‘It's not the centre of the universe which a lot of people think it is’: In conversation with Wunderhorse

By Megan Foulk, Co-Deputy Music Editor

Hitting the road with their new album Midas alongside a European tour with Fontaines D.C., Epigram talk to Wunderhorse about abandoning social media in favour of introspection and honesty. 

Politeness gets the better of me as Jacob Slater returns to his seat on my laptop screen after making a cup of tea. I’m his final press interview of the day and with a week until the album’s release, the atmosphere is at risk of feeling over-rehearsed. Thanking him diligently for his time, twenty minutes of social media repudiation and a desperate attempt to understand the London rental market ensues. 

Although well-acquainted with press babble thanks to his previous project The Dead Pretties and a television debut as ‘Paul Cook’ in Danny Boyle’s miniseries Pistol (2022), Slater doesn’t feel too at home in the hot seat. As we attempt to untangle the marketing minefield that is today’s online and reality - it’s easy to see why.

Diving into the recording process for Midas, I ask the Wunderhorse frontman about his almost-radical-these-days decision to turn his phone off whilst working in the studio in Minnesota. Instantly, I wonder why I asked. For Slater, being off grid beats doom scrolling every day of the week. ‘I know maybe some people get off on some kind of hyperstimulation with [social media]’ … ‘but it doesn’t work at all for my brain … it totally takes me out of the world that I’m in and doesn’t allow me any time to think’. 

Instead, he praises boredom for much of his creativity. ‘To come up with creative ideas you have to be bored some of the time, so your mind begins to create its own world to escape into, I think that’s partially where songs come from, trying to make sense of things that you’re sitting with, brooding with’. 

It’s this authentic, introspective approach to Wunderhorse’s writing that I find refreshing. Plunging their heads into the sand for a moment away from the hullabaloo makes for a contemplative, reflective album that’s safe from the sting of social media. 

Regardless of his scepticism, I’m eager to get Slater’s take on the ‘Brat Summer’ PR tsunami that has flooded popular culture over recent months, albeit perhaps for selfish hope of enlightenment as to the music industry’s PR tactics. Yet, whilst admitting ‘[social media] is a strange beast I haven’t quite figured out yet’, Slater and I are in agreement: ‘you have to take your hat off to [Charli XCX]’ … ‘I found it really interesting how the whole thing developed – you have to respect something like that.’ 

Undoubtedly a traditionalist when it comes to music-making, I decide in a moment of approaching-graduate-panic to question Slater’s less conventional feelings towards London, a city he describes as ‘overhyped really’ … ‘it’s not the centre of the universe which a lot of people think it is’

Music to the ears of fellow victims of final year ‘scaries’ and anyone scrolling Rightmove with eyebrows tattooed in permanent disbelief, Slater chuckles at the ridiculous reality: ‘people shouldn’t feel pressured to go and live somewhere where you get charged a grand a month to live in a shipping container with no windows and you’re told it’s ‘edgy’’, expressing a similar shortchanged sentiment many prospective Londoners share.

Chiding aside, Slater admits that, despite attempts to spend more time in his chosen residency (Cornwall), ‘I still end up being in London most of the time anyway, sleeping at friends’ houses’ … ‘if playing live and stuff is part of how you forge your identity and something that you’re good at, then you probably will have to spend some time in a major city where there’s lots of gigs going on.’ 

Live performance is patently Wunderhorse’s forte and fresh off the festival circuit, the band are itching for their UK tour. ‘It’s always good playing in Ireland’ says Slater, ‘there’s certain places in the world that have this appetite for music and [Ireland] are really hungry for it, which is great, it’s nice to see that there are places where that’s still important to people … it gives me hope.’  

Loyal to the old-school methods that proved as lucrative for their own idols (the band recall listening to The Beatles’ Rubber Soul on repeat whilst working in Minnesota), I can’t wait to witness the rawness of the album live. Dubbed their true debut, Midas sees the band work collaboratively, ‘the guys hopefully feel more connected to these songs because there’s part of them in them’, unlike Cub which was somewhat a solo project for Slater. 

Having collectively established their seat at the table, Wunderhorse are ready to leave their hallmark on the furniture. If you’re one of the pessimists that argues guitar music is dead, get ready to listen to the counterargument. 

Have you listened to Midas yet?