lilly: I guess not explicitly, but I read a lot and so does my co-producer, Dr. Nu. We actually pass books back and forth. I try to read pretty regularly, because I feel it makes me a better person. At the moment I think we're both on a sci-fi kick. I've been reading a lot of Neal Stephenson.

GLAM: You are a classically trained pianist. Do you get the opportunity to play at your shows?

Lilly: I used to be in a band and would song and play piano and adding at the same time, but then at some point I found that having the piano could be sort of limiting in terms of movement. I wanted to be able to dance and move around. So I haven't played the piano in our shows largely because it's so big, but it would be kind of fun to do again as long as we had the right set-up, where I could still dance.

GLAM: When you and collaborator Dr. Nu stated out, you were a guitar oriented act. What led to the transition to EDM?

Lilly: I think there are a couple of things. Dr. Nu started learning production before I did and got pretty good at it. Once we had the tools, we realized we could be writing music that was dancier and more upbeat. I have always loved and respected pop and dance music. It's hard to produce. It requires a lot of attention to detail, a lot of precision and I feel as if people don't quite give it the credit that it deserves. I think I've always wanted to do dance-pop, it just took me awhile to learn the tools. You have to know a lot of things.

GLAM: Why the move to NYC?

Lilly : So, we were in San Francisco before and it was very nice, very pleasant and even in temperament. But it didn't really feel like the right place to do pop music. I personally preferred something that was more fast paced and difficult. New York kind of hits you in the face, over and over, and I like that. I think it's better for me, and I think I write better music because of it. I think that it's harder, but that's kind of the point.

GLAM: A lot of great music and artists of all kinds come out of NYC. Does living there add anything to yours or Dr. Nu ´s creative process?

Lilly: Yes, tons! I find I meet more people doing art out here than I did back in the bay area, which really cool, it is inspiring. It's also kind of great to talk to people who are going through the same struggles. Like I said, it's harder and it's kind of hard to say why it's harder... I think there is something about New York that consistently presents you with the things that you want (which makes it hard to) hide from your dreams, which prompts us to be more ambitious and try to get more done. So I think we have picked up the pace on our writing and production. We definitely play more shows. There are more venues, better venues, and there's a scene that enjoys pop and dance music here too, sort of an obvious benefit. There are definitely a lot of things that New York has to offer.

GLAM: You are a talented pianist with a degree in music and if I'm correct, you have a background in orchestral arrangement. How much do you share in the writing process?


Lilly: I feel that I use it a lot but, it's probably not easy to detect once the song is finished. I learned to write counterpoint, to arrange notes in pleasing ways. So when you write a bass-line... the way I'm going to lay out the synth line is going to depend on the bass-line and a lot of the rules of classical counterpoint are going to show up in what I decide to do, the same thing with the vocal melodies. At some point, I'm going to wind up writing am instrumental line that will be arranged according to the rules of theory, against the other line.

GLAM: There is a depth to your lyrics that is hard to find in pop music. I personally find your lyrics thoughtful and aware. Is there a story of underlying philosophy to what you write?

Lilly: Yeah, I think so. Dr. Nu and I are debated about calling the second album "Dance Music for Depressed People." I like thinking about problems, the problems people have and the way their lives get complicated, for example; certain kinds of cognitive dissonance where you're doing things and you’re not sure why you're doing them, it feels counter-productive, but there is obviously some reason that they're happening anyway. So I like thinking about that kind of thing that makes you do stuff that your consciousness is telling you that you shouldn't be doing or it isn't right. So anytime I encounter something like that, I try to remember it and then sometime later I'll write about it.

Currently promoting the latest single, “Nightmare”, from “This Painted Life”, Lilly Wolf will be playing shows at Coco 66 and Pianos in the upcoming weeks. Visit www.lillywolf.com to listen to her music and to find upcoming dates near you.
- See more at: http://glammagazine.org/?q=node/549#sthash.uGlYp4fC.dpuf - Glam Magazine


"Featured Artist: Lilly Wolf"

There are indeed a nice set of brains behind the electronic pop music duo known as Lilly Wolf – members Lilly Wolfson (front woman/vocalist aka Lilly Wolf) and Alex Neuhausen (producer aka Dr. Nu) actually met while studying at Stanford University – perhaps that’s why their music is often described as “pop music for pop music snobs” (we’re just kidding!…sort of). The twosome, now playing out of NYC, has undertaken quite the journey to their status today, Lilly herself jumping from life as a classically Lilly Wolf15627_453023978078511_483435726_ntrained pianist, to taking on the Bay Area acoustic singer/songwriter scene, to dominating ear drums in the Big Apple with “electronic music infused with the perfect dose of melody, hard-hitting beats, and insightful lyrics.”
Lilly Wolf has been working the scene hard, and happily, they have a new record to show for it, a collection titled This Painted Life. Lilly told us all about it: “Nu initially suggested calling it Fear and Loathing in Your Twenties cause it’s about a bunch of the things that can mess with you at that age. I like writing about how people make mistakes, like why we do things while simultaneously thinking ‘this is a horrible idea’. Internal conflict is interesting…We got really, really obsessive about songwriting and production. Like, Nu would make twenty-some-odd mixes of each track trying to get the balance right. I’d walk around in circles for hours trying to come up with better vocal hooks. Or leave single-line blanks in my lyrics because I couldn’t come up with anything that felt right at the time.” You should sample some of the tunes off of This Painted Life now at http://www.lillywolf.com/ - check out some of their videos such as the latest for “Nightmare” while you’re at it. There’s a lot more fun stuff to get into, so read on for all the answers to the XXQs below.

XXQs: Lilly Wolf

PensEyeView.com (PEV): What kind of music were you into growing up? Do you remember your first concert?

Lilly Wolf (LW): I’m classically trained on piano, and I was all about classical music from around age 8 to 13. My first concert was at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) in upstate NY; I think it was the Philadelphia Orchestra.

PEV: What was it like trying to break into the music scene when you first started? What was your first show like?

LW: I actually had a bunch of performances as a kid, like compositions I’d play for school concerts or art shows, solo piano recitals, etc. After college I started playing with a band and we’d do shows around San Francisco. At that time, I was self-conscious about dancing on stage cause it wasn’t something I’d done before. Now I don’t care, it’s fun to get up there and be a weirdo.

PEV: What can fans expect from a live Lilly Wolf show?

LW: Dancing. Lights. It’s pretty high energy. Dr. Nu – he’s a producer and we write songs and play shows together – he uses Ableton Live to mix the instrumentals and play a lot of the drum parts live, plus a QuNeo midi controller that lights up as he plays stuff. I dance around. We try to keep the transitions pretty seamless, so there aren’t many breaks in the music.

PEV: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you step on stage to perform?

LW: It’s kind of a boring thing, but usually I’m thinking about the mix in my monitors. If that mix isn’t right, like if the vocals are too low, then I won’t hear the singing well enough to have a great vocal performance. Once I’m happy with that, I can get into the momentum of it, recall what it was like to write the songs, and try to convey that feeling to the audience.

PEV: What is the best part about being on stage in front of an audience?

LW: Seeing other people have fun. Like when they start dancing. Energetic audiences are awesome.

PEV: What is the underlying inspiration for your music?

LW: With the latest album, Nu initially suggested calling it Fear and Loathing in Your Twenties cause it’s about a bunch of the things that can mess with you at that age. I like writing about how people make mistakes, like why we do things while simultaneously thinking “this is a horrible idea”, or how we mislead ourselves. Internal conflict is interesting.

Lilly Wolf1458412_596171493763758_1529463709_nPEV: Do you ever look back on your career and think about how you’ve arrived where you are today?

LW: Yeah, all the time. I think I made some mistakes in the beginning. I’d attribute success largely to talent so I think I internalized failure way, way too much. At some point I realized, okay, there will be a lot of things that feel like failure but that’s just the deal with this line of work, like I need to just take it in stride and move on and try again.

PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about you?

LW: I’m a programmer. Like, I write code. Nu is too. I don’t think people expect us to have day jobs in a technical field. It’s fun work, though. Solving puzzles and building things that other people use.

PEV: What happens when you hit a brick wall when writing? What are your methods to get over it?

LW: That’s tough. I like going for walks while listening to music that’s not my own. Something about the momentum helps me find my head. There are times when nothing seems to work and I basically have to call it, like just switch to doing something else and wait until I feel inspired again.

PEV: How do you think the industry has changed since you first started out?

LW: Lots more internet. Distribution is still tough for indie artists but it’s not impossible now. There’s online radio like Pandora, there’s social media, there are platforms like SoundCloud that help other people find and remix your music. We get licensing deals through the internet. I mean, even this interview is online.

PEV: What can fans expect from your latest release, This Painted Life? What was the writing process like for this album?

LW: We got really, really obsessive about songwriting and production. Like, Nu would make 20-some-odd mixes of each track trying to get the balance right. I’d walk around in circles for hours trying to come up with better vocal hooks, or leave single-line blanks in my lyrics because I couldn’t come up with anything that felt right at the time.

PEV: Is there one area you wish you could travel around and play that you have not yet?

LW: Lots of places! Japan would be amazing.

PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your career?

LW: My mom has encouraged me to write music since I was a kid, so I think she’s pretty happy that I’m still doing that. My dad used to be skeptical, but he changed his mind when the “Strictly Luxury” video came out (I think he actually said, “You know, Lilly’s music is pretty good!” which really amused my mom). My brothers Teddy and Will live in Manhattan and come out to lots of my shows; they’re awesome.

Lilly Wolf1970398_643958688985038_1080788622_nPEV: What can we find you doing in your spare time, aside from playing/writing music?

LW: Lots of running. Around 60 miles/week at the moment. I run races under North Brooklyn Runners and I work with a coach. It definitely goes beyond fitness at this point, like I’d characterize it as more of an obsession than an activity I do for my health.

PEV: Name one present and past artist or group that would be your dream collaboration. Why?

LW: Kendrick Lamar. I could sing the vocal hook.

PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?

LW: There’s this artist, Adrienne Mack-Davis, who played a short set at the same party I was performing at. She raps and she sings and she’s amazing at both. It really was one of the best live performances I’ve seen in a long time. I think “Wake Up” is my favorite song of hers – http://www.facebook.com/amackdavis.

PEV: If playing music wasn’t your life (or life’s goal), what would you do for a career?

LW: I can’t really envision my life without music all that well. I guess I’d be writing code, or maybe doing some other form of writing, like essays or short stories. But nothing feels as meaningful as writing music.

PEV: So, what is next for Lilly Wolf?

LW: I’m working on another EP for summer release. In the meantime, me and Nu will keep playing shows around NYC, some with the Roc-elle Records (facebook.com/roc.elle.records) and a bunch at Pianos on the Lower East Side. Shows are posted to facebook.com/lillywolfmusic! - Pen's Eye View


"Dance Your Pants Off with Lilly Wolf"

Rising star Lilly Wolf just released her new single “Nightmare”. You can’t help but dance to this synth-fueled, bass-heavy track, the first off of Wolf’s recently released sophomore EP, This Painted Life. “Nightmare” has already made waves across the pop blogosphere, leading HOF Is Better to say, “Huge electronic productions back her easy but powerful vocals.”

Lilly Wolf and producer Alex Neuhausen, better known as Dr. Nu, create massive pop tunes that combine the artistry and melodic hooks of legends like Katy Perry and Britney Spears with the driving beats and huge synths of contemporary EDM stars like Calvin Harris and Wolfgang Gartner. - Vents Magazine


"Locally Grown: Lilly Wolf"

Self-described as “pop music for pop music snobs,” New York duo Lilly Wolf create a catchy confection of electronic music, infused with just the right amount of melody and wordy rhymes to crossover over into pop-territory. The project is made up of front woman Lilly Wolfson and producer Alex Neuhausen (a.k.a. Dr. Nu) and while they’re equal partners, it’s Wolfson’s name from which they take theirs and her face that represents them. Lilly Wolf is like a hybrid of genres that flaunts the reality it’s been engineered. Neuhausen further explains “If you’ve ever gotten into a debate over Britney’s best album or can tell if Max Martin produced a song just by hearing it, Lilly Wolf is going to be your favorite underground artist.”

While both studying at Stanford University, the two met online in a musician-centric Facebook group. At the time Wolfson had a more singer-songwriter focus and Neuhausen was recruited to play guitar. “I picked him up in my Volvo and we jammed in my dorm room,” she says of their first meeting. “We really didn’t like each other at first, but now we’re best friends.”

Having won several singer-songwriter slanted competitions and appearing on Prairie Home Companion, a more acoustic sound defined Wolfson’s musical identity, but it wasn’t to last. After a while of working together, they transitioned their sound and entered the EDM arena, employing synths, elements of dubstep and other electro flavorings to craft an entirely new sound for their pairing. “I was kind of fighting my own ambition when we met,” says Wolfson, but through this transition all their goals now seem within reach. That very idea is supported on the daily by living in New York City.



Set to debut their first video during the first calendar week of February, the pair are climbing new heights since relocating to the Big Apple last year. “Just living here I sleep less, run faster, and write better. There are so many driven, fascinating people, and being around them helps me stay focused and creative,” she says when recounting what drew her east. “Tons of amazing professional artists to work with. We’ve met talented dancers, choreographers, video directors, PR people, really, anyone we need to work with, we can find them and they’re ambitious like we are.” Neuhausen adds that “meeting our music video director Harry Mavromichalis” has been the best thing to happen to them since the move since the director has gone on to serve as a connector to other talented people who have enhanced the Lilly Wolf vision.

In the coming months and beyond, the dancey act would like to begin performing and touring and earning their living off of that. For now both are employed as web developers by day. Dr. Nu utilizes works for Bloomberg and Wolfson works creating games for Facebook and other mobile platforms out of various cafes in Williamsburg, the borough in which they both reside. “We want to write classic dance songs.” says Wolfson of their long-term goals bringing up Michael Jackson and Madonna songs as ones that continue to live on. She offers up a chilling Banksy quote as further ignition. “They say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.” Connecting it to the potential immortality that music offers, Wolfson states plainly, “We’re terrified of dying.” - Societe Perrier


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Bio

Lilly Wolf is a Brooklyn-based duo that writes pristine, dark synthpop. The band consists of Lilly Wolfson on vocals and Alex Neuhausen on bass, joined by drummer Tareq Almulaifi in their live shows. Their songs regularly soundtrack MTV and Oxygen Channel shows, and have received hundreds of thousands of plays on Spotify and Pandora. Alternating between sparkly and menacing, their sound draws comparisons to CHVRCHES, Lorde, and Grimes.

Wolfson and Neuhausen met at Stanford University where the former received a degree in music and the latter picked up a PhD in Electrical Engineering. Down-to-earth and goofy in person, their academic background is apparent in the polished, nuanced production of their self-produced tracks, and Wolfson's poetic, insightful lyrics.

This year the band completed a national tour, playing several showcases at SXSW followed by an appearance at the New Music Seminar in NYC. They played the CMJ Festival for the second year in a row, followed by a headlining spot at Toronto's Indie Week Canada. The band regularly gigs around Brooklyn and Manhattan, playing over 40 gigs in the past year at venues such as Mercury Lounge, Baby's Alright, Pianos, Bowery Electric, and Paper Box. The band's live show sees them synced to a percussive backing track, with Wolfson and Neuhausen bouncing around the stage while Almulaifi lays down a rock-solid backbeat. The show is accompanied by Neuhausen's homemade, programmed light show and fog.

Their 10-song LP, Deleted Scenes was released in Autumn 2016. Freshbeats365 described the record as an “amalgamation of everything that defines synthpop itself... pristine guitar...buoyant atop waves of fuzzy synths. Underneath, there’s deep bass blows and a consistent tick of percussion that keeps the track flowing strong.” Baeble Music noted the record's pairing of dark themes and lyrics about loneliness with bouncy tempos and pretty instrumentals, writing, “Brooklyn synth-popper/alt-pop songwriter Lilly Wolf understands how to hit just the right notes of dissonance.”

Band Members