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Wise Blood is the stage name of producer, performer, and songwriter Chris Laufman. He has released two albums, three EP's, and a mixtape. His work is largely sample-based and electronic.[1]

Wise Blood (musician)
Wise Blood c. 2015.
Background information
Birth name	Chris Laufman
Genres	Pop, Electronic, Alternative, Gospel
Years active	2010 - 2019
Labels	Dovecote Records, Future Gods

Career

2010 - 2013: Early Career & Id

Chris Laufman released his first project as Wise Blood, +, in 2010.[2] A video for the song "B.I.G. E.G.O." premiered later that year featuring Daphne Guinness.[3] Following the reception of his debut EP he was the subject of a Pitchfork profile which focused on his unique approach to songwriting.[4] Laufman would subsequently release another Wise Blood EP, These Wings, in 2011 along with the single "Loud Mouths".[5][6] In support of the release he performed at SXSW[7] and played in-studio at BBC Radio 1.[8] He gained attention for his energetic and aggressive live shows,[9] as well as for his conflicted relationship with Catholicism.[10] His music was particularly noted for its incorporation of samples, a process which he further expanded on in an interview with The New York Times in 2011.[11] Laufman contributed a cover of the song "Someday" by The Strokes to Stereogum's "STROKED: A Tribute to Is This It".[12]

In 2013 Wise Blood released his debut album Id.[13] A trailer for the album was released featuring Dog the Bounty Hunter.[14] Its first single, "Rat", premiered on Pitchfork.[15] Speaking to FACT Laufman revealed that his tumultuous personal life and struggle with conceptualizing the album had contributed to its delay.[16] In an MTV profile he expanded on his personal issues as well as revealed the different influences that inspired the record including John Waters.[17] In their review of the album Consequence of Sound noted its similarities to Animal Collective and declared that "Laufman's genre collaging and quirky point of view make Id a compelling listen".[18]

2013 - 2019: Songwriting, Production & Greatest Hits

Following the release of Id Laufman's output consisted primarily of songwriting and production. He is credited as a contributing songwriter to Partynextdoor's eponymous self-titled debut EP Partynextdoor for the song "Wild Bitches" which contains elements of the Wise Blood track "Loud Mouths".[19] Laufman also began working with Pittsburgh drag queen The Moon Baby.[20] In 2014 they released the song "Bae Sick" on Dazed.[21] Their debut EP Urallpoor.us premiered on Vice-run music site Noisey.[22] They have continued to work together on subsequent releases.[23][24][25]

In 2014 Wise Blood also released a conceptual mixtape titled Get 'Em using samples that were not able to be cleared for his debut album Id.[26] Laufman explained the inspiration for the release and artistic process he took in creating the mixtape to The Fader as such; "'I wanted to do it after I watched my cousin download a movie on an iPad, watch it on T.V. then record some of the movie for a Vine", he says, "I like that the original material is literally travelling from device to device and then ending up back where it started but now it has some fucking mileage on it'"[26] A video for the track "Helter Shelter" from the mixtape was released the previous year.[27]

In 2019 Laufman released Greatest Hits, an album that is credited to both Chris Laufman and Wise Blood and which Laufman said is the last under the Wise Blood pseudonym.[28] He also revealed that the album was a collection of material from the past 7 years that dealt with his struggle with mental health and substance abuse issues that he had recently been addressing for the first time in his life.[28] In his review of the album, Randall Colburn of the A.V. Club notes that it "veers - often wildly - between straightforward if decidedly off-kilter, pop ("Graceland", "When You Need Somebody") and tactile mood pieces that swallow Laufman whole in a maelstrom of delicately arranged samples ("Dope Swinger", "Soak Up the Sun")."[29]

Discography

Studio albums

• Greatest Hits (Future Gods 2019)
• Id (Dovecote Records 2012)

EP's

• Urallpoor.us (with The Moon Baby) (Future Gods 2014)
• These Wings (Dovecote Records 2011)[30]
• + (self-released 2010)

Mixtapes

• Get 'Em (self-released 2014)

Singles

• "Rat" (2012)
• "Loud Mouths" (2011)
• "Solo (4 Claire) / "Rot My Brain Away" (2010)[31]

References

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