Ep. 265: How Remi Wolf Built Her Career: Study the Greats, Take the Gig, Say Yes

Today’s guest is one of the most unmistakable voices in modern pop — an artist, songwriter and producer who has built a career by making music that sounds like nobody else. Her catalog has passed two billion global streams. She’s played top billing at festivals including Coachella, Lollapalooza and Outside Lands, opened for Olivia Rodrigo, Lorde and Paramore, and collaborated with artists including Nile Rodgers, Beck, Dominic Fike and Sylvan Esso.

And The Writer Is... Remi Wolf!

In this episode, we get into
- The USC training that rebuilt her voice
- Waiting tables and taking Craigslist gigs while building a career
- The 30-minute session behind “Photo ID,”
- Industry lessons for every artist to take notes on...
and much more.

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CHAPTERS
0:00 Intro
0:40 “You can’t teach tone” — how Remi found hers
2:13 USC: “We’re going to beat you down until you feel like you’re nothing”
6:15 Fourteen, busking the Bay Area, and writing songs in Chloe’s kitchen
13:40 “Carousel” — the first song she ever wrote
15:41 A substitute teacher, an apartment, and her first recording
18:05 Ski racer by day, songwriter by night
19:05 Meeting Jared Solomon at 15 — then finding each other again
21:07 Applebee’s on tour — and the road to sobriety
24:04 Rehab, writing Juno sober, and why clarity changed the songs
29:02 “It’s not ready” — why she refused to release music in college
30:22 Six songs in one week — the reunion that started everything
34:24 Restaurant shifts and Craigslist gigs: how she paid to keep making music
39:26 The Sofar show that led to her first manager
42:39 “I had no expectations” — making music before the industry got involved
45:28 35,000 decisions a day — what creative control actually costs
49:22 “You have to start protecting yourself”
51:34 What is the goal? Redefining success
56:51 Her first album rollout sober
59:21 Social media, warped expectations, and screaming into the void
63:22 “Photo ID,” TikTok, and the accident that helped it explode
66:40 “Photo ID” took 30 minutes — and she thought it was horrible
70:15 Her first professional topline session: “I was overcome with social anxiety”
72:11 Why I’m Allergic to Dogs worked during lockdown
74:56 Why Juno is called Juno
78:50 Hayley Williams and singing with another “belt queen”
82:25 Five years of nonstop touring — and finally hitting pause
87:15 “I Won’t Cry” — her favorite song she’s ever written
89:15 “I was sick of the uptempo shit” — writing 130 songs for Mud
90:49 Her first pitch session was for BTS
92:34 Which Mud song fits every mood
94:10 “I’m the happiest I’ve been in my life”

Credits
Hosted by Ross Golan
Produced by Joe London & Jad Saad
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.