Chelsea Wolfe has released her latest video for “American Darkness,” a track from her forthcoming album Birth of Violence, out September 13th.
The moody, black-and-white clip, directed by Karlos Rene Ayala, features disparate people – mostly women – dancing and expressing themselves in solitude. Wolfe says the video was inspired by the Paul Thomas Anderson film Magnolia, where in one montage the separated characters sing along to “Wise Up” by Aimee Mann.
“I wanted our version to be explored through the lens of The Tarot,” says Wolfe. “I’ve been reading tarot cards for myself for many years, and researching the symbolic expressions of the cards for this video made me want to dive even deeper. To represent that, I played both The Fool and The High Priestess cards in the video, to embody both the beginning of the journey, and the realization that the sacred knowledge I was seeking was inside me all along. We cast friends to play a few other tarot archetypes, and Karlos’ idea was to bring the symbols and signifiers into the contemporary; deconstructed, and made everyday – ‘the magical and the unexceptional.’ I loved that.
“At the same time, we really wanted to challenge the binary of the traditional tarot cards, and give them more diversity, which is something important that many cool artists and witches are doing,” she continues. “I’m such a fan of Karlos Rene Ayala as a writer, director, documentarian and friend, and have looked forward to making a video with him for a long time.”
Wolfe will be embarking on a North American tour later this year in support of Birth of Violence, including a special performance with her band at The Cure’s Daydream Festival in Pasadena.
Chelsea Wolfe North American Tour Dates
August 31 – Pasadena, CA @ Pasadena Daydream Festival (Non Acoustic Set)
October 18 – San Diego, CA @ Observatory North Park
October 19 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom
October 21 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall
October 22 – Estes Park, CO @ Stanley Hotel
October 24 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
October 25 – Detroit, MI @ Senate Theater
October 26 – Toronto, ONT @ Queen Elizabeth Theatre
October 27 – Montreal, QC @ Le National
October 29 – Boston, MA @ Royale
October 31 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer
November 1 – New York, NY @ Brooklyn Steel
November 3 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club
November 4 – Charlotte, NC @ McGlohon Theater
November 5 – Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West
November 6 – Nashville, TN @ Mercy Lounge
November 8 – Dallas, TX @ Texas Theatre
November 9 – Austin, TX @ Levitation
November 10 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall
November 12 – Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
November 13 – Tucson, AZ @ Club Congress
November 15 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palace Theatre
November 16 – San Francisco, CA @ Regency Ballroom
November 18 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
November 20 – Seattle, WA @ The Showbox
November 21 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre