Chelsea Wolfe is a seeker. As a person, and a musician. Her sound is striking and nebulous — grounded in gothic folk, it drifts into sludge metal, drone, and distortion-heavy electronica, seamlessly. Blending ethereal darkness and spiritual ritual with painfully human, earnest emotion, it investigates the idea of self, in all of its forms: past, present, future. Across her discography, she flips through the chapters of her life, unraveling each teachable moment — struggling with sleep paralysis, getting sober, healing, even witchcraft.
Though Wolfe has shed the black veil she once wore onstage as a form of protection between herself and her anxiety, she’s still a self-described introvert. For the artist, and her listeners, her work, at its heart, serves as a form of deep catharsis and conversation.
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Currently residing deep in the woods of Northern California, Wolfe has been working on a new project, tapping into sources like nature, Tarot, and family. However, while she and her band were in town for a show, I swung by her rehearsal space to catch up — and hear a stripped-down preview of their set.
In person, Wolfe embodies the same open, honest mentality as her music. Sitting across from me, I can practically see her heart pumping on the sleeve of her long black trench coat. Not every artist mirrors their music — it’s an art form where alter egos are more than welcome to hop onstage. But for Wolfe, that’s not the case. More than most artists I’ve met, she is a mirror of her music. She is an explorer of other realms, whether it be that of apparitions or simply the bottomlessly unfamiliar terrain of one’s own emotions. Below, Wolfe forages through her relationship with her grandmother, relays a ghost story, and articulates how aromatherapy has become part of her process.
We’re in a literal rehearsal space, as you’re getting ready for a show. So I’ll start by asking how much of your work and your stage persona is you?
Oh, a hundred percent. I’ve never really felt like I step into a persona onstage. I think there’s a shift in energy, for sure, and I’m intentional about that more and more as I get older. But I’ve actually often thought that it would be nice to have an alter ego or a really strong sense of stage persona. That could make it a little bit easier if I’m having some issues with nervousness. But yeah, it’s just not who I am. I guess I just try to bring myself to the stage while also trying to invite in a little bit of magic and a little bit of more intense energy than I might have on a day-to-day basis.
Is there anything ritualistic that you do to get into that energy?
Definitely, and I keep it pretty simple when I’m on the road because it’s hard to bring a bunch of tools with you, but really for me, it’s just important to have personal space before I go onstage, a little bit of time to myself. If I can light some incense and light a candle and set the space a little bit, I like to do that just to make it feel a little bit more present and tuned in. I love tarot and Oracle cards, so that’s a big part of my personal practice, and if I am feeling a bit unfocused, I’ll just pull a card and focus on the art and see what speaks to me and then use that to guide me into what I’m going to bring onstage that night.
What deck do you use?
I use a lot of different ones. One of my favorite ones is a deck called Archetypes by Kim Krans. It’s an Oracle deck based on classic archetypes, and some of her own makings as well, but one of my favorite cards from that deck is The Forest. It’s something I’ve been pulling a lot the past few years, and it’s kind of about the “pathless path” and about how when you’re lost, that’s actually when you’re finding it. I think she says “Get lost, getting found,” and I’ve always loved that.
Cameron Holland
How do you think that shows up in your work?
Well, I’m definitely a very exploratory person, and I like to really go with where I’m at instinctually for each record instead of what I think I should be doing or what I think other people want me to do. I love the idea of getting lost in something new, and I’m open to change, and I’ve definitely stayed the same in a lot of ways over the years, but I think that I’m open to having beginner’s mind, and I’m open to learning new things, especially as I’ve gotten older. Sometimes we can get stuck trying to repeat ourselves, but I’m really into the idea of just bringing in new ideas and learning something new always. Being willing to learn always and never thinking of yourself as having mastered something is really important.
I can definitely hear that in your discography. One of my questions was going to be, which I think was just answered, how intentional is that shift from record to record?
There’s a blend of, like I said, just listening to my instincts and really following where I’m feeling truly led, authentically led as a person, as an artist. Intentionality is also becoming more exciting to me as a person and as an artist. When I was younger, I felt like the right way to do things was to just let the wind carry me as it will, and that would bring me to the right place. Now I’m a little more excited by the idea of being really intentional and deciding what the next step is going to be just by doing it, just starting. All these things that have been coming to me. They’re so simple yet so profound. Just starting the work or taking the next step, taking creative action, but having some intentionality behind it is something that I love as a part of my process.
You said in the past that music is a way of processing the world, so I’m sure that’s evolved alongside this evolution as well.
Yeah, I think it’s taught me to be vulnerable because like I said, having “beginner’s mind” isn’t normally an attractive thing in this world. We like to really know what we’re doing and feel like we have our shit together, but being willing to process in real time and put that into songs and be vulnerable and not know exactly what you’re doing all the time is a big part of it. And so I’ve had to be OK with that and learn to love it.
Cameron Holland
Those are very challenging lessons to even be aware of, at least in my life. How did you come to those realizations, and what was the process of that? What was it like before?
I had this realization a few years ago that I was thinking of my life like a train, and I realized I was a passenger on the train in my own life, and so I made the decision to go up to the front and be the conductor and make more definitive decisions for myself and for my career. Things have just been shifting, changing. It hasn’t been this thing where all of a sudden my career took off. Some people would think of it as almost [like] I’m placing more obstacles in my own path, but I think it was important to reset, and I feel like I’ve been closing out, not just a chapter of my life as an artist, but a whole book even, and I feel like I’m starting to get ready to start a new book, which is really exciting.
How does this show up working with other artists? It seems like a very personal process.
Well, lately I’ve really been into the idea of collaborating in person. I mean, I’ve always been into that. I live in the woods of Northern California, so it takes a bit of effort to get somewhere to collaborate with someone, but it’s so important to have that real in-person energy exchange, and that way you can be more vulnerable because when you’re just emailing stuff back and forth, there’s a wall between everything, whether you want it there or not.
And I’m sure it’s hard to really identify the compatibility in that case, too.
Yeah, exactly. It’s like you can be a fan of someone’s work, but I just think it always is going to sound better and end up better if you’re in person together and have those sparks of inspiration bouncing off each other.
What kind of space do you want your work to create for people who are consuming it?
It’s a space for people to allow themselves to feel. That’s what it is for me. My work asks a lot of questions and doesn’t give a lot of answers, but in that sense, it’s like pulling a tarot card where you’re willing to ask the question, and you’re willing to open yourself up to something. So I think I’ve always tried to create a space where people can open up. And I feel like a lot of people that come to my shows are similar to me, where they’re more introverted, more maybe hermit vibes, for sure. It’s really sweet. I really try to create a safe space. I know you can’t always control that, but I want my shows to be a safe space for people to just feel like they can be themselves and be quiet if they want to be, loud if they want to.
Cameron Holland
Was there an artist you experienced growing up that you saw doing that as well?
That’s an interesting question. I don’t know. I’m just trying to consider if that’s something that I got from another artist or if it’s just…
You wanted to create because you didn’t see it out there?
I didn’t go to a ton of shows growing up, if I’m honest. I definitely listened to a lot of music, so maybe I wanted to create a space for socially awkward, shy people like me to come enjoy music together.
I was talking about this with someone the other day. What was your first, if at all, spiritual experience with music?
I mean, what comes to mind is my one and only ghost story, so it’s a little bit strange, but do you want to hear it?
Absolutely.
It’s kind of random to suddenly tell a ghost story, but when I was little, I was mostly playing guitar just a little bit, and my dad gifted me a Casio keyboard where you could record little songs into, and neither me nor anyone in my family was very proficient. I was just making little beats and little sounds and patterns and things, and I had this one pattern that was four notes, and I recorded it in there and then probably just left the keyboard for a long time. Then I came home from school one day with an idea and went to record it in the next open space on the keyboard and realized that there was something recorded on there. You can see the thing flashing if there was something already there. When I went to play it, it was basically a version of the four notes that I’d already recorded, but turned into this really deep, kind of dark version I posted on my Instagram before, so I’ve shared the piece. I used to have a little mini tape recorder, so I recorded it and then eventually made it into an MP3. I just felt like it was so special, so I kept it alive, but I always felt like some kind of spirit or energy interacted with me musically on that day and opened me up to the idea that there was something beyond the physical realm and the idea of bringing an inspiration from that realm.
What do you do when you’re not making music?
I love to read. I love to write in general, so I do a lot of songwriting, just a lot of writing in general. I like to create visuals. I mean, I do things in a very lo-fi way that’s sustainable for me. I started enjoying making TikTok videos. That sounds silly, [but they’re] about my morning walks and nature, and just sharing all the beautiful things that I find, or just setting up my phone outside and playing music and sharing that. I really enjoy spending time with friends and family. I recently reconnected with my grandma who, because of my family’s estrangement stuff, I didn’t talk to for over 20 years, so I’ve been reconnecting with her. She’s 87, and she’s sharp, and we have so much in common. That’s been one of the great joys of my life the past year.
Oh, wow. Anything significant she’s taught you?
She definitely opened me up to the idea of the spiritual realm. When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at her house, especially in the summers, and one year she went away to a sort of school where she learned herbalism, aromatherapy, different energetic practices and massage, and things like that. When she came back, she would either practice on me making me flower essences, calming blends, or just teaching me some of the stuff that she learned. Seeing her do that got me excited about the same things, and I ended up getting into those things as well. Like aromatherapy. I love creating my own scent blends. Actually, the first schooling and job I ever had out of high school was as a massage therapist as well, so she’s been very inspiring to me.
Cameron Holland
Your work is so visual. But we’re talking about aroma therapy, so I’m wondering if there’s any synesthetic element to your creative practice.
I don’t have that actual thing where people see colors for certain words, but I definitely feel like I’ve always seen shapes and things like that. When I write and play, I close my eyes a lot because I have a very strong internal world, so I definitely feel like I can create worlds in my head as I’m writing.
What is a sound that you find strangely comforting?
I love white noise, like rain or wind in the trees, or even just a box fan.
What’s a place where you feel most like yourself?
I think at home in my little writing room. It’s like I’ve talked about — safe spaces. I’ve created a little space that feels really comfortable to be in and create those inner worlds.
Cameron Holland
One word that describes your current creative state.
That’s too hard! Because I am writing a new album right now, and I’m in such an experimental phase, but at the same time, my main focus is writing really good songs. I am not thinking about genre or anything that specific. I’m just focusing on the song itself. So I guess songwriting.
One last question. As a self-described introvert, what is it like being onstage? What was it like getting up there, in the beginning?
It wasn’t easy in the beginning. I’ve always found ways to deal with it, and at first, and still actually, clothing and fashion are a big part of it for me, and finding things that I feel comfortable in. When I first started out, my friends and I were really into Victorian mourning fashion, and so I just emulated that and found some lace and made a little mourning veil and wore a long black, my version of a Victorian dress, and that was my way of just feeling like I was basically invisible up there. I was just a being, and more and more I’ve opened up with the audience.
I shared this story before, but my mom recently saw me play in Portland, and she said that there was an interesting thing where once I started singing, it was almost like my physical presence went away, and I just was more of a being or something, and I really liked that idea. I don’t necessarily want to be up onstage in front of people. It’s not my main desire in doing what I do, but I know it’s a big part of it. So yeah, just finding ways to outsmart that element of it.