Chelsea Wolfe on Transformation, Spirituality, and Her Enduring Authenticity
Haunting, alluring, and perennially enchanting, Chelsea Wolfe’s latest album, She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, weaves a web of reverie around its listeners. As its swelling synths rise like shadows in the dark, crashing against captivating vocals that fluctuate from whispers to cries, Wolfe’s latest work of genius personifies emotional catharsis, punctuating a new era of “self-preservation, self-love, and self-worth.”
KP: Much of your latest album, She Reaches Out To She Reaches Out To She, relates to transformation, even within its composition. You brought David Sitek in to produce the record, who wove the mostly rock-based demos into more electronically-driven tracks. What is it about this record in particular that drove you so into the headspace of transformation and alchemy?
CW: As I wrote this album, it was a very transformational time in my own life. I got sober from alcohol which started to open up space within myself to finally face some demons, cut some cords, and create conscious change. I channeled that into the songs and they became like little prophecies for me, creating even more change. I’ve learned so much from this album.
KP: You point to Depeche Mode’s 1990 Violator as an inspiration for this work, which I find is a very fitting sonic correlation. Is there anyone else that you admire along those electronic lines?
CW: Massive Attack, Tricky, Bjork, Portishead, Lovage.
KP: You’ve spoken about the influence of your grandmother opening you up to the concept that there was more than just this mortal, physical space. I had a very similar experience with my aunt, who suspended so much of my disbelief as a child and expanded my mind to many more esoteric systems than the traditional Catholicism that I was brought up with. I know, for me, it was incredibly transformative within my life, beliefs, spirituality, and practices, even within my work. What part of her influence do you hold dearest? What advice would you lend to women who are looking to expand past their own more traditional upbringings?
CW: I wasn’t raised super religious, but I was brought to Catholic Church as a young child. When I spent time with my grandmother, she was learning about aromatherapy, flower essences, reiki, and she shared that knowledge with me as she learned. I was open to it and I think the most important part of it all was that it opened me up to more than what was known, to the idea of a spiritual realm that was more connected to nature and energy, and not just an idea of a God who wanted me to be ashamed of everything.
As I got older, I went through more religious phases, going to different churches with family members and friends, but ultimately I stopped all of that when I was 20, and eventually began a more animistic, nature-based path again. It took some time, and it felt more instinctual, intrinsic, and like a deep remembering, more so than something that a man at the head of the church was putting on me.
Look within would be my advice.
KP: You’ve stated that you’ve turned down certain collaborations that may have given you exposure because you didn’t feel that they were truly aligned with your vision or with who you are, something that you have worked very long and very passionately for to achieve. But, undoubtedly, that road is long and winding and never guaranteed. What gave you the confidence and the perseverance to stay the course over all those years?
CW: The perseverance was there – some inner rebel or inner determination that wanted to find success doing things my own way, and not having to play along with some game. But there were also inner and outer demons keeping me playing small. Sometimes I’m not sure whether to thank or curse those demons.
KP: Your history with anxiety and stage fright early in your career is well-documented, and I’m sure that’s something that most of us can relate to, even as individuals who don’t perform. But you also said that you’re “more of a loner and need more personal time away from people,” something that I can relate so intently to. For example, during the pandemic, quarantine was some people’s idea of hell, but that was my indefinite sanctuary. Do you feel that these attributes can be superpowers in any way, either creatively or in life in general? Do you feel that they have influenced your work?
CW: I truly wish I was a more social person. I feel that community is very important, but I also feel that true community is difficult to find in today’s world and all the fucked-up systems we live in. But if I’m true to my nature, I love being a loner hermit, and I have a very rich inner realm that I draw inspiration and influence from.
“I used to only face the shadows, over and over, and wasn’t coming up for much light or air. I’ve since learned that you also need times where you are focusing on self-preservation, self-love, self-worth. If you’re only ever looking at your shadows like I was, it can sometimes lean into self-hatred, which does nobody any good.”
KP: You began writing poems at the age of seven and songwriting soon followed. Is there anything about your earliest practices then that informs your practice now? Who were some of the earliest songwriters that inspired you?
CW: My mom often listened to Bonnie Raitt and Joni Mitchell. I was listening to my local R&B radio like all the other kids in my neighborhood and I loved Lauryn Hill and Aaliyah. So my earliest songs were sort of a blend of those inspirations. I found that I loved singing, capturing stories and emotions and revelations into words, so combining those things into songwriting was my first notion, and I still follow that.
KP: You have recently been very in tune with living according to the moon cycles, something that I don’t know much about, but am incredibly intrigued by. My esoteric knowledge might be vast, but my celestial knowledge needs a lot of work. [Laughs]. How did you first become involved in that? Is there any primer or guidebook that you can recommend?
CW: I learned from Sarah Faith Gottesdiener’s The Moon Book, and I’d highly recommend it. It gave me a framework to set new intentions at every new moon, and to focus on those intentions throughout the cycle as the moon waxes and wanes (grows and releases). It really changed my life doing that for a full year, so I’ve continued that practice and love doing so.
KP: Much of your practice comes from shadow work, which, put simply, is the alchemizing of your inner traumas and demons into your strength and friends. I know that it’s something that many people struggle with, having to face such brute realities and wounds. Is there anything that you can share about your experience? Is there any advice that you can lend to people who are seeking to transform and heal?
CW: I used to only face the shadows, over and over, and wasn’t coming up for much light or air. I’ve since learned that you also need times where you are focusing on self-preservation, self-love, self-worth. If you’re only ever looking at your shadows like I was, it can sometimes lean into self-hatred, which does nobody any good.
KP: You became well-known for your playlists through a Red Bull radio show, where people deeply connected with your selections. I trust your vision very much, so I have to ask – what’s the last great album you listened to? Book you read? Film you watched?
CW: Oh, thank you for that. I try to take a lot of care when I create playlists. The last great book I read was Magic Lessons by Alice Hoffman. Album was She Walks in Beauty by Marianne Faithfull with Warren Ellis. Film was Poor Things.
KP: What do you feel makes a provocative woman?
CW: Existing – fully, authentically, confidently. This world wants to tamp you down, to make you comply with what THEY want from you, so showing up as yourself whether it’s pleasing to societal bullshit standards or not – that’s provocative.
