1. Thank you very much for your time! Before we introduce your new release to our readers – what kind of drink would you recommend to sip on while they listen to your new music?
Hello! My name is MV Wells, I’m a singer-songwriter based out of Chicago, IL USA and I have a brand new album called Le Dauphin out now and streaming everywhere. If you were to sip anything while listening to my album it would be a Hemingway, which is what we call champagne and absinthe: luxurious, dramatic, and a bit out there. I think that’s relevant to my album.
2. Please give us an update about – new single, new album, tour dates, new videos?!
My new album Le Dauphin is out now – it’s an experimental pop album. Fans of Burt Bacharach and King Crimson will equally enjoy it. Fans of Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, and Harry Nilsson will also love it. An English artist named Paul Whitehead designed the cover. His previous work included the first few Genesis albums, as well as art for the band Van Der Graaf Generator. You should check his work out! I recently played a string of dates in the American Midwest: Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kalamazoo, & Detroit. I’m going to be in England, playing in London and Manchester next month and I hope to be going to Germany in the near future!
3. We live in times of many conspiracy theories. Which, harmless, theory would you wish were true? (For example Dinos living inside Earth or E.T. living in a home in California)
I’m a huge fan of Bigfoot, or Sasquatch, or the ole Skunk Ape, as he’s known. They say there might be a small family or group of them in the Northwoods of Canada. Personally, I don’t think that’s a conspiracy and more of a mystery.
4. What fashion style or brand would best describe your music?
Rococo – elegant and dramatic, pastoral and baroque.
5. Tell us more about your songs! Topics! Message!?
The album is really my attempt at making a Great American Pop record a la Tin Pan Alley, Lieber & Stoller, and of course, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. I come from a punk music background, so it has a real edge to it, and there’s lots of idiosyncrasies going on in the production. It was produced by myself and my cousin Joshua Wells, a fantastic musician and engineer, who also plays with a Canadian band called Destroyer, among other great acts.
6. Beside music, do you have any special talents?
I’m an excellent cook – I love making my own spin on certain dishes like bourguignon or spaetzle. I usually make things spicier than they are intended because I’m obsessed with hot sauce.
7. Name 5 things we all should know about you as an artist?!
Every album I make is different – with it’s own themes and thoughts put into it.
My live performances are constantly changing – lineup, instrumentation, ferocity.
I prefer to do it myself (DIY).
My albums sound great on drugs.
My albums sound great not on drugs, too.
8. The road so far…. who or what was your biggest support??
I’ve played some great shows in the past – last year I got to open for Marshall Crenshaw, a kind of legendary college rock guy, who I’m a big fan of. I’m really hoping to hop on some opening slots for other artists and see where that can take me!
9. A question you’d like to answer, but never been asked in an interview before?! + Answer pls
Do you get small?
No, man – I’m big! I’m big! (–Steve Martin)
Instagram: @mv_wells @norulespr