Patrick's Second Blog

In the last blog I was all aboard the crazy carousel now i am at home and feeling well. infact I just came back from tokyo and still think it is the afternoon when its about to be dawn.

I thought would give you my halloween pictures. A day of the year I do love so much. I spent the day recording in my studio and looking out over the gardens at the cats and foxes and funny city birds that come peck on rented garden flat wildernesses. This is my entertainment system.. a game of bagatelle from a gypsy fairground that was closing down. Its so so much fun. very noisy. better than a play station any day. I burnt a white ghost candle from morning til' night to keep away the banshees.

Perhaps one candle wasn't enough! To tell the truth the night that unfolded was a disaster, funny in retrospect. I expect halloween to be as insane, cheerful and jolly as it still is deep down in its pagan roots. But i could not find that anti-evil spirit in anyone that night. Everyone seemed like ghosts, I blamed it on the moon.

So I stumbled from one taxi to the next first as a giraffe in golden hot pants with the wonderful natalie castro to guide me, she is not only the most inspiring wonderful person but also the most genius makeup artist in the WORLD quite frankly. She was that night by my side as heartbreak hotel receptionist.

When my heart gets heavy in a taxi it gets time to start krunking up magic fm and drawing things on the steamy tina turner windows of the car. this photo was me trying to spell halloween on the window but getting sidetracked by the tracks of natalie and mines dramatic confessions, bloody tears and laughter. The new spears album definitely matched the darkness of the evening.

I thought it best to dress as one of my spirit animals, the giraffe. On my birthday this year I played a little nocturnal show with my musical wife bishi and on that night someone gave me this giraffe mask.... thank you! I cherish this.

But after the party in south london hosted by the stellar natasha barrero who was dressed as carrie I went on to my old house up in hackney. This place is called The Residence Gallery now... well. I missed the private halloween view, which is probably a good thing as I never know what to do with myself at private views. There's never enough music or conversation, plenty of drink though. I like to walk around galleries on my own and discover things, i think art has more power over you when you are feeling vulnerable or are solitary. But I had my costume change prepared for an afterparty so I pulled out from one of my giraffe humps a big chinese old man mask. I bought it in Seattle with Victoria Sutherland.. this talented beautiful survivor lovefilled woman. All hail Victoria!

So then I arrive at the party and my friends explain that perhaps the mask is meant to be the face of god. ARGH! then i really scared myself.... If thats the face of god I would rather go to hell!

In this picture I am with the lovely Kate *Alaska Blue* Davies she makes hats in the shape of birds and with birds in them. She is also a cheerleader. And helped me move all my stinking belongings from a half flooded basement flat with lots of vodka and the greatest hits of girls aloud.

While all this is going on I am thinking much about the darling Bishi who is about to release her debut album. Nights at the Circus. www.bishi.co.uk . Bishi and I have shared some of the most terrifying beautiful suicide motel rooms together.. nonstop grey garden behaviour and whenever I would wake up I would turn on tv and see none other than Tyra. This woman is ten times fiercer than jeremy kyle. I think this photo sums up my state of TyraTerror!

Here is a picture of us outside our washington dc motel. getting excited about finding the local mall and getting us fed and fancy. wheres frickin aunty annie when you need her?

It was apt for bishi to release her album in a church, her music is deep in the spirit world and full of heart as well as being mash and ritzy too. I was asked to play a couple of songs on the church organ which I went ahead and did.. If you have never experienced a church organ recital. then you are denying your ears and body a divine magick experience. My great uncle still plays the organ in Lewes cathedral, so you should go and listen there if you don't have the want to be learning the pipes.

now i leave you with me wearing the face of god slightly drunk and looking like a mass murderer.
kids DONT try this at home!
Beware!!!!

til next time x
big big love to you and your kin x
PW x

Hello, welcome to the photographic diary from my recent North American autumn tour...

This is the first installment of photos from this recent expedition around the nightland of the United States and of course my dear Canada. I have always photographed my tours, ever since being 18 with my disposable cameras and to tell the truth have always feared the digital until my friend Rick Beauchamin showed me his digital camera that could photograph the night without flash. I fear the flash.

Anyway. My whole life to this date has been half analogue, half digital. Until I was 16, the internet was a cult phenomenon, halfway through my musical "career" people really started this whole internet piracy thing and now its very hard to afford to press up copies of vinyl. What I’m trying to say is that we have to change with or at least try to understand the world we live in, for health and survival reasons, so when Fuji offered me and my band free cameras, just like my dear Rick had, then I thought it would be an interesting experiment. The photos that follow, have all been taken by my road family, my brothers, sisters of the open roads. In my second blog come the private party photographs taken from the vaults of Me and Victoria’s new fancy cameras xx Patrick Wolf

This here is the wonderful American way of displaying who is playing at a theatre. We arrived in Boston very sleepy needing both cocktails and neon signs saying "rock and roll". So we felt very happy indeed when we woke to this sight. I always like seeing my name up in fancy lights, it makes me think one day my dream of having a Las Vegas residency, and perhaps a Penge Triangle residency, will one day come true.

This here is me and the wonderful Victoria Sutherland (who plays wonderful violin in my band) getting ourselves ready for a show, I have a feeling we are still in Boston at this time. Before I go on tour I always ask a friend of mine to make me some pieces for the shows. In this instance I met up with my wonderful new friend, Miss Fred Butler, the night before I left London. She has collaborated with me much over this Magic Position album. She tends to make everything out of found materials, or paper and cardboard, she is a genius. In this photograph I am wearing a gold necklace with gold cardboard skulls and crosses. Although I took a big box of outfits away from the studio and then into my suitcases, I paid nothing in excess luggage, much to the fact that everything in my suitcase was made from recycled paper cardboard!

Ok, this is me and Mr Jonathan Krisp (electronics) in our first lovely van. We are probably on the freeway during a twelve hour drive. About three hours into our journeys, everyone’s bum muscles start to hurt and we have to revert to private entertainment. John has been working on some genius music on the tour, we are often treated to bursts of Electric Light Orchestra remixes and some old rave masterpiece he has just come up with. Our laptops keep us alive. While John is getting high on the music, I am probably getting very nihilistic, writing songs of death and destruction on my old white beast of a computer.

This was taken by Victoria, one photograph after us showing each other what we both think we look like in our subconscious self-deprecating minds. Double chin extravaganza. This whole Magic Position and in fact most of my life has been about wearing the brightest and fantastical colors I can find. My best friend since junior school, Natalie Castro, is a makeup artist and now works for mac makeup and gets me all the brightest colors and glitters. There is no other makeup apart from cheap theatre makeup that works for boys. I have worn mac for almost a decade now, and I’m only 24. Still you wonder why I had to leave school at 15.... This photograph was taken in Portland. My dear Bishi and I spent our day off in Portland going to random bars with unfortunate random pornography on the video screens. All we wanted was a good cocktail.

This is a photography taken by my wonderful manager Stuart Green. On tour, before every show, I need inspiration and to wipe my mind of all transportation, therefore we normally end up watching B*Witched, Spice Girls, Mortiis, Verka Seduchka, Vanilla, No Bra, Atari Teenage Riot and Scatman John videos on Youtube. On my left and right are the wonderful Bishi, who I will introduce shortly and then the lovely Victoria Sutherland laughing with me, both in slight terror at the latest Celine Dion video.

The drive to Canada was full of trees and strip searches once we got to the border. Canadian borders are the opposite of the country it protects. The people of Canada have both big beautiful hearts and a true sense of art and human politics. Once we were within the country itself, our first show was Montreal which felt like a slight homecoming, Most of the last album was inspired by and written about a Canadian girl called Ingrid Z.

Anyways, the photo here was taken in Toronto a good hour or so before I came onstage by one of my band. Not only did the front row bring maracas and bells to play along with the show, they also brought streamers, bubble blowers and glitter canons for the encore. The show felt like a New Year’s celebration. It was Saturday night so me any my band threw in a version of Whigfield’s Saturday Night for extra joy.

Someone had organised me an after party in New York, and I thought I would be able to make it, but I pretty much passed out and headed to Coney Island straight after my show. Victoria, John and Marcello all went to the party at the Beauty Bar and got free electro shock therapy as you can see here. This photo makes me wish I had not downed all that tequila after the show.

By the time we reached Boston, I was alive again and I met up with my boys from the Boston Ballet. They took me for a night out to a club where between every song they would play "Its Britney bitch" almost as a trailer to excite everyone until they let Godzilla loose on the dance floor. I love Boston, last time I was in this city I ended up putting on my own drag show to The Magic Position at the nearest tranny bar. John Krisp was so confused by the spontaneous performance he was convinced I was a hologram until I started sexing up the roman era stage props. Anyway, this photo is me and a Britney inspired ladyboy. I tried my hardest to recreate the VMA performance once they played Gimme More but was pushed out the way by MIZERY the local queen of the diva dance floors of Boston.

I have a feeling this photograph was taken by Victoria or Nick Haward. I am currently a million miles above the Atlantic at four thirty am English time on my way back from the States and dread to wake any of my hardworking crew. I think this photo sums up touring life. A cat in a high street window, fast asleep. On full display. People taking photos as you’re trying to dream. Next to a hot pink smelly cat litter dispenser. Holding your breath. Waiting for someone strong beautiful and caring to take you home for good.

I spent so long looking for a band that felt that were not only a musical family, but a personal road family. In the last six months I have found this group of people that I’m happy to spend all my waking and sleeping hours with. They are so genius, all for their own talents and virtues. On the left, the wonderful Marcello Vig, the drummer and percussionist for my band, hailing from Brazil, I met him totally through an accident of personalities. Second from left the one and only Nick Haward, our double bassist. He has been with me for the whole Magic Position touring period. Despite his youth, this man is our road father. I feel like I can ask him any question, for instance this morning I asked him if flies could hear and he gave me the perfect answer.

Victoria Sutherland, my lovely dearest gorgeous superstar friend. She is the most talented violinist I have ever heard in my life. When I was 15 and playing in the same orchestra as her, when she played the solos I was moved to silence and tears, she is the Edith Piaf of the string world. My respect and love for this musician and friend is unlimited. I would give my kidneys and liver to keep this lady playing the violin. You must hear her in concert, in symphony at least once in your life. Then on the far right we have Mr Johnathan Krisp, my electronic maestro, he deals with all my nightmare electronics from my random eight year old laptops. Not only does he do this but he has added a wealth of field recordings in the last year, we now have foxes, crows, magpies, storms and seagulls live onstage, all coming from John’s genius technological world

For almost five years, from being a boy with a bontempi organ traveling the seaside towns of Northern Italy, to being a piano player with a fierce celtic drummer in Amsterdam, to playing to thousands as a pop star across the world, I have always kept with me my treasure, my one and only sound engineer. A woman who knows how to mike up and mix any combination of instruments from a ukulele to a symphony orchestra. If there were Oscars for sound engineers, this legend would win lifetime achievement every year. We have decades of sound to make together. I can’t wait for my next fifty years with WIbke Juergens. She is the magic ingredient of every show you have been to in the last five years. There is no other Wibke.

This is me invading Bishi’s soundcheck. Bishi is one of the most talented and genius musicians of my generation. She comes from a wonderful Indian Classical music heritage, and like me was raised in London, both of us a few miles apart from each other. She has been my best friend and closest, dearest companion in life since we were twelve years old. While I was off being an 19 year old pretend popstar, she was studying hard at the Ravi Shankar institute and secretly developing into an amazing grounbreaking pop STAR. Her debut album, about to be released, is a deep and beautiful journey through the life and heart of a 24 year old girl from London. Being on tour with Bishi is like winning a competition to go on a dream adventure with your best friend in the world. I swear my face has become ten years older in two weeks with the amount of laughter lines I have developed. In this photo we are in Detroit and I have just raided the nearest shopping mall for halloween decorations. Perhaps I had a little too much to drink, but at this moment in time I was convinced Bishi needed a ghost to keep her company onstage. Much to my delight, this ghost went on to operate her electronics that night.

Before every show I unpack all my suitcases and my random bags of thrift store junk and channel into my musical world. The two most important objects in my bags for disconnecting from reality are - my snowglobe from Vienna. This snowglobe takes me back to the winter I spent in Vienna recording the Magic Position, the snow was falling, the whole of prater was slow and half closed. I would wake every morning and drink Baileys and wonder through the snow daydreaming of falling in love before Patrick Pulsinger would pick me up in his little car and we would drive to record string quartets and vibraphones in his downtown Vienna studio. Beautiful, perfect days of my life. Then the other object is a copy of the painting called The Blue Boy by Gainsborough, although being a very famous painting and almost the boy version of the Mona Lisa, this painting is almost like staring into a mirror for me. When I see this painting I feel both safe and normal. I bought this painting the day I moved into the Verger’s Cottage with Ingrid, where I went on to record and write The Magic Position album.