You Are Wolf, the alt-folk project of award-winning British composer and writer Kerry Andrew is our latest ‘Off the Shelf‘ guest, in which we ask artists to present objects from a shelf or elsewhere from their home and talk about them. This one feels like a bonus as, alongside ten eclectic objects, they also displayed a vast number of books.
Kerry recently announced the release of their third album, ‘hare // hunter // moth // ghost’ on November 3rd 2023, on Firecrest Records.
Taken from the album, their latest single is Blue Men, features words by Robert Macfarlane:
Given the theme of transformation, the eminent nature writer Robert Macfarlane wrote some original lyrics for me about the Blue Men of the Minch. These folkloric ‘storm-kelpies’ lurk in the waters between the Outer Hebrides and mainland Scotland, looking for boats to sink; in Rob’s lyric, which he called ‘a short scene in an opera’, they sing to the sailors and entice them under the sea.
The track features a drone made by Kerry’s electric radiator!
hare // hunter // moth // ghost is available digitally and in a 300-copy limited edition CD release at: https://youarewolf.bandcamp.com/album/hare-hunter-moth-ghost
Kerry’s also an author, and their third novel, We Are Together Because, is published by Atlantic on March 7th 2024.
Off the Shelf with You Are Wolf
I love shelves. My husband and I always need more shelves in our flat because we have a LOT of books. But there’s always room for other things – for sentimental, creative, or practical reasons. Here are some shelf (and wall!)-based objects that mean the world to me and my creative life.
Wren-spell Painting by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane
I was lucky enough to be an initial part of the amazing The Lost Words: Spell Songs project – writer Rob MacFarlane heard my track Little Wren and asked if I might respond musically to his new ‘Wren Spell’ words for a book he was working on with artist/writer Jackie Morris. I made a quirky wee spoken/sung number, which I performed at the Foundling Museum; Caroline and Adam Slough from Folk by the Oak heard it and got the idea to make a whole album from The Lost Words books. It became hugely successful, spawning a second album and several tours. Sadly, I wasn’t able to be part of it as I went down with extremely debilitating Chronic Fatigue Syndrome on the first residency with the seven brilliant folk musicians. In the early part of my long and ongoing illness, Jackie sent me this – an original painting, with Rob writing his words on there. It came to me at a really important time, and I’ve since got Jackie’s artwork all over our flat and have collaborated more with them both since! I brought the branch home from who-knows-where, and it seemed to be a lovely extension of the painting. The painting coming to life…
Little Pink Men
Our friends Nick, Fei and young daughter Kaia came to stay in our flat once when we were on holiday. When we came back – they’d already left – we started to find little pink clay people around the flat, hidden on shelves, in plants, on light switches… some we didn’t come across for weeks! Nick and Kaia had made them for us. They’ve remained in place ever since, and I think of them as little flat-spirits – very impassive, calm, just doing their own thing, but a reassuring presence.
Reynardine Painting by Me
I have a deep creative drive – I’m basically happy if I’m making something – and always looking for other outlets for my creativity. When first ill with Chronic Fatigue in 2019, I wasn’t able to make music or write, but found I wanted (and could manage) to paint/make art. Not something I’ve done very much! I made little collages and then went to some of the folk ballads I’d recorded as You Are Wolf for inspiration. I wanted to play with blocks of colour and bits of text, as everything I make always has words in the mix! This is the one for Reynardine, which is one of my favourite folk songs (in the Fairport Convention version, obviously).
Dungeness Driftwood
I’m definitely one for bringing the outdoors indoors and would fill all our shelves with stones, shells, branches, twigs and evergreens if I could. These sticks are driftwood from Dungeness’ shingle beach in Kent, the eerie, bleak landscape where Derek Jarman made his home. It’s an amazing place to visit if you haven’t, peppered with artists’ cottages converted from railway carriages, rusting junk, and with the looming presence of the nuclear power plant. It’s the only desert in the UK – FACT! NB also with profusion of my husband’s history books and our wild swimming books in the background.
There Is Still The Country poster
We have lots of posters, prints, and original art all over our flat – I’d have loads more if I could afford it! I tend to choose things that feel very inspiring to me. This was something Andy, my husband, bought me – it’s a 1930s poster for the London Underground that was also used as the front cover for a recent reissued edition of Sylvia Townsend Warner’s strange, singular, witchy debut novel, Lolly Willowes. But it also speaks to me deeply – I have a great need for country and nature a lot of the time, and spend most of my outdoor time in South London in parks, the lido, the back lanes or the woods rather than on the tube or in the centre of town. This poster reminds me that, when I’m feeling angsty, I need to get OUT, whether that’s over the road to the park, or a drive out of the city or, if I can do it, a longer trip cat-sitting somewhere in the sticks for me to creatively re-charge.
Pride Wreath
Here’s a Pride wreath from an outdoor Pride party in Vauxhall, South London, that I went to a few years ago. Since then, I’ve come out as non-binary and my sense of gender and sexuality has expanded, and queerness finds its way into pretty much everything I’m creating. When I wore this wreath, I thought I was wearing it as an ally. Now, I can wear it as a member of the community, and it gives me cheer to see it in our corridor. Plus! Cheapo aviator sunglasses I recently bought in an effort to look like the cast of Top Gun.
East Lyn Cascade – Overflow Pool Dip by Anja Fischbach
I find swimming outdoors a big part of my joy in life! When you swim with people, I feel you forge a connection that you wouldn’t form if you’d met them in the pub rather than in a muddy river. I met artist Anja Fischbach as part of a project for Sound UK, where I swam with local people as well as touring with You Are Wolf. Anja, two other locals and myself went skinny-dipping in the rain in a river in Exmoor, which was hilarious and freezing! Later, Anja came to my gig and had her art on display for the first time – she had begun swimming and then painting her impressions of the water. I loved this watercolour, and it now sits on one of my speakers in my study/studio.
Notebook Shelf
Behold! The writing shelf where all my notebooks of current projects sit. There are notebooks for sitcoms, screenplays, my You Are Wolf album, a big concert piece, a non-fiction book idea, and book ideas. Basically, I have ideas streaming out of me all the time and notebooks help me compartmentalise a little bit – it’s always better out than in. I love buying notebooks – they must be soft cover, recycled and have an inspirational design (usually) on the front. I do also have an ever-expanding Google Keep, but I always think the notebook is the start of something being truly crafted. You can also see some essential books for my writing life and current/abandoned research, a stress ball I made out of balloon, flour and wool, and my husband’s bass guitar plectrum.
Globe
This is my family’s globe we’ve had since the 1970s. My husband would happily give it to a charity shop, but to me, it’s an heirloom. As a child, I used to love spinning it and looking at the countries of the world and learning capital cities. To be honest, I never look at it now, but this is a far sexier, yummier object than Google Maps, and I will never get rid of it!
Animal Butts Necklace Holder
Not on a shelf but a shelf of sorts on its own… Andy made this for me one Christmas, for my ever-expanding collection of necklaces. I think I’d asked him for some kind of necklace holder and instead, he presented me with the best present ever! He secretly sawed away at these plastic animals, and the other halves live somewhere around the flat. It’s an expression of love and craft, to me – I think handmade presents are the best kind, especially when they’re as useful and funny as this one. If anyone wants one, I can see how much he charges! He also made me the pink reindeer necklace from a wedding breakfast table ornament, and it features on the cover of my new You Are Wolf album.
hare // hunter // moth // ghost is available digitally and in a 300-copy limited edition CD release at: https://youarewolf.bandcamp.com/album/hare-hunter-moth-ghost
Website: youarewolf.com
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