REY Wolf

 “I wanted to make a late night record,” said Stephen El Rey. “Most songs I write are ballads and dirges that somehow get pushed into something else, some form of music, usually faster and upbeat. I don’t know the mechanism responsible for writing these songs, but it always occurs late night.  So the focus of this record was to keep the songs in their original form…the hour of the wolf uninterrupted…the 3:00AM tempo. Trying not to lose this was the task at hand.” 

“We aimed for something that felt very intimate and delicate in its emotional impact and musical dynamics, but also very ambitious and grand in its scope,” said Producer Col. Dr. Clinton Davis, a renowned old-time folk musician with a PhD in Music. “This is a record with huge string sections, a 9-foot Steinway grand piano, latin percussion, and ghostly vocal harmonies. We used all of these to create a wide palette of colors and sounds, and to create spaces that felt cinematically vast  and mysterious. The music is moody, dreamy. Sometimes ethereal. Always cinematic. Every song is like a widescreen epic movie. Sometimes the movie is a John Ford western, or "Lawrence of Arabia,” other times it’s a Tim Burton gothic dreamscape. Each song captures such a different energy so vividly," continues Davis. "I think ‘El Paso’ is the real heart of this set of songs. It captures such an intimate expression within a vast musical canvas.” 

“We started developing the vision for this record a year before we went into the studio,” Davis continues. “Stephen demoed the songs, and I just went into a hole for weeks writing out parts for strings and piano and sculpting the parts. When we got to the studio, it was a whirlwind of studio musicians coming in and out, layering everything together. Watching these parts I had heard in my head come to life so rapidly was absolutely thrilling - one of the highlights of my creative career.” 

“The thought of having Clinton produce this record made sense, it was something intrinsic.” said Rey. “I have wanted to work with him on this level for a long time. It came from a place of trust and wanting to work with someone who could help maintain the focus yet go places unimaginable because they understand me both as a friend and musician.”