Wu Lyf have revealed how their love of Tom Waits has helped them deal with the press.
Wu Lyf began as an enigma, shrouded in mystery, draped in reverb. The Manchester band refused to play outside the city and according to legend once made a London based A&R pay fifty quid for a demo.
Over time, though, the band’s attitude has mellowed. Debut album ‘Go Tell Fire On The Mountain’ was followed by several press interviews, which revealed a precocious group perhaps not yet ready for acclaim.
Making several live appearances over the summer, Wu Lyf have also lined up a full British tour in the Autumn. Yet this hasn’t helped mellow relations between the Manchester band and the press.
Speaking to Pitchfork, Ellery Roberts revealed that Tom Waits has influenced how the band approach the media. “I just finished reading a biography of him a couple months back and it’s interesting how the character of Tom Waits that everyone knows is a complete fiction to the reality of Tom Waits” he said. “He kind of used it as a shield from his insecurities about having to put on this larger-than-life persona. If I was as intelligent and funny as Tom Waits, I would be happy to do things like that. But I don’t think I am.”
“I’ve not really done many interviews and I never really wanted to do them at all. But if you keep your mouth shut, people start talking for you. And it was getting ridiculous. The anonymity on our part was played up by the media, but we always thought the mystery behind it was kind of cheesy. It just came out of a disinterest in the bullshit of 2011; we were reacting to the over-saturation of information.”
Continuing, Roberts used an appearance on Radio 1 as an example of just how they intend to split opinion. “I spoke to my mum yesterday ’cause we did this thing on Radio 1 in England. We didn’t take the big radio debut so seriously and just acted like dickhead radio disc jockeys. My mum was like, “The presenter said, ‘That was the worst interview I’ve ever done. But it’s OK because tomorrow I’m going to speak to Mumford & Sons, and they’re lovely boys.'” But my mum respects my disrespect.”
“We’re similar minds. She knew how little Radio 1 meant to us. I’d much rather people hate us than just give us a general seal of approval.”
‘Go Tell Fire On The Mountain’ is out now.
