In honor of Patrick Wolf announcing the completion of his newest album, I thought that I would post an article that I wrote after the release of the The Bachelor, Enjoy...

    "English Musician, Patrick Wolf: on Leading the Pack & the Crusade for Creative Freedom" 

SJG

    Patrick Wolf has just placed a steep wager.  He has chosen to bet that the fans of his music are dedicated enough that they’ll fund his next album to the tune of one hundred thousand British pounds—approximately one hundred sixty four thousand and ninety six U.S. dollars.  
    Still, he confidently rolls the dice.  It’s well worth the risk if there’s a chance that the independent music scene could be resurrected in a bold and new way.   
    All that he asks is that his fans be willing to take the exact same risk the he is: he asks them to become a legitimate part of the music’s production.   
    He beckons them to his side, offering a record composed with his utter and complete creative freedom in exchange for help with the record’s funding.  Faith in where he could potentially take his art is all that it requires.  
    “I’ve never liked the hierarchy of ‘musician’ and ‘artist,’” said Wolf.  
Enter Bandstocks: a company based in England that allows fans to literally invest in the futures of their favorite artists by buying stock in an upcoming record.  
    In a market dominated by major record labels and music oozing with mass appeal, Bandstocks has found a system through which common people can provide certain artists with a legitimate amount of precious creative freedom in respect to how they choose to make their music.  
    Not too long ago, I got involved with Bandstocks by purchasing stock in English artist Patrick Wolf’s most recent release, The Bachelor; in doing so, I gained valuable insight as to the system’s inner workings and its many nuances.  
    In exchange for about twenty dollars, stockholders get all of the traditional associated benefits and more.  Holders are given the option to purchase new releases, special merchandise, and concert tickets before the public.  Their names are even included in the record’s credits.  
    The future of the music industry is dependent almost entirely on one thing: the fans.  Ways in which an artist can directly connect with his or her audience have always been important, but for independent music it’s essential.
    Innovative ideas like Bandstocks are what keep the underground music scene truly alive.  Bandstocks could be the beginning of an industry revolution.  
    However, it was Mr. Wolf’s decision to get involved with Bandstocks.com that put the company’s name on the underground music scene’s radar.  (In fact, it’s how they got my attention.) 
 

    This is because Patrick had just completed a third album The Magic Position, his critically acclaimed first major label recording, when he dropped it all to get involved with Bandstocks.  
    Patrick Wolf is no typical twenty-five-year-old man: musician or otherwise.  
    His physical presence in a wash of light is like a divine glow: fair skin splashed with glistening white eye-shadow to match a tight fitting and boldly bright white tailored suit.  His regally silken south London accent only solidifies his appeal.  
    This is exactly how Mr. Wolf catches everyone off guard.  His charm is only matched by his subversively sensational lyrics and eccentric compositional style.  He writes all of his music and plays more instruments than I have time to name.  Patrick is a musician that is making music unlike anything you have heard before.  
    It is for this reason that he is both adored and abhorred by the musical community.  Controversy is a climate which Wolf greets with open arms—contradiction and candid deliberation is vital to his art—to him.  
    True Wolf fans wouldn’t have it any other way.  Music that is true to the artist always comes first, period.  
    Perhaps that’s why Wolf not only succeeded in his efforts, but triumphed.  He received the support through Bandstocks, and in return produced a monumental album.  
    In fact, the BBC has named the track “Hard Times” from The Bachelor as one of their top two hundred songs to hear from 2009.  This includes the song being up for a spot in their special New Years Eve broadcast of the best of the best.  
    Still, despite all of the critical acclaim, I know one thing’s for sure.  With the help of Bandstocks and dedicated fans, the best of Patrick Wolf has yet to come.