Wise Blood

His sample-heavy, inward-looking ‘future music’ has been ruffling bloggers’ feathers for a while now and, following the recent release of the ‘These Wings’ EP, Wise Blood’s stocks have risen higher than ever before. So when Christopher Laufman brought his off-kilter show to London, he stopped for coffee with The Fly to talk Harry Potter, drinking alone and losing the ability to communicate with other people…

Are you happy to be in London?
I’m a huge fan of Zomby and Joker, so it’s really interesting to get to see the scene here. I’m also a huge fan of Harry Potter, I got to see King’s Cross! I think people in the US love it because it’s a romanticised idea of England.

Who is your favourite character?
I like Hermione, she’s so sweet.

How does London compare to Pittsburgh?
Pittsburgh is pretty but it’s quiet as hell, it’s isolated. There aren’t really any people there doing things that I like, it’s weird. It is cheap though.

That’s good. Why do you feel so isolated there?
I was born in Tennessee then moved to Pittsburgh. I don’t know anyone [laughs].  I basically make music during the day and then go to a bar at night. That’s how I’m isolated.

You must know someone?
No, I really don’t. The people I was friends with went off to college and I don’t really know anyone there right now.

What’s your day to day life like there?
I get up, walk around outside then I start making music. Then I wait until dark and then get a drink on my own. I’ve got to know a lot of bartenders.

What do you like most about your own company?
It’s good, I can listen to music. I prefer going out and being by myself drinking. There’s something about it, it’s just better. You don’t have to make conversation, but sometimes that’s nice too.

Do you worry you might forget how to?
[Laughs] I know right! Maybe one day if I keep going out by myself. I hope not!

What do your family and friends think of your music?
They think it’s interesting. They wonder why I’m not making money. They say ‘I heard about this guy Skrillex who’s making all this money.’ I’m like ‘I’m not doing that really.’ It’s hard to explain why you’re not making money but why it’s still worth it.

Describe your creative process.
Taking someone else’s shit and making it mine, fuckin’ post-millennial bullshit. The best songs take an hour. Unless you come up with something quick it’ll sound convoluted, you’ll fuss with it too much.

What do you want to achieve with Wise Blood?
I might change to something else soon; I’ll still be Chris Laufman. I’m gonna make something amazing and then I’m gonna kill off Wise Blood. I don’t know, maybe I’ll stick with it.

How will you know when you’ve made something amazing?
The album I’m gonna put out should be amazing. It’s half instrumental, half vocal, it’s a concept album, it’s really, completely, erm. Why not try to make something almost comically grand in scheme? If it turns out how I want it to and I’m happy with it then great. I want to release it in January. I want to release stuff quickly, I hate having to wait on shit.

Does anyone listen to your music before you release it?
Not really. I realise that if I get negative feedback I’m like, ‘fuck that, this is good’ [laughs]. Why not just do it all myself, however it turns out it’s on me.

Are you obsessive about your songs?
Oh yeah. I’ll spend a month tweaking a tiny sound or a certain part of a track. I like to outfit the tracks with tiny, tiny pieces that make it sound that much cooler.

What genre is your music?
I say future music because, like, that’s me being like, I don’t know. It’s Great Music. I classify my music as Great Music!

What else do you listen to?
 ‘Dedication’ by Zomby is my favourite album of the year. Tom Waits. I liked the new album, I’m a big fan.

Where does Wise Blood fit in?
I think it fits in at this section where it’s not over here, it’s not over there. It’s a really intricate but a very necessary piece of a puzzle.

You get lots of samples from YouTube, what do you search for?
I look up Native Americans. I like to type in an idea or a person and then if there’s any music there I listen to it. I’ve been looking up a lot of Middle Eastern stuff, public executions and stuff. It’s so trippy. The album is based around that.

Are you working on visuals too?
I’m doing a visual component with this album. I’m working with an artist in America called Borna Sammak the whole album will have a webpage to go to with visuals to follow the whole record. It’s what I want to do. I want to expand to do art installations, I want to be commissioned by museums, I want to be doing mixed media stuff. I’m ready to do something more. I don’t like just making music, I’m ready to do something more with it.

Those are some lofty ambitions, where does your drive come from?
Ryan Trecartin is a visual artist who I love. I’ve been going to the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh and they have all these amazing artists who have done installations that combine music and performance. Going to museums in general inspires me, seeing younger artists of a different genre and thinking, ‘I wanna do something like that’.

Where would you like to be in a year’s time?
I would like to have been commissioned to do a large installation at the Carnegie museum. To be working on that, to be in Pittsburgh, to have a good amount of money and be able to work outside just recording on my laptop. If I could choose where to be right now, that’s where I’d be.

What is your favourite sample you’ve used?
This Native American song called ‘Song Of Earth’. It’s got incredible vocal harmonies and chanting, it’s mind blowing.

And your favourite song?
‘Fortunate Son’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It’s my go to, get wasted and listen to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

And your favourite film?
‘Satyricon’ by Fellini; it’s fucking trippy.

Are you comfortable with making something people can praise and be inspired by?
I’d love it if people were like ‘you’re the most fuckin’ amazing artist’. I make things without thinking about that though, if you think about it you’ll end up making a bunch of bullshit.

Where does the name Wise Blood come from?
It was a nickname of mine when I was a kid; it’s also a book by Flannery O’Connor. When I was growing up a lot of people were called ‘young blood’ but my grandpa always said ‘you have wise blood’ why do these kids say young blood, you have wise blood.’ My mom doesn’t call me it, it was only my grandpa. No one else really did.

Did you ever consider releasing music anonymously?
I thought about that, but I feel like it’s more interesting to remain enigmatic with over exposure. The idea of anonymity is almost becoming a cliché. I decided to go with over exposure, to completely expose everything and then remain more enigmatic in that sense. That’s more interesting than wearing a mask. That’ll fall apart.

‘These Wings’ EP is out now on Loose Lips.