Remi Wolf has toured with Olivia Rodrigo, accumulated nearly five million monthly listeners on Spotify, and is releasing her new album, Big Ideas, today. Her 2021 LP Juno has been well-loved by audiences and takes inspiration from funk, indie rock, and alt-pop, though Wolf says she doesn’t think about genre at all. She brings exultant energy and charisma to each performance, making her especially fun to experience live.
The lead single on Big Ideas, Cinderella, offers a taste of what fans can expect from the album: a disco-rock bop full of ‘70s nostalgia. The accompanying music video, co-directed by Wolf and Ragan Henderson, is set in a colourful Los Angeles and features Remi dancing in the park and eating ice cream—ultimately a playful and carefree spectacle.
Big Ideas dips into the emotional contours of Wolf’s transient life over the past few years, navigating newfound fame and ever-changing expectations. Things stay groovy, however, as her priorities are often on danceability and fun in her tracks. She worked with old and new collaborators on the record, including Jared Solomon, Ethan Gruska, Kenny Beats, and the Dap-Kings. In our conversation below, we discuss her signature ‘80s wardrobe, life transitions, and the stories behind a few of her new tracks.
Hi Remi, it’s a pleasure to speak with you. Where are you speaking to us from?
I’m on my starfish floatie in my pool in Los Angeles.
You often look like you’ve stepped out of an ‘80s aerobic workout video. Is there a story behind the jazzercise outfits?
I was on a music video set and all of my outfits fell through and in a last ditch effort we put together a leg warmer look and it’s just stuck. I honestly love it, rocking a leotard all the time means my tits are bouncing and I can move however I want.
Congratulations on your album Big Ideas! You’ve said that during this nomadic period you’ve been in, you’d been wanting someone to say you’re doing a good job and that Cinderella was your attempt to be that for yourself. Have there been any external places you’ve ended up finding reassurance and comfort as well?
External validation is fleeting and unhelpful, although I always welcome my friends telling me how amazing I am.
Mac DeMarco appears in the Cinderella music video. How did that collaboration come about?
He’s my neighbuor and friend and he loves ice cream. I randomly asked him to do the video and luckily he said yes. I am forever grateful and in awe of him and his powerful presence. Thanks Mac, love you!
In the song Kangaroo, you write, “Oh please stay, call me honey / we could go upstate, make some money / I’ll run away, when you call.” Do these lines represent a real or metaphorical escape of some kind?
It’s both! It’s both real life experience and some fantasies, referencing the push and pull of wanting to stay in a relationship and also wanting to get drunk and fuck off forever.
You opened for a lot of Olivia Rodrigo’s shows this summer. Do you have a favourite memory from the Guts tour?
I’m so in awe of Olivia, she’s so talented and every single song is expertly written. I really enjoyed getting to know her band, dancers, and her crew. It was her team that made the tour truly extra special. Making real friends along the way is always magical. Also, two of my best friends from the States joined me for the leg of the tour and I helped them get engaged in Paris! It was so chaotic, cute, and celebratory — after the surprise we had crème brûlée and pornstar martinis.
“If your hips aren’t loose, go to yoga! Or come see me on tour.”
Is it hard to believe how much things have changed for you over the past few years, or have you adjusted to everything by now?
I’m constantly adjusting, there’s always and never a new normal. Most days are filled with lots of beautiful and difficult moments that I have to be at peace with one way or another. Truly a constant journey.
Your song Wave reads more intensely like rock than most of the other tracks, what would you say about the process of creating that one?
I approached the writing process much like I approach all my songs. The only thing different with Wave is that it took us a really long time to get the drums to sound funky and huge at the same time. It took months of tweaking and re-recording to get it right.
Your track Just The Start has a phone voice memo kind of feeling and lines like, “I call myself an artist and sometimes I think it’s true / I walk heavy ‘cross the water, I debunk myself to blue.” Was this one particularly vulnerable or intimate to record?
Yes, I wrote the song in my hotel room at 3 am the night before we recorded it. I was feeling particularly introspective, inspired, and overwhelmed. When we went into the studio the next day, I had the melody in my head already but worked with my friend Paul to get the chords just right and as soon as we had it we went straight into recording. I feel like Just the Start really captures the ups and downs of being an artist and having to work through insecurities and constantly define my intentions.
So many of the songs on this album feel really groovy and danceable. Would you say that’s one of the best ways to enjoy your music—with hips swaying? 
Yes!! Flexible hips mean a lot to me—I actually do an exercise with the audience to get ‘em loose at the beginning of shows. If your hips aren’t loose, go to yoga! Or come see me on tour.
What do you think when people describe you as “genre-bending”? Is that something you strive for?
I don’t think it’s something I strive for, it’s just something that happens during my process. I truly never think about genre.