ARROW DE WILDE OF STARCRAWLER
Arrow de Wilde is the unmistakable frontwoman of L.A. outfit Starcrawler and is the epitome of the band’s passion and unrelenting drive. Their tireless work has not only yielded three incredible albums but also has garnished some high praise from high places as their collaborative work testifies to.
Hi Arrow and thank you for taking the time to speak with us at Musicology. Known for your wild and exuberant live performances, can you share with us how you approach your stagecraft and is what we see on stage, in part, due to what you weren’t seeing on stage when it came to watching other bands?
Definitely. When I was in high school and going to shows, a lot of the music/bands that were popular at the time (at least in socal) were very surfy, and kinda laid back. It was cool, but I was desperately craving something more raw and exciting. I kept going to shows hoping I would see something like that, and sometimes I did, but it slowly made me realize that I didn’t want to be an audience member, that I wanted to be up on the stage and do it myself.
Speaking of live shows, you are currently in the midst of your West Coast tour before joining Japan’s Boris on the Amplifier Worship Service tour later in the year. Do you tend to alter your sets, track selection or style depending on who you are performing with or where it is that you are performing?
Henri (Cash) likes to wing our sets depending on the crowd's vibes & energy, so we either will not have a setlist or have one that's like a rough guide haha. So yes, we kind of do but it depends more on the crowd's energy than the style of music of the band we’re opening for.
The rise and rise of Starcrawler continues and notably, your collaboration on Los Angeles by iconic artists Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, and Jackknife Lee is indeed high praise from high places. What was it like working with the trio and did you feel any sense of parallel in so much as each of them being pioneers of punk, post-punk, and that many decades later, it is outfits like Starcrawler taking that same baton and continuing that run along the musical circuit?
Budgie, Lol, and Jacknife are great. Such nice people and they really let me do what I wanted creatively with the song lyrics and stuff. The music I make definitely sounds a lot different than theirs, so I’m very honored and grateful that they saw something in me. I was into drumming before singing, so getting to work with the two of them was really cool. Budgie’s drumming also has such a unique sound & getting to witness it live was amazing.
Having performed with so many amazing artists over the years, during that time has there been any words of wisdom spoken to you that really resonated with you and in turn altered the way you approach your craft?
We’ve played with so many amazing artists that I’ve learned so much from, but one that comes to mind was when we toured with the Distillers. I was new to scream-singing, and a lot of times I’d fuck up my voice after. Brody screams a lot in her songs, so I asked her one night after a show how she does it and if she had any tips, and she goes “I don’t know honestly I just open my mouth really wide and scream”. And for some reason, I don't know why, but it actually helped? Maybe it's a confidence thing, I’m not sure. Maybe I’m still doing it wrong who knows? But after she said that I somehow never blew out my voice from screaming again (except for a few times I've been sick on the road) haha. It was kind of anti-advice in a way, but I think about it all the time. Maybe I wasn’t opening my mouth wide enough before or maybe she’s just the scream fairy and she blessed me with her scream magic. It's a mystery.
Traditionally how would you describe your lyrical approach, the topics you focus on, and the sentiments you explore throughout your records?
I usually either write about real stuff that’s going on in my life, or a totally made up story from a character’s perspective that I created. Haha. It kind of happens naturally and depends on the vibe of the track. Sometimes I've even just written lyrics that sound good together but don’t necessarily have some deep-rooted meaning. When I listen to a song, I definitely appreciate lyrics especially when they are really good, but I also never need to know what the song is about. I kind of like the mystery of not knowing, or having an idea I created of what i think it might be about. I feel like nowadays a lot of mystery is gone from songwriting, because people will market songs on TikTok being like “this is a song I wrote about my ex” or whatever it is about, and there’s no mystery or weird fan theories and lore as to who or what the song might be about, because everyone in the music industry is more concerned with going viral than the actual artistry that goes into the making of the songs.
What is your current focus and how is it impacting on what you are writing about and the ways in which it is driving your musical creations?
Like I said, I tend to write about real events that take place in my life, or the complete opposite where I fabricate some whole fantasy in my head. However, I am definitely used to us writing in between tours. Having so much time off, it's been a bit of a struggle because there isn’t that hard deadline. My mind tends to be so scattered when I'm not in stressful situations, so staying focused all the time has definitely been hard. But we’re trying to just write a shit ton of stuff as opposed to just the songs for the next album, so we can have a back-catalog of stuff to choose from. We’ve never done it that way before, so I think it’ll be cool to see what comes out of it.
Across your three records, would you say that each speaks of a particular time and place and are very distinct from one another or have you strived to link each album as a continuation in the Starcrawler journey? I would say both.
Each album definitely reflects where we’re at in our lives, especially because we started the band and recorded our first record when most of us were still in high school. However, I do want all the albums to feel like they tie in to each other and make sense altogether in some way, like they all belong in this Starcrawler-universe or something. That's why the visual elements of the albums are so important to me as welI. We want to create a specific aesthetic or “world” that fans can choose to be a part of when they come to a show and escape in, as well as with the music of course.
In what ways has your native L.A. informed your signature style and do you now see yourselves in turn shaping the local sound and L.A. scene?
I mean I feel like its the case with anyone’s home town, whether they like it or not it's a part of them and reflects in whatever it is that they create. Growing up in LA, you’re around so many different scenes, you can really be who you want and there will be an audience for it somewhere. So that really is a blessing. Its a hard city for sure, but it has a lot to offer if you look in the right places and are around the right people. As far as shaping the scene, I honestly have no idea. Sometimes i feel a bit tapped out from knowing what’s going on in the music scenes here, because we have been touring on and off for so long. I’ve been trying to go to a lot of shows since I’ve been home, and it seems like there definitely are a lot more exciting bands circling around than there used to be, but I don't know if that's because of us. I think that was bound to happen no matter what.
Something we here at Musicology ask everyone, what does music give you that nothing else does?
It’s given me my whole career and sense of purpose, haha. Sounds so cheesy and typical to say but I really don’t know what I’d be doing right now without it. Probably drowning in student debt from going to college for some useless art major because I would have felt like I had to. I pretty much started this band because I didn't want to have to go to college. Just kidding. But also not really.
