Following her latest single “Hush”, Jayli Wolf shares a new EP WILD WHISPER with new single and video “Would you die?“
The collection—independently released by the activist, actress, filmmaker, and singer-songwriter-producer—has been heralded by the likes of MTV, NYLON, Ones To Watch, them, Rolling Stone, Under The Radar, Vogue, and more to come. The project has also been featured on several playlists including Spotify’s New Music Friday, Indigenous, Misfits 2.0, and SALT, plus Apple Music’s New Music Daily, Breaking Alternative, INDIY, and many others to date
Jayli Wolf states: “Wild Whisper is an autobiographical EP that features my father’s experience in the Sixties Scoop, leaving the doomsday cult I was raised in, releasing the shame and guilt instilled in me around my bisexuality, depression and mental health, post-traumatic growth, and reclaiming my Indigenous heritage.”
She adds: “I wrote ‘Would You Die?’ after feeling true unconditional love for the first time; after that, I learned that conditions and boundaries are very different. I used to be so fearful of love, of the power I thought another soul could have over me. My definition of love used to be more of a tragedy than anything else. As if I would have to die for it. As if love could swallow me whole. Now I understand, it’s not love that breaks a heart, it is the conditions I used to put on love,” Jayli Wolf elaborates, “The music video is a visual representation of me learning this lesson. Taking off my armor and bearing everything. Following an idea of love through dangerous places, and ultimately being completely swallowed up by it. When I wake up at the end, I realize that I put myself there in that darkness. I buried who I truly was to be loved in return. This song is about finding self love. Realizing that “the stars were never mine.” That I could let go, that no one belonged to me. That true love is freedom. Freedom from conditions.”
She is a doomsday cult survivor and works to be a role model in her community—speaking to Indigenous youth about the entertainment industry and inspiring them to follow their dreams. Together with her partner and collaborator Hayden Wolf, she started creating music, producing, and directing films as Once A Tree.
The debut offering from Jayli Wolf exhibits her family’s experience during the Sixties Scoop, where the Canadian Government and Catholic Church were responsible for taking or “scooping” more than 20,000 First Nation, Métis, and Inuit children from their families and communities in the 1950s through the ‘90s. The children were placed in foster homes or adopted (with accounts of children even being sold) into non-Indigenous families across Canada, the United States, and beyond. Along with the loss of cultural identity, the government went so far as to change some children’s true ethnicity on file. Many experienced severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. Jayli Wolf’s father was one of these children.
The track unpacks the multi-hyphenate act’s earliest memories of passion and self-discovery, ultimately plunged by her mother’s family members (devoted Jehovah’s Witnesses). “I felt immense shame around the truth and who I am. My first true love with another girl (a fellow cult member) was filled with guilt and shame. We would pray together for forgiveness over the desires that we had every day. I believed Jehovah would destroy me in Armageddon,” Jayli Wolf explains, “Being free now, my deprogramming has also allowed me to question the societal conditioning around relationships and sexual orientation. I hope this song brings people feelings of power and freedom in their own personal explorations.” Like many in the LGBTQIA+ community, coming out and coming to terms with her sexuality was a long, often guilt-ridden process—one that was exponentially difficult in a high-control religious group. While this is her story by her definition, “Hush” serves as an ode for all seeking to advocate their queerness and find power in their truth.
By sharing these vital messages of justice and rebirth, Jayli Wolf authentically connects with her community by-way-of her music and social media, including her viral TikTok video that has reached over half a million viewers and received countless comments from people whose Indigenous family members have had similar experiences.
She adds: “I finally have the courage to use my voice to tell these stories. I hope this project will be able to shed light on and raise awareness of these subject matters,” Jayli Wolf notes, “We can forgive for our own healing. The road ahead is long, and change takes time.”
