After nearly thirty years between albums, The Wolfgang Press have returned with their second new release in just two years. Following 2024’s A 2nd Shape, the band’s first album since 1995, Michael Allen and brothers Andrew and Stephen Gray are back with Asylum Variations, released September 25 through Downwards Records.
Asylum Variations follows the same basic recording approach as A 2nd Shape, with the band playing together and recording directly to ADAT. Dub-influenced rhythms, abrasive guitars, sparse arrangements and moments of unexpected beauty all find their place across the album. This time, the recordings were taken into Metway Studio for mixing with an engineer, giving the album a less lo-fi sound than A 2nd Shape. It’s another example of the band’s longstanding tendency to follow familiar musical instincts without arriving at quite the same results.
In this email interview, Michael Allen discusses how the band came to work together again, the recording process behind Asylum Variations, his approach to writing lyrics, the challenges of performing older material, and what might come next.
A 2nd Shape marked The Wolfgang Press’s return after nearly thirty years. What initially brought the band back together, and at what point did you realize it was becoming an ongoing creative project rather than a one-off return?
Michael Allen: We have been working together for quite a while. Initially it began in, I think, 2013/2014 with Andrew, Steve and myself, along with Gary Asquith from Renegade Soundwave. We actually played once under the name Free Rivers. Things didn’t work out, but Andrew, Steve and I carried on writing together. We had a bunch of songs which we decided to record at Andrew’s flat. Andrew bought an ADAT machine, which made it easy and cheap to record. Each song was played live, and I finished off most of the vocals in the Neubauten studio in Berlin. We attempted to mix there also, but subsequently decided to mix the tracks at Andrew’s. It took a while to find a label to release it, and at that point we weren’t sure what we should put it out under. Someone suggested it should be The Wolfgang Press. We were reluctant at first, but the more we thought about it, it started to make sense.
The fact that we continued to write and had a number of tracks after the release of A 2nd Shape simply meant that we continued to work on them. Nothing is ever certain, but we felt we were developing new ways of writing that interested us.
Did any of Asylum Variations begin while you were making A 2nd Shape, or did you consciously start again once that album was finished?
Michael Allen: There were a couple of tracks. “Sail By” being one and “Man Made Heaven” being the other. Neither were fully realised at the time of A 2nd Shape being ready.
Was making this album different because you no longer had to answer the question of what The Wolfgang Press might sound like after such a long absence?
Michael Allen: It wasn’t overtly different in that we recorded it the same way, at Andrew’s onto ADAT, playing live together. The difference with Asylum Variations is that we made the decision to go into a studio and mix it with an engineer. So sonically it is consciously less lo-fi.
But to answer your question about no longer having to consider what The Wolfgang Press might sound like, I don’t believe that ever entered our thoughts. We were simply making music. Given the personnel, it would always be considered by others, I suppose, but we had no concerns like that. We were just trying to make music that we felt was reflective of where we were at that point in time.
You’ve explained that the title Asylum Variations was inspired by Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Beyond the title, how did that idea influence the way you thought about the album and the connections between its songs?
Michael Allen: Album titles are tricky. You’re trying to sum up the record in a title. I tend to like having a title that is not a song title off the album.
With Elgar’s Enigma Variations, I was aware that he had written pieces of music as ‘portraits’ to friends and associates. I was always intrigued by the title.
I suppose I was thinking that each track on our album, lyrically at least, had some sort of theme running through them. They were snapshots of where I felt the world was at that point in time and how myself and others were reacting to it.
When I interviewed you in 1995, you said that your lyrics usually came after the music and began with sounds, fragments of words and a kind of stream of consciousness. Is that still essentially how you write, or did the more unified subject matter of this album require a different approach?
Michael Allen: No, I can’t say I have ever written lyrics before having some sort of music to play off. I have always reacted to the music, and that tends to set out where I go. I do, of course, write lines or maybe phrases down, but I do not have a fully written lyric to then try and fit to a piece of music.
I like the freedom of finding the way I react to the piece before thinking about words. The reaction informs the subject matter.
You again recorded directly onto ADAT before taking the material into Metway Studio. What does that initial stage capture that you feel might be lost if you began the process inside a computer?
Michael Allen: Andrew is very anti-computer, which makes absolute sense in how we are going about making the music. Generally, Andrew has either a drum beat and/or a loose guitar idea. We then all start to play together to work and shape that into something we are all comfortable with. There is no computer involved in the recording phase. Writing with computers can be painfully slow and, dare I say, soulless.
How much of what we hear consists of those original performances, and how much did the songs change once you brought the recordings into Metway?
Michael Allen: What you hear is very much, and in some cases all, that was recorded at Andrew’s. There are some overdubs carried out in the studio, but they were mainly backing vocals and some of my vocals. I think Andrew got his guitar out to do some overdubs on a couple of tracks.
Does working with a limited number of tracks influence the arrangements? Does it force you to commit to sounds and performances earlier than you otherwise might?
Michael Allen: I believe we all like the restriction of having just 7 or 8 tracks to play with on the ADAT. It forces you to consider what you are playing and if it’s necessary. Does it add anything? It’s not dissimilar to painters who deliberately restrict their palette. If we want to add anything, that’s OK. We are not against it, but it is a challenge to keep it simple. That’s why I love Metal Box. Its rawness, simplicity and clarity.
The album moves between dub-influenced passages, industrial noise, sparse ballads and moments where your vocals take on more of a crooner’s style. Do those contrasts emerge through improvisation, or do you deliberately push a song away from the direction in which it initially seems to be heading?
Michael Allen: I don’t believe we have ever tried to push a song in a musical direction. We allow it to be and exist as it unfolds. We aren’t ‘clever’ enough musically to set out to write a particular type of track.
There are many types of music that we have obviously all grown up with, from blues, classical, prog rock, pop, dub, ska and soul to punk, a whole range of stuff. It’s all there in us, and however that comes out is out of our control.
The Wolfgang Press have always resisted making the same album twice. With that much change across the records, what makes a piece of music unmistakably The Wolfgang Press to the three of you?
Michael Allen: I have no idea, to be honest. If I was to try and nail it down to one thing, it’s probably our shared experiences through punk and post-punk and a belief that music should challenge not just the listener but ourselves.
You now have two albums from the current lineup to draw on in live performances. Has that made it easier to determine how the older material fits into the present-day band?
Michael Allen: Easier? Probably not. I think there are a few songs that I would be comfortable playing from the old songs. We have in the past played “My Life,” “Raintime” and “Kansas.” I would love to try “I Am the Crime.” But that is extremely ambitious and unlikely.
When you returned to performing, did you find that the audience had changed? Are you now encountering people who discovered the band long after its original run, as well as those who have followed you since the 1980s?
Michael Allen: We haven’t played many shows, and unfortunately a couple of those shows were a little stressful due to issues out of our control. The audiences have been appreciative, and there are a lot of people our age coming along, which is to be expected. But I have spotted a few people who might need their ID checked.
After the long gap before A 2nd Shape, you have now made two albums in relatively quick succession. Do you want to preserve that momentum, or does The Wolfgang Press work best when you avoid making plans too far ahead?
Michael Allen: Andrew has a space he is renting and has started working on some pieces already. So yes, as it stands, we plan to continue writing. And we will see what happens.
What are your plans following the album’s release? Are you planning further touring, music videos or anything else around Asylum Variations?
Michael Allen: Just to keep playing the odd show, but if a tour was on the table, be that on our own or supporting, we would consider that.
Asylum Variations can be purchased at:
https://regis-dns.bandcamp.com/album/asylum-variations.
