Wolf Eyes is an American experimental music group from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 1996 by Nate Young. Currently a duo, Wolf Eyes are a prominent act within contemporary noise music. They have collaborated with a variety of artists from different countries and art forms.
History
Wolf Eyes began as a solo project of Nate Young. Aaron Dilloway joined in 1998 while also playing with John Olson in Universal Indians. Olson occasionally performed with Wolf Eyes under the moniker Spykes and joined Wolf Eyes in 2000 after Universal Indians disbanded.
In 2005, Dilloway left Wolf Eyes, uninterested in extensive touring. Mike Connelly (of Hair Police, Failing Lights and Clay Rendering) replaced Dilloway, first appearing on the 2006 album Human Animal. Dilloway did some production work on Human Animal. He has since performed with them on at least two occasions.
It was announced in February 2013 that Connelly had left the group to concentrate on his solo work and Hair Police. He was replaced in the lineup by another Michigan musician, Jim Baljo. Both Dilloway and Connelly appeared on the 2013 album No Answer: Lower Floors. Wolf Eyes is currently composed of Young and Olson; the latter described the band as a "morphed organism that expands and condenses as needed or not." The pair describe their musical output as "psycho jazz".
The group has released 297 recordings during its 20 years of activity. Official releases have appeared on labels including but not limited to Hanson Records, Bulb Records, American Tapes, Fusetron, De Stijl Records, Sub Pop, Third Man Records, Troubleman Unlimited, AA Records, Gods of Tundra and Freedom From. It has collaborated and performed with numerous artists, including Anthony Braxton, Merzbow, Sonic Youth, Black Dice, Dominick Fernow (also known as Prurient), Double Leopards, John Wiese, Mammal, FLUCT, MV Carbon, Twig Harper, Andrew W.K., Jaimie Branch, Emil Beaulieau, Richard Pinhas, and Smegma.
Since 2013, Olson has run the Instagram account inzane_johnny, formerly wolf_eyes_psychojazz, which was initially used to promote Wolf Eyes but has now gained a large following through music-related memes.
Reception and influence
In an article for Spin Magazine, Henry Rollins named Olson's noise bands in a column about his five favorite bands, writing, "The guy has over 1,000 releases on his label, and I have almost 700 of them. I have a great deal of time for all of these noise terrorists—it's modern avant-meets-stoners in a basement".
Fred Thomas of AllMusic observed
Distribution
Most Wolf Eyes recordings are self-released, following the DIY tradition of bands such as Smegma.
Wolf Eyes' first major release was the studio album Dread, released on the American Tapes and Hanson Records labels but distributed through Bulb Records. Other major releases include Dead Hills on Troubleman Unlimited as well as Burned Mind and Human Animal on Sub Pop. Most Wolf Eyes recordings are released as lathe cuts, cassettes, or CD-Rs.
Partial discography
1997
Wolf Eyes cass (Hanson)
1998
Heatwave cass (Hanson)
1999
split w/ Nautical Almanac LP (Hanson)
2000
Fortune Dove split w/ Andrew W.K. 12" (Bulb) Wulf Eys / Andy W. Krier cass (Meatball) Live Summer '00 cass (American Tapes) With Spykes CD-R (Hanson) Half Dogs CD-R (American Tapes)
2001
Egypt Skull CD-R (American Tapes) Wolf Eyes CD (Bulb) split w/ Metalux cass (Spite) Live Vol. 1 CD-R (Little Hands) Moral Witchcraft CD-R (American Tapes) Droll cass (American Tapes) Untitled aka Dubbed At Ft. Thunder cass (Hanson) Fuck Cleveland CD-R (American Tapes) Scowl CD-R (American Tapes) Droll Vol. 2 cass (American Tapes) Technical Difficulties CD-R (Little Hands) Sandpapered Eyes CD-R (American Tapes) Dread LP (Hanson/American Tapes) (reissued on CD in 2002 on Bulb label) split w/ Old Bombs CD-R (Betley Welcomes...) Droll Vol. 3 double cass (American Tapes) Throat Virus Alive CD-R (American Tapes) Not Our Laws 3" CD-R (American Tapes) Not Our Laws Vol. 2 3" CD-R (American Tapes) Droll Vol. 4 cass (American Tapes) Black Aroma CD-R (American Tapes) Slicer cass (Hanson) (reissued on CD in 2002 on Hanson label) Chimes in Black Water w/ Black Dice CD-R (American Tapes) Music for Valie Export CD-R (American Tapes) Droll Vol. 5 cass (American Tapes) Early Vol. 1 cass (Hanson) Y'all Must Be Really Mad at Something CD-R (American Tapes) Droll Vol. 7 cass (American Tapes)