Pitchfork

He's tall, eccentric, and plays more instruments than some of us can name, and now Patrick "ain't no jewel thief" Wolf is a major-label property. The British singer/songwriter recently announced his signing to Loog Records, a subsidiary of UK powerhouse Polydor, also home to the Duke Spirit, the Bravery, and the Soledad Brothers. Loog will release the virtuoso's Op. 3, currently set to be titled The Magic Position, later this year.

In a recent e-interview with Pitchfork, Wolf had plenty to howl about. "It's time to start shaking things up again. 2005 and was a strange year for me," the 22-year-old proclaimed. "It's left me feeling invigorated, strong and confident."

"I have banned myself from Cornwall, lycanthropy, folk, laptops, lo-fidelity," Wolf went on to reveal. "Spent my 2005 free time in all night illegal techno or hardcore punk squat parties, went through an obsession with disco string arrangements. Listened to a lot of grime pirate radio stations. I also bought a clavichord and piano and am now recording everything in 24bit."

"I also woke up the day of the end of my tour and felt a desperate need to throw everything I owned away and get spontaneous again, break some bones and have fun."

Hmm...will getting spontaneous involve surfing on top of a van or playing basketball? Nevermind.

Wolf, whose lupine moniker is his birthright, dazzled worldwide audiences with his bold 2003 debut, Lycanthropy, and its rich, varied, and decidedly more organic 2005 follow-up, Wind In The Wires. All signs point to an expectation-defying third statement.

Mused Wolf, "I am happiest and most alive when life is total anarchy. You will hear some of the new lessons learnt on this third album...[The Magic Position] sees me right in the heart of the filthy city alive in and out of love with my knuckles bared and some exciting scabs and stories to show for it."

P-Wolf hopes to share the Magic in May, and will play one "intimate acoustic theatre show" this March in London, precise date TBA. A pond-skipping jaunt is also inevitable, wrote Wolf, now that the Loog signee has the wherewithal to tour North America.

The tracklist for The Magic Position has yet to be finalized, and Wolf refused to hint at any potential song titles. "Sorry, this is like telling if the baby is a boy or a girl before it's born. Where I'm from that's bad luck."

Wolf said he has already begun writing songs for the follow-up to The Magic Position, and has been swapping tracks between the two. He recently returned from working with engineer Patrick Pulsinger in Vienna, and will soon travel to New York for more recording. "In Vienna I put down all the foundations, built some walls and now I have to decorate the rooms and put a nice sturdy roof on top," he said.

All in all, change is the word: "There is a different Patrick at work on this album and I'm very proud of him, I hope people will be as inspired as I am by the new work."