Patrick Wolf Celebrates 10 Years in Music by Reworking Past Work for 'Sundark & Riverlight'

BY Alex HudsonPublished Aug 9, 2012

Next month, Patrick Wolf will embark on an intimate North American tour during which he will perform back-catalog cuts in stripped-down acoustic form. This will coincide with Sundark & Riverlight, a new album that features reinterpretations of some of his previous songs. Released to coincide with Wolf's tenth year in the music business, it will be out September 25 on Bloody Chamber Music/Essential Music.

For the collection, Wolf didn't simply choose his previous singles or best-known tracks, but focused on songs that still felt relevant to him today. Many of his songs have evolved during live performances, so this will include updated versions of some of those tunes. It also features a new version of "Hard Times" co-written with Buffy Sainte-Marie. The album was recorded on analogue equipment at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios.

In a statement, Wolf explained the Sundark & Riverlight thusly:

This project started when I realized I had reached a ten-year jubilee as a recording artist. My first EP came out when I was 19 and in the ten years hence, my voice has grown with me. I started out playing with just one instrument and singing with no microphones in folk clubs, on the streets and galleries. I missed that raw communication so much and the spontaneous energy of that live situation. When I went to the studio I thought I was going to record a one-man solo album, but I started to dream, and heard bassoons and bodhrans. This is my first totally acoustic album and so I made certain that we were working with analogue tape and recording equipment.

In a lengthy letter posted on his official website, Wolf promised that a tracklist and pre-order information will be released shortly. Until then, see his North American tour schedule below.

Tour dates:

9/18 Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live
9/20 New York, NY - Joe's Pub
9/21 New York, NY - Joe's Pub
9/22 Boston, MA - Royale Nightclub
9/23 Montreal, QC - L'Astral
9/25 Toronto, ON - The Music Gallery
9/28 Seattle, WA - The Triple Door
9/29 Vancouver, BC - Rio Theatre
9/30 Portland, OR - Aladdin Theatre
10/2 San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
10/5 Los Angeles, CA - Echo Park United Methodist Church / FILTER Culture Collide

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