Hailing from the North East of England, Feed Your Wolves is fast growing a reputation for it’s own brand of Indie/Alt rock. The ambitious 16 track debut album, Save Yourself, has drawn interest from both sides of the pond. Single releases America, Lonely and title track Save Yourself have featured on BBC Introducing, and produced number one positions on the UK and US indie charts. 
 Described as the epitome of do-it-yourself rock, the guitar driven songs entwine energetic rock with feelings of loss, hope and change. With influences from Taking Back Sunday, Death Cab for Cutie, Bon Iver and Kings of Leon, Feed Your Wolves creates a true and consistent sound. A brand new 5 track EP is due for release later this year.

How did Feed Your Wolves come about and how did you come up with the name! 

I’ve spent my entire life involved in music one way or another from writing music through school, being a part of original bands, cover bands, function bands etc… but I have always wanted to start something from scratch and do something that was just mine. You get to a point when you realise that the only thing stopping you, is you. So it’s time for change. It’s time to make things happen. I don’t know where this project will take me, who will listen or maybe even care, but for myself, I have to make this dream a reality. From designing the logo, the merchandise and building the website to writing the songs, recording and production, this project is something I can call mine. 

The name was inspired from a quote I came across online which read…

There are two wolves always fighting inside me. One is filled with anger, hate, jealousy, shame and lies. The other wolf is filled with love, joy, truth and peace. The battle rages inside of you and everyone. Which wolf will win?

 

The one you feed.

This quote definitely struck a chord with me as the metaphorical wolves inside of us were very relatable. We all have choices no matter how forceful either wolf can be, but notice which wolf is used for the logo. Did you Notice this wolf cut into the W of Wolves? You can decide which wolf it is.

Who are your Biggest influences? 

I have many influences, from big bands such as Coldplay, Taking Back Sunday, Death Can for Cutie, Bon Iver and Paramore, to smaller independent local Teesside artists creating amazing music such as Cape Cub and Patrick Jordan. 

What is your writing process like?

I will pretty much always write the main melody and chorus for a track on an acoustic guitar or piano, usually with a good base idea of lyrics for the chorus too and go from there. Musically the song would be finished before the lyrics and then just fill in all the little spaces throughout the track. Once the main acoustic guitar is down I will play the drums in, then add a bass line. I will then add some electric guitars/piano and finally bits of percussion, shakers/tambourine/triangle/wind chimes. For some songs I would then look at adding bits of organ, synth pads and strings etc. It really depends on the track and what it needs. When all the ideas are down, I would then consult with good friend James Henderson who is a great set of second ears and he will sometimes put some ideas forward. James is an amazing guitarist and I will almost always ask him to rerecord some of the guitars as he just adds such a quality of playing I could personally never match. James very much respects my writing and will play the parts written as they are, but simply better. 

This year you released your ambitious Album Save yourself. What was the reception like? 

Writing the album, I honestly didn’t know what it was for other than myself. I put it out there and instantly I felt the support of many people locally which really gave me confidence and pushed me to send it out further. Radio stations and independent charts from across the world then starting to react and since then I have not looked back. To create something from nothing and have it appreciated, respected, valued… words can’t describe the feeling it gives you. Sure the audience isn’t in the millions, but even just one person who enjoys it makes it worth while. 

How would you change the music Industry?

The music industry has changed a lot over the years. Looking back to before I was born, people would go out and buy vinyl records and read every word on the sleeves. Then this evolved into CD’s and then Digital downloads. It’s not quite the same as it used to be and people now have access to millions of songs from all over the world at their fingertips. The market is very saturated which makes it harder to get things out there and heard, but that’s because home recording equipment is more readily available and affordable. It’s such a shame streaming services such as iTunes and Spotify almost have a monopoly on the independent music scene and pay very little to the artists. I read different claims online, but to my experience, earnings tend to be in the ball park of 0.0017p per play. Which means you would need over 700,000 streams per month to break minimum wage which isn’t very realistic when you are not supported by a label or marketing team. 

There are 16 tracks on your album. We played and loved I Wannabe Be More, what is your favourite track and why? 

My favourite track on the album has to be ‘Let’s Start Over’. As soon as I wrote that track, the chorus just gave me a certain feeling. I wanna be more had a similar effect with the verses and outro. Some songs seem to come together more easily and some require a lot more work, with Lets Start Over I felt it naturally came together a lot easier than others. This track was also given the SilverFox treatment with a remix which put a totally different spin on it with summer vibes and feel good house momentum. 

Who would you like to work with? 

I would love to work with Bon Iver. They seem to capture something very special in their recordings. Songs such as RE:Stacks, Holocene, Blood Bank, and Hey Ma from their most recent album. 

What has lockdown been like for you?

Lockdown has simply been a nightmare. Being a full time musician, everything has came to an abrupt halt back in March. Everything stopped. Income, performances and interaction. I have always been a strong minded person but I have to say my mind and body have definitely been affected by everything. There have been many times I have literally struggled to breathe and this is mentioned across multiple tracks in the new EP which Releases December 4th 2020.

Do you have any other job apart from the music? 

I am a full time musician. I play in a local wedding and function band called ‘Last Anthem’, I play an acoustic set as part of the package we offer as well as piano for weddings ceremonies, restaurants and wedding breakfasts. I also do a little teaching within schools but this has also stopped as schools have ceased non essential staff for the time being. Music is everything. Without it I would be truly lost but we just have to keep smiling and waiting in hope that things will resume normality in the not too distant future. 

Whats Next for You?

As I mentioned earlier, the new EP is set for release on December 4th 2020. I am looking forward to working with Songbird Films and Daz Mack photographer Extraordinaire again in the next few weeks filming another video for the EP.

Under normal circumstances this would have been released earlier in the year and I would be looking at a second EP but unfortunately my mind hasn’t been in the right place and this just hasn’t been able to happen. For 2021 I am looking at a second EP or perhaps may extend this by a few tracks and release my second album. Hopefully we may see a few more remixes too. 

Finally I would just like to thank everyone and anyone who has showed any kind of support for this project. Whether you have bought from the merch store, bought a CD, streamed a song or even just followed me on the social network. It means so much and influences me more to keep going and keep making music. We have to keep smiling. Just keep swimming  

Website: www.feedyourwolves.com

Facebook: /feedyourwolves

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