Beatie Wolfe

Beatie Wolfe is an Anglo-American award-winning, multimedia artist and musician described as a "musical weirdo and visionary" known for seeing music differently and creating new formats for music and art in the digital era. These projects include a space broadcast via the Holmdel Horn Antenna, the world's first 360° AR live-stream, and a dynamic visualization of 800,000 years of climate data charting rising levels. Wolfe's work has been featured internationally at 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the Nobel Prize Summit, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The New York Times Climate Summit, the London Design Biennale, Somerset House, the Rauschenberg Gallery, South by Southwest, and the Barbican Centre. Wired selected Wolfe as one of 22 changing the world, she is a winner of Webby Awards inaugural Anthem Awards, and UN Women chose Wolfe as one of nine innovators for a global campaign for International Women's Day. Wolfe is also the co-founder of a "profound" research project looking at the Power of Music for people living with dementia. The artist has collaborated with experimental artists Brian Eno, Mark Mothersbaugh, Allee Willis and producer Linda Perry amongst others.

Early life

Wolfe was born in South London, to an English journalist mother and an American bookseller father. She attended the Young Blood Theatre group at the Riverside Studios between 2000 and 2004 where she wrote and performed in a number of plays at the Riverside Theatre and Lyric Theatre. Wolfe attended Ibstock Place School from age 3 to 16. Following Ibstock, she attended Goldsmiths, University of London where she studied English literature. For her dissertation, Wolfe wrote about Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen.

Notable Projects

From Green to Red

From Green to Red, described by the artist as an environmental protest piece, is a dynamic visualization of 800,000 years of atmospheric carbon dioxide data that Wolfe created in 2019 in response to the climate emergency. The woven data is set to Wolfe's song “From Green to Red,” which she wrote in 2006 after seeing the documentary An Inconvenient Truth. The project has been shown at the inaugural Nobel Prize Summit where the artist spoke and performed after Al Gore and Sir David Attenborough in the summit's opening ceremony. From Green to Red has also been presented at the New York Times’ Climate Hub at the United Nations COP26 along with a full scale projection of the piece onto the conference center which was covered live by Channel 4 news. It was also selected to be installed at the 2021 London Design Biennale curated by Es Devlin in its interactive version. The project won Silver at Webby's Anthem Awards and was selected as a finalist for Berlin's Falling Walls. It has also been shown at TED Women, Boston Science Museum, SXSW, the Barbican Centre, and Virtual Design Festival.

Postcards for Democracy

In 2020, Devo frontman and film composer Mark Mothersbaugh and Beatie Wolfe created Postcards for Democracy, a collective postcard art demonstration that "calls for tangible public interest and action in saving United States Postal Service - an essential civic institution and fundamental element of the United States". The pair's aim was to encourage people to support the United States Postal Service and to remind people to vote ahead of the 2020 election. The campaign went viral and the pair received tens of thousands of postcards which were exhibited at the Rauschenberg Gallery in Florida in an exhibition that ran from May 17 to Aug 8 2021. South by Southwest invited Beatie Wolfe and Mark Mothersbaugh to present the project as part of its first online festival. The Smithsonian Museum has archived part of this project in its permanent collection.

Barbican Centre Documentary

In 2019, a documentary about Wolfe's work was commissioned by the Barbican Centre in London where it premiered in October of that year. The film was directed by Los Angeles filmmaker Ross Harris.

Victoria and Albert Museum (Solo Exhibition)

In 2018, the Victoria and Albert Museum invited Wolfe to hold a solo exhibition of her "world first designs for music in the digital age". In addition to her existing album designs Wolfe also created the Space Chamber, a Mylar-wrapped anechoic room within which visitors could experience the Raw Space live AR stream via a coin-operated viewport.

Live 360° AR Stream (Raw Space)

Responding to the streaming age of music becoming the principal way of listening and continuing her approach of trying to reunite music in the digital age with a sense of tangibility, ceremony and storytelling, Wolfe released ''Raw Space'' as the world's first 360° AR livestream in collaboration with Bell Labs and Design I/O. This was a first in the world for combining live, 360˚ stereoscopic video and real-time AR visuals, creating a modern, Fantasia-like live streamed album experience. In an interview with Hoboken Life, Wolfe described the thinking behind ''Raw Space:''

''Raw Space'' touches on the themes I’ve been exploring since my first album but in perhaps the most extreme and technicolor way. For this album, it began with a question. What would the anti-stream of today look like? With ''Raw Space'', I wanted to create the antithesis of our current streaming experience and really celebrate the world of the album—it’s artwork, arc, narrative, music—in a fully immersive and multi sensory way, which has the effect of placing the listener at the centre of this dynamic world.

The live stream started on 5 May 2017 and ran continuously for 7 days straight. A turntable physically played Wolfe's album ''Raw Space'' on repeat from inside the Bell Labs' Anechoic chamber while people logged on via YouTube to listen to the music and explore the room in 360-degree video with the Augmented reality animation bringing the album's artwork, lyrics and visual landscape to life in real-time for the viewers. The Augmented reality animation was also part-generative, which meant that with every spin the visuals would evolve and listeners might experience different things. The ''Raw Space'' live stream was given high praise by TechCrunch, Axios (website), Fast Company, Wired and New Scientist, who described it as "like walking around in a dream someone had made for me" and the BBC Radio 4 called it "transformative" and "an extraordinary production: music and visuals" for "operating in this liminal space between online and offline."

Raw Space Galactic Broadcast

On 26 September 2017, Wolfe broadcast her album ''Raw Space'' into space via the Holmdel Horn Antenna and with Nobel Laureate Robert Woodrow Wilson. Robert Woodrow Wilson made an update to the horn to ensure Wolfe's music got past the earth's atmosphere and into space, making this the first music broadcast into space using the Holmdel Horn Antenna.

Live Generative AR Performance

In addition to the live stream, Wolfe also pioneered the world's first live, generative Augmented reality performance for songs "Little Moth" and "As You" as part of the launch of ''Raw Space''. This was achieved by using Kinect's motion-sensing devices to track Wolfe's movements in the chamber and allow the Augmented reality animation to respond to her specific location in real time. New Scientist described this as "an enchanting effect," with the song's lyrics streaming out of her mouth as her sung and the graphics following her round the room in real time.

The Album Jacket (Montagu Square)

Following on the innovations of ''8ight'', ''Montagu'' Square was released as a woven album jacket made by legendary tailor Michael Fish (fashion designer). Wolfe recorded the album at 34 Montagu Square, Marylebone, the former home of Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon & Yoko Ono and in the room where "The Wind Cries Mary" and "Eleanor Rigby" had been written. Wolfe's live recording – complete with its ambient sound, resonance of the room – was translated into a woven fabric and cut by tailor Michael Fish (fashion designer) (who dressed Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie & Mick Jagger in the 60s and 70s) as the first Musical Jacket of its kind. The Jacket has been NFC-enabled, allowing people to hear the music by tapping their phone onto the fabric. Wolfe's jacket has been featured in the Evening Standard, Craft Magazine, Creative Review, Huffington Post, Wired, Forbes, Recode, The Next Web, Tech Crunch and Fast Company. Tech Crunch called the Musical Jacket "spectacular" and praised Wolfe for "making music physical again, in a very literal way."

Album Deck of Intelligent Cards

In addition to the musical jacket, 'Montagu Square' was released as the world's first NFC Album Deck in collaboration with MOO. The Next Web called this release "a brilliant inspiring idea that transcends novelty" and Wired called it "bleeding edge." The Montagu Square album deck comes as a pack of printed cards with each card corresponding to each track off the album and featuring artwork, lyrics and an embedded Near field communication (NFC) chip – allowing listeners to tap the song cards onto their phone to play the music and access its content.

Theatre For the Palm of the Hand (8ight)

In 2013, Wolfe created her first album innovation by turning the mobile phone into a “theatre for the palm of the hand”. This "world’ first" format was positively received by various critics such as Wired magazine who described it as an "ingenious 3D layered view that beautifully brings to life her captivating folk sounds" and British British GQ magazine who stated that Wolfe "continues to innovate with her beautiful new album 8ight". Several magazines noted that Wolfe was "the first artist to introduce the Palm Top Theatre to her product". Following her 3D Interactive App release, Apple Inc. invited Wolfe to perform at its worldwide flagship event theaters – London, New York & Berlin. Live interviewers included Spin and Billboard editor & chief Craig Marks, GQ editor Charlie Burton and Debug Founder Sascha Kösch.

Music

Musical style and influences

Wolfe's style has been described as "low fi and honest" indie rock with a "strong percussive sound and bluesy overtone" and as "expertly played, beautifully sung chamber pop". Praised by GQ Magazine for her "smoky captivating melodies that envelop the listener in tales of love and loss" Wolfe's music pulls from the brooding poeticism of Leonard Cohen, the intimacy of Elliott Smith and occasionally veers into Americana and grunge territory. Wolfe's live performance has been hailed as "absolutely breathtaking" by The New York Times Magazine and "a profound delivery of depth and soul" and Wolfe has been described as a "beguiling, excellent live performer."

Calm Compositions

Beatie Wolfe was the first original content creator on the world's leading meditation app Calm (company) and continues to create Sleep Stories and Sleep Music for the site.

Raw Space (Album): 2017

Wolfe's third album ''Raw Space'' was conceived at Bell Labs' Anechoic chamber, cited in the Guinness World Records as the quietest room in the world. The album features "Little Moth", a song written in tribute to singer songwriter Elliott Smith and described by Spindle Magazine as "a tender homage with the intimate double vocals, distant mellotron and all round low-fi sound, very much in the spirit of Smith’s style and production." Highsnobiety named Wolfe as one of '10 Ways Music Will Change in 2017.'

''Raw Space'' was released in May 2017 and reviewed positively by BBC Radio 4 who called it "delicious", KCRW who called it "raw, gritty and honest", Jazziz who praised the song arrangements for having echoes of George Martin, New Scientist who described it as "intimate, like the sound of secrets whispered under bed covers," and Nathan Brackett who called it "amazing" and made it an Amazon Music album of the month.

Montagu Square (Album): 2015

Wolfe's second album ''Montagu Square'' was conceived and recorded at 34 Montagu Square – the former home of Jimi Hendrix, Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon & Yoko Ono – and the album's single "Take Me Home" was recorded in the room where McCartney wrote ‘"Eleanor Rigby" & Hendrix penned "The Wind Cries Mary."

''Montagu Square'' received positive reviews with The Independent newspaper calling the album "absolutely gorgeous" and praising Wolfe for being a "pioneering songwriter", Forbes calling it "extraordinary," The Huffington Post highlighting its "strong percussive sound with a bluesy overtone" and praising its "refreshingly low fi and honest" sound and Monocle Magazine describing the album as: "pure and simple; a short, sharp flip-it-over-and-listen-again LP of well-made, expertly played, beautifully sung chamber pop."

8ight (Album): 2013

In July 2013, Wolfe released her debut album ''8ight'' as a vinyl, lyric book and 'world's first' 3D interactive album app which British GQ premiered in its magazine, online and via its app and described as "the sultry songstress enraptured us with her smoky, captivating melodies about love and loss." It was also positively reviewed by Monocle as "Beautiful, it's hitting me like lovely records do" and called "Raw, brooding and so diverse it features everything from spongy bass to ukuleles, the record is an irresistible collection of melodious three-minute pop nuggets."

Burst (EP): 2010

Wolfe's debut EP, ''Burst'' was released in January 2010 as an iPhone App as was one of very few artist apps available. GQ Magazine reviewed the launch concert at St Pancras Old Church as "the best concert hey'dbeen to all year."

In July 2011, Wolfe performed at Secret Garden Party in Huntington. In August 2011, she was selected by EMI and Roundhouse to be featured in its 30/30 compilation album. This was released in December 2011 on Roundhouse Records. In August 2011, Wolfe shared the bill with American jazz musician Wynton Marsalis at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club. Following the show, Wolfe and Marsalis became friends and he became an important musical influence and mentor.

Early music career

On 10 – 12 November 2007, Wolfe was invited to play the Jack Kerouac Festival at the Marquee Club alongside American performers Carolyn Cassady, Saul Williams and David Amram. David Amram, who declared Wolfe to be "the Baroness of bob", invited Wolfe to perform at his residency night at the Cornelia Street Cafe in New York. On 7 April 2008, Wolfe performed her first of several New York shows with Amram at Cornelia Street Cafe, alongside ''The Sopranos'' star John Ventimiglia. She also performed at New York clubs Rockwood Music Hall, The Living Room, Pete's Candy Store and on East Village Radio a residency with Punchdrunk's theatre show Sleep No More.

Power of Music and Dementia

In 2014, Beatie Wolfe launched the philanthropic research project Power of Music & Dementia supported by The Utley Foundation. Wolfe was inspired by the work of the neurologist Oliver Sacks after family members became inflicted by the condition. The findings of the project which recorded the beneficial effects of using music for people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease included significant improvements in communication and memory, and received positive press from The Times, Independent, Guardian, BBC Radio 4, and Wired as the first study to both test and show the benefits of new (novel) music. The Power of Music & Dementia research project was the first known study to look at new music for people living with dementia and has been described as "ground-breaking" for testing music unconnected to memory. It has been endorsed by the Alzheimer's Association and Stanford University and recently turned into a charity Music For Dementia where she continues as an ambassador alongside Lauren Laverne. Wolfe gave a TEDMED talk about this project in March 2020.

Awards and Nominations

* Won Silver at Webby Awards's inaugural Anthem Award in recognition of From Green to Red.
* UN Women chose Wolfe as one of nine innovators to represent its global campaign as part of International Women's Day 2019
* Wired UK highlighted Wolfe as one of twenty-two changing the world in 2017
* Google Play Music nominated Wolfe for the 'Best Digital Artist' 2016 award alongside the 1975 and Alan Walker (music producer). Wolfe was the only independent artist nominated across the awards
* The Mayor of London appointed Wolfe as an Ambassador for London Technology. Wolfe was the only artist ambassador, joining UK CEO's of Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Martha Lane Fox and Eileen Burbidge
* The Great Campaign selected Wolfe to represent the best of British creativity & innovation at the IFB2016 in Liverpool where Wolfe met Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
* Bell Labs chose Wolfe to reboot Experiments in Art and Technology programme, which began with 9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineering in October 1966 and featured Andy Warhol, John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg as past collaborators
* The Women's International Music Network awarded Beatie Wolfe the She Rocks award for innovation alongside Gloria Gaynor, Suzi Quatro, Linda Perry and Tal Wilkenfeld
* Named on 2021 Alternative Power 100 Music list
* Wolfe was selected as a Falling Walls, Art and Science Finalist 2022

Writing

Journalist

Beatie Wolfe writes a column for London's Evening Standard and is a contributor for The Nation, Dezeen, Design Milk and Birdy Magazine in addition to having curated the The Los Angeles Times' inaugural NewStory festival.

Calm Sleep Stories

Beatie Wolfe was invited to join Stephen Fry as one of the first sleep story narrators on the meditation site Calm (company) with Wolfe writing, producing and narrating the first original content on the site. These stories became so popular Wolfe released each story's soundtrack.

Album Lyric Books

On 19 February 2014, at Mayfair's Maggs Bros Ltd on Berkeley Square – one of the longest-established antiquarian booksellers in the world – Wolfe launched the first edition of 'Words of 8IGHT', her lyric book to accompany the album. For her second album Montagu Square, Wolfe released her lyric book with SecondHome Libreria.

Discography

Albums

''Raw Space''

Released: 5 May 2017

''Montagu Square''

Released: 26 October 2015

''8ight''

Released: 1 July 2013

EPs

''Burst EP''

Released: 1 January 2010

Apps

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wolfe, Beatie
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
English women singer-songwriters
English women guitarists
English guitarists
English women pianists
Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London
People educated at Ibstock Place School
Singers from London
American women singer-songwriters
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century English women singers
21st-century English singers
Experiments in Art and Technology collaborating artists
American singer-songwriters
21st-century American women guitarists
21st-century women pianists