Exclusive Interview With Singer And Composer Rufus Wainwright
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During New York Comic Con, we had the pleasure of speaking with Rufus Wainwright. He is a singer/songwriter with a long history in music. He most recently sang the Tom Bombadil song on season 2 of The Rings of Power.
CS: You've lent your voice to legends such as Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen, how was it singing for a production as big as The Rings Of Power? More specifically, how was it to sing the song for Tom Bombadil?
Rufus: I’ve enjoyed them tremendously. I have to say I am more of a Narnia person, but I understand the importance of the books and, needless to say, also the commercial success, so when Bear approached me to sing the song, I, of course, was very interested. What is also nice is that I am in the middle of running a folk record, and the last show is at Carnegie Hall on the 29th of November, come check it out. Anyways, that sort of ancient folk spiritual mode and that sort of song is written in that style. It’s supposed to be very pastoral and enchanting. I am aware also of how much of an honor it is to represent that character. A lot of people admire this character and this whole saga, and it’s also great that the words were written by Tolkien, who wrote the actual poem, so it’s going right to the source.
CS: How did you and Bear come up with the specific musical arrangement for such an iconic poem?
Rufus: I put it in Bear’s hands, this is really his universe and my voice. I think I am a pretty good singer, but one of the qualities that I have is that nobody really sounds like me. Nobody has really been able to copy my style, my tone and stuff. So I think it works well with the song. I don’t know, it gives it a very unique kind of sound, which I am able to do.
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Rufus was also part of the New York Comic Con panel “Bear McCreary: Musical World-Building”, where he talked about how he ended up on Bear McCreary’s heavy metal album, The Singularity, since he is not, as he said, “a heavy metal artist” normally. He discussed how his true love is opera. He’s composed two. “But I was often told that there is actually this link between heavy metal and opera. And I believe that especially Wagner, there’s this kind of intense, mythic, dark, and powerful sensibility about it.” So, he said that working on this album with McCreary just felt right. “So I was kind of prepped for it, and it was fun because I was able to use my voice in a more operatic way, in the popular form [of heavy metal].”
He talked about his inspirations and how music has always been a part of his life, with both of his parents being musicians, and how practicing any creative art you want to do and putting in the time for it makes it good. Last year, Rufus put out a Folk record called Folkocracy. He also sang the song “ Old Tom Bombadil” on The Rings of Power Season Two soundtrack, which Bear McCreary composed. At the panel, Bear talked about how he thought it was perfect to have him sing that song because it drew on Rufus’ Folk experience.
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