Wise Blood (musician)

Wise Blood is the stage name of producer, performer, and songwriter Chris Laufman. He has released two albums, three EP's, and a mixtape. His work is largely sample-based with some noted similarities to blues and gospel music.[1]

Wise Blood (musician)
Wise Blood c. 2015.
Background information
Birth nameChris Laufman
GenresPop, Electronic, Alternative, Gospel, Blues
Years active2010 - 2019
LabelsDovecote Records, Future Gods

Career

2010 - 2013: Early Career & Id

Chris Laufman released his first project as Wise Blood, +, in 2010.[2] A video for the song "B.I.G. E.G.O." premiered later that year featuring Daphne Guinness.[3] Following the reception of his debut EP he was the subject of a Pitchfork profile which focused on his unique approach to songwriting.[4] Laufman would subsequently release another Wise Blood EP, These Wings, in 2011 along with the single "Loud Mouths".[5][6] In support of the release he performed at SXSW[7] and played in-studio at BBC Radio 1.[8] He gained attention for his energetic and aggressive live shows,[9] as well as for his conflicted relationship with Catholicism.[10] His music was particularly noted for its incorporation of samples, a process which he further expanded on in an interview with The New York Times in 2011.[11] Laufman contributed a cover of the song "Someday" by The Strokes to Stereogum's "STROKED: A Tribute to Is This It".[12]

In 2013 Wise Blood released his debut album Id.[13] A trailer for the album was released featuring Dog the Bounty Hunter.[14] Its first single, "Rat", premiered on Pitchfork.[15] Speaking to FACT Laufman revealed that his tumultuous personal life and struggle with conceptualizing the album had contributed to its delay.[16] In an MTV profile he expanded on his personal issues as well as revealed the different influences that inspired the record including John Waters.[17] In their review of the album Consequence of Sound noted its similarities to Animal Collective and declared that "Laufman's genre collaging and quirky point of view make Id a compelling listen".[18]

2013 - 2019: Songwriting, Production & Greatest Hits

Following the release of Id Laufman's output consisted primarily of songwriting and production. He is credited as a contributing songwriter to Partynextdoor's eponymous self-titled debut EP Partynextdoor for the song "Wild Bitches" which contains elements of the Wise Blood track "Loud Mouths".[19] Laufman also began working with Pittsburgh drag queen The Moon Baby.[20] In 2014 they released the song "Bae Sick" on Dazed.[21] Their debut EP Urallpoor.us premiered on Vice-run music site Noisey.[22] They have continued to work together on subsequent releases.[23][24][25]

In 2014 Wise Blood also released a conceptual mixtape titled Get 'Em using samples that were not able to be cleared for his debut album Id.[26] Laufman explained the inspiration for the release and artistic process he took in creating the mixtape to The Fader as such; "'I wanted to do it after I watched my cousin download a movie on an iPad, watch it on T.V. then record some of the movie for a Vine", he says, "I like that the original material is literally travelling from device to device and then ending up back where it started but now it has some fucking mileage on it'"[26] A video for the track "Helter Shelter" from the mixtape was released the previous year.[27]

In 2019 Laufman released Greatest Hits, an album that is credited to both Chris Laufman and Wise Blood and which Laufman said is the last under the Wise Blood pseudonym.[28] He also revealed that the album was a collection of material from the past 7 years that dealt with his struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues that he had recently been addressing for the first time in his life.[28] In his review of the album, Randall Colburn of the A.V. Club notes that it "veers - often wildly - between straightforward if decidedly off-kilter, pop ("Graceland", "When You Need Somebody") and tactile mood pieces that swallow Laufman whole in a maelstrom of delicately arranged samples ("Dope Swinger", "Soak Up the Sun")."[29]

Discography

Studio Albums
  • Greatest Hits (Future Gods 2019)
  • Id (Dovecote Records 2012)

EP's
  • Urallpoor.us (with The Moon Baby) (Future Gods 2014)
  • These Wings (Dovecote Records 2011)[30]
  • + (self-released 2010)

Mixtapes
  • Get 'Em (self-released 2014)

Singles
  • "Rat" (2012)
  • "Loud Mouths" (2011)
  • "Solo (4 Claire) / "Rot My Brain Away" (2010)[31]

References
  1. Lester, Paul (2011-10-07). "New band of the day – No 1,122: Wise Blood". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  2. "Enigmatic pop collagist Wise Blood's first EP to be reissued on Future Gods". August 10, 2018.
  3. "Wise Blood – "B.I.G. E.G.O." Video (Feat. Daphne Guinness) (NSFW) + MP3s". Stereogum. 2010-12-14. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  4. "Rising: Wise Blood". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  5. "Stream: Wise Blood's These Wings EP". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  6. "Wise Blood - "Loud Mouths"". Complex. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  7. "SXSW: Kills, Dom, Jamie Woon, Austra, Wise Blood". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-03-02.
  8. "BBC Radio 1 - Huw Stephens, Wise Blood in session, Christmas Exclusives". BBC. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  9. "Is Wise Blood This Year's Most Improved Band?". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-02-25.
  10. staff/melanie-jane-parker (2011-03-31). "Wise Blood, Musician". Gothamist. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  11. Egner, Jeremy (2011-10-20). "Popcast: 'One Pig' and Wise Blood". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  12. "Stereogum Presents… STROKED: A Tribute To Is This It". Stereogum. 2011-07-26. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  13. "Stream Wise Blood id". Stereogum. 2013-06-20. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  14. "Wise Blood's new trailer features Dog the Bounty Hunter". Consequence of Sound. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
  15. Listen to "Rat" by Wise Blood, retrieved 2020-02-19
  16. "Noise-pop artist Wise Blood opens up about debut album Id; stream it now". FACT Magazine. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  17. Bowman, Patrick. "How Wise Blood Channeled His Inner John Waters for His New Album 'Id'". MTV News. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  18. "Album Review: Wise Blood - Id". Consequence of Sound. 2013-06-24. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  19. PARTYNEXTDOOR – Wild Bitches, retrieved 2020-03-02
  20. Mulkerin, Andy. "Moon Baby on the rise after landing in Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  21. Dazed (2014-10-14). "Stream Wise Blood's entrancing track for the moon baby". Dazed. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  22. Bennett, Kim Taylor (2014-11-18). "Listen to the Moon Baby and Wise Blood's Weirdly Wonderful EP 'Urallpoor.us'". Vice. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  23. "Premiere: Wise Blood - "Rome (feat. The Moon Baby)"". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  24. "Pittsburgh Drag Queen Moon Baby Drops Scorching Trump Diss Track". www.out.com. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  25. "Premiere: Pittsburgh Drag Star Moon Baby Taps Biblegirl 666 for 'Pumps by the Pool'". www.out.com. 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
  26. "Stream Wise Blood's Get 'Em Mixtape". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  27. "Video: Wise Blood, "Helter Shelter"". The FADER. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  28. Snowden, Jordan. "Chris Laufman (fka Wise Blood) surprise dropped his first new album in six years". Pittsburgh City Paper. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  29. Club, The A. V. "5 new releases we love: New Pornographers surge to life, Tegan And Sara look back, and more". Music. Retrieved 2020-02-05.
  30. "Album Review: Wise Blood - These Wings EP". Consequence of Sound. 2011-08-08. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
  31. "Solo (4 Claire)". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2020-02-24.


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