WIFE

Leaving a black-metal band to fully dedicate yourself to an electronic music project is adventurous in its own sense, says James Kelly of WIFE. The latest addition to the ever-expanding roster of Tri Angle Records doesn’t believe in ghosts, but manages to compose songs that are as haunting as they are beautiful. We asked James about the countryside versus the city… and some other clichés that you might associate with being adventurous.

Skype Interview by Sander van Dalsum. Photos shot by Dan Wilton in London, UK.

‘‘You don’t want to be on a submarine when things go wrong.’’

Hey James! Have you done something unusual lately?

Well, yesterday I was in a gondola, but that isn’t particularly wild. I live in London now and I grew up on the countryside. And when I lived there I did a lot of hiking and went hunting with my father and my dog. And now instead of that, I go shopping for clothes and visit cocktail bars. It kills your sense of adventure.

Would you still be able to hunt your own food, though?

I would, but firing a rifle in London would get me in a lot of trouble.

What are your fondest memories of living in the wild?

Growing up, my friends and I would go to another farmer’s land and steal bags of crops to bring home. The farmer would chase us with a gun. I also remember we all chipped in and bought an old beat-up motorbike. We brought that into the fields and would fly around on it.

Do you still have a bucket list now that you’ve grown up?

I don’t, but I’d love to go on a submarine one day to take a trip into the depths of the ocean. I wonder how that would be psychologically. People are afraid of flying because you’re so high in the air, but this is reversed. You don’t want to be on a submarine when things go wrong.

‘‘A lot of people are wasting years because they become content and lose sight of the things they want to achieve in life.’’

I imagine you’re a person who lives by the moment. Are you?

Yeah, when you live in a city there’s a bit more room for error. Before I moved to London I actually lived in a jungle in Costa Rica for four months. I was living in a tent with no electricity or running water. On a trip like that, I have to do a lot of planning because there’s no room for error at all. Once I got to the place I wasn’t going to be taken back to a city where I could get supplies.

To be adventurous, you have to watch a scary movie once in a while. What’s the most frightful thing you’ve witnessed?

I’ve been to some places where you can feel an old energy. Back in December I was recording on an island off the east coast of England with The Haxan Cloak. It’s a really creepy location, and there’s nobody there except for a caretaker. It’s used for horror films a lot and there are loads of unsettling stories about it. We were in the living room of the house and we heard this huge bang and crash. There was no logical explanation for what happened. I studied science in university, though. It trains your brain to know that there’s always a logical explanation for things. I think that keeps me from being superstitious.

Do you have any demons you still have to face?

I honestly don’t think I’m afraid of anything. Committing to Wife and leaving a band that was already successful was kind of a brave move. Some people think the best had yet to come but in my opinion I had to stick to my commitment. The time had come, so in my own sense that was kind of adventurous.

Do you have any last advice on keeping life adventurous?

Don’t overthink things, be a little bit reckless, and also don’t be afraid once in a while to take stock of what you’ve done, and who you are. A lot of people are wasting years because they become content and lose sight of the things they want to achieve in life.

WIFE plays on 17 July at OT301, Amsterdam. The show is free for Subbacultcha! members.