Track By Track: Timberwolf Takes Us Through His EP 'Flux'

One of Australia’s most exciting indie folk talents Timberwolf released his debut EP Flux earlier this year and to celebrate his taking his explosive live show on the road in this month.

Following on from the release of his last single ‘It Burns’ which garnered strong radio support and pubic acclaim, as well as sell-out launch shows across the country in late 2014, the young talent has quickly garnered the title of one of 2015’s must see acts.

To celebrate the EP tour, Timberwolf has given us an EP refresher in the form of a track by track. Check it out below along with the stream and if you like what you’re hearing be sure to visit catch him on the road when he rolls into your town – tour dates below.

It Burns

“When we were recording this it started to stand out like a sore thumb initially. I think it was the disco drum beat and poppy nature of the electric guitar riff without layering. I really love the outro to this song, the change in tempo seemingly comes out of nowhere and really gives the track direction.

The Banjo was definitely the missing link in this track. I had to actually learn to play the Banjo in order to be able to track this song which I found to be a great challenge, and has resulted in the track being that much more fun to listen back to.”

Whiskey Jar

“I worked for a few months on the chord progression to this song and its probably my most proud ‘guitar’ moment on the EP. We even managed to sneak in a guitar solo. Would you believe me if I said that was going to be a harmonica? The lyrics – albeit pretty cryptic – are inspired by seduction, temptation and the trail of self destruction that follows an emotional split. It’s quite swift and rocky in comparison to anything I’ve written in the past so it was nice to move in that direction, I think I was listening to quite a bit of pysch-rock around the time.

I actually wrote and tracked the guitar solo to this song whilst we were mixing, and was lucky enough to track it on a $20,000 vintage gold top Les Paul that hangs on the beautiful walls of Mix Masters in Adelaide. This spontaneous moment was really the icing on the cake for this song and fits much better than what was originally going to be a harmonica solo.”

Fallen Sun

“I spent a while using what Mark calls his ‘stormy guitars’ to create the cinematic swell and energy behind the song. It is a moody exploration of inner conflict and talks about a character making sacrifices. The lyrical theme was actually inspired by Robert Johnson’s ‘Crossroads’, who refers to the mythology of selling soul to the devil in exchange for musical talents. Considering that’s the first song I properly learned on electric guitar it was pretty great to write a response to that.

I really love Maggie’s vocals on this track too, super spooky and very fitting as if you listen to the lyrics, you might pick up on the fact that I wrote this song about a past lover.”

Stranded

“One morning, I woke up quite distressed after having a very vivid and somewhat morbid dream about someone who means a lot to me. They were tied to a cross by their wrists and ankles. I was a spectator standing nearby and they were screaming for my help, pining for me to come to their rescue. There was an army of people holding spears and war weapons charging towards this person through a spectacular cloud of red dust in a surreal desert setting. I was stranded on the spot only a few metres away. In conflict with my instinct, I felt compelled to keep my distance this time. The lyrics ‘I watch the bows and arrows, bring you to your knees’ and ‘I saw you standing, your eyes were stapled shut’, are direct references to the images I was seeing at the time.

Upon reflection this dream was quite symbolic and writing this song was effectively the letter I was never quite able to compose on paper, and ended up allowing closure on a pretty sentimental and emotional chapter of my life.

This will always be my favourite song off the EP. It’s brutally honest and for that reason it’s definitely the most gut wrenching and rewarding song to play live as well.”

Seeker Song

“This song was originally intended to be on my first EP but I’m glad that I waited because I feel that it is the perfect resolution to what is otherwise quite a stormy and emotionally taxing EP.

Mark introduced me to what has now become one of my favourite albums ‘Post War’ by M. Ward while we were tracking in Cairns, and once we had the original take of this song down we decided it needed a shake up. We actually brought the quiet bridge after the second chorus forward to form what is now the long introduction of the song and made it really textured. It’s one of my favourite musical moments of the album. The tinkering acoustic guitars were inspired by ‘Post War’, and it’s the only song that features a pretty brilliant trumpet line that Mark wrote.”