Lil Wolf doesn’t waste words — he lets the music do the talking. The Juno Award–winning producer turned performer has built a name on presence rather than pretense, crafting songs that feel lived-in, human, and emotionally charged. From Relationships 1.0 to Africa: Nomad Tapes, his journey has been less about chasing trends and more about staying real in a world that often demands the opposite.
We sat down with Lil Wolf to talk about where that raw honesty comes from, his love for collaboration, and why he’d rather speak through rhythm than explanations.
1. Nomad Tapes: Africa is a great title. How does the “nomad” idea tie into your movement as an artist and your sonic identity?
After living in LA for 15 years, I decided I wanted to get out and explore the world. I’ve always been such a big fan of world music. I’ve been living nomadically now for over 3-4 years. Every place I visit leaves an imprint on me. I mostly stay in flow, with no real plan of where I’ll end up next or how long I’ll stay. Just chasing magic, allowing the universe to guide the journey. Without fail, I meet people along the way, and it always organically blossoms into creating art with people in some form or another.
2. Your music has always sat between genres (electronica, afro-house, ambient soul), how did you decide which direction to lean into on this project?
Hahaha, ah man, ya I get a lot of flack for that. People who work with me on my project, are always unsure where to place it, and keep telling me to define a sound and pick a lane. … and I always respond with a “no thank you” hahaha, that sounds so boring. To get put in a box and having to stay in it?!. I’m inspired by so many things, and every new place I go, that inspiration continues to expand. And I care so little about chasing trends or an easily identifiable sound, and I care so much more about curiosity and making things that engage me in the moment. I listen to so many different genres of music, I play so many different instruments. And most people I know love many different genres. So why do we need to keep it so narrow? I look at Rick Rubin as a massive inspiration. He works with so many different types of music. His ethos? Make what’s true to you in the moment. So that’s what we did with Nomad Tapes: Africa – we got in the studio, and let it be what it wanted to be. Get out of the way, and capture the magic..
3. You dropped “Undone” ahead of the album, and it already gained traction. Did that shape how you finalized the rest of the record?
No, the whole album had been done when we released the single Undone. It’s one of those things, hahaha, as an artist I just want to put it all out there. Give it to the world. But I’m trying to let my team do what they do, and work the album by leading with a single and such.
4. When you were building Africa, which songs were your anchors, the ones you built everything else around?
I wish I had an answer for you. It really didn’t flow that way. We just got in the studio without a plan, without an intention. And over the course of the weekend, we assembled some loose chord progressions and rhythms. That we wrote over, and then recorded the vocals, harmonies. Sometimes I would provide some music, othertimes Onset would have a song Idea. For Thanda Choir, they came in super prepared with some material. It was really just about capturing what was unfolding in the moment. Then I took all of that and crafted the music around the vocals and turned things into finished and fully produced tracks. But the whole time, the intention was to let the vocals lead the way. When you’re working with singers that talented, thats to me the only way to do it.
5. Many of your songs deal with struggle, growth, tension. What was happening in your life during the making of Africa that bled into the record?
I think all of those things are just such a huge part of the human experience. In some way or another, I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t gone through their own personal journey to get to where they are now. I guess learning about what that journey was for each individual person, what shaped them, what made them who they are, is really what fascinates me about people.
6. You often work from emotional honesty, how do you balance releasing vulnerable content while keeping a strong, confident presence?
I’m not sure I fully understand the question? A strong confident presence is in contrast to honesty and vulnerability? I guess I never thought about it that way. I would have to think deeper on that to see where the parallels are. But all I can say about emotional honesty and vulnerability, is that’s the place all my favorite song writers write from. I was HUGELY influenced by artists like Alanis Morissette growing up, she wrote from such a raw, real and human place. I hope some day I can touch a glimpse of that kind of realness in my music.
7. On the production side: who were your key collaborators on this album, and how did you pick them?
On this album I collaborated with Onset Music Group, Mammi, and Thanda Choir. All from South Africa. I came across them in my travels, sometimes through seeing their work on social media, and other times from meeting one person and then getting introduced to another. I’m doing my best to stay in flow and to make art with people who inspire me. And I was absolutely inspired by all their talents, it was mind blowing.
8. The rollout visuals and branding around Africa have been bold. How much of your identity as an artist did you try to shape through them?
I’m not really sure, I know personally I gravitate towards high contrast, bold and colorful things. So I guess that weaves itself into the things I create intentionally or unintentionally.
9. Given your genre fluidity, what do you want new listeners to hear in Africa, what impression or feeling should stick?
I think if there’s one thing I would want listeners to take from the project or hear. Is the beauty of the human spirit. The resilience, the joy, that un-extinguishable spark. That feeling was very present and alive for me on those travels.
10. For the promo and next steps, what are your priorities? (Tour, visuals, deluxe drops, collaborations?)
All of the Above, to keep moving forward, to see where it takes me next 🙂
