Craig Wedren is certain to turn heads with the ambitiously breathtaking release of his latest solo album and interactive film – both titled WAND.
Although he launched his music career by fronting the band Shudder to Think in the ‘80s and ‘90s before wandering into solo endeavors, he has more recently been commended for his behind-the-scenes film and television compositions. Among many others, Wedren’s credits include Hung, United States of Tara, Role Models, School of Rock, By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, Reno 911, and Wet Hot American Summer.
In an effort to merge all of his talents into one core creative outlet that he can call his own, the singer/songwriter/composer enhanced his already impressive track record with the addition of this groundbreaking audio-visual project.
The video chapter to accompany the first single, “Are We,” can be viewed exclusively on www.craigwedren.com. But be sure to keep reading for an in-depth interview covering everything from WAND to beyond.
eBurban: What was the main inspiration behind WAND, the album?
Craig Wedren: The initial inspiration for WAND came from my wanting to combine all of the heretofore disparate aspects of my musical output into one album, and under one umbrella, rather than keeping it all compartmentalized and tidy. Prior to WAND, I had my Shudder to Think hat (spiky “art-punk” or whatever), my BABY cap (kind-of disco-pop), my Spanish Amnesian chapeau (ambient, abstract, soundtrack-y), and movie music all on separate hooks. This was a drag, although at the time I wasn’t fully aware I was segregating everything; once I saw what I was doing, I decided to create the positive monster WAND.
What motivated you to take on such a large project and pair up your album release with an interactive film as well?
When I started WAND, I was very excited about the music, but less-than excited about pissing another album into the ocean of recorded material out there. I was discussing this with a dear friend of mine who happens to be an ace life-coach. She asked me a few leading questions about my wildest dreams, which led me to the tip of my nose, where I was making music for other peoples’ movies.
If there’s one thing I love (almost) as much as music, it’s movies. So, I decided to make a movie out of my new record, where the images would accompany and support my music; as opposed to my music accompanying and supporting someone else’s images, as is the case when I’m scoring other people’s movies.
How involved were you in the creation of the film? Describe the process.
I basically wrote the ‘script’ (there’s no dialogue, just music, so I basically wrote the story and determined which bits would go with which songs), then talked it into existence.
It took me a few years of sitting with/on the idea before I ran into my old buddy Tim Nackashi [credits include Gnarls Barkley] at a birthday BBQ. He had just directed the video for WTF? by OKGO; when I saw it, I sensed and hoped that Tim might jibe with the WAND concept. He did, and brought with his enthusiasm the idea we should shoot it in 360-degree panorama – a relatively new, interactive video format that had previously only been used for real estate and military applications.
We would be the first (or among the first) to apply this super-rad tech to a creative, narrative endeavor. As for completion, we’re still in the middle of making it – plotting chapter 2 right now. Tim is directing.
If someone could use only one word to describe “Are We”, the song and the video chapter, what would the most complimentary word be?
Hypnomantra
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[...] one umbrella, rather than keeping it all compartmentalized and tidy,” said Wedren during an interview with us earlier this [...]