British musician Patrick Wolf has a plan, albeit an unconventional one, to counteract the heat he will no doubt endure when he takes to the stage at the Meredith Music Festival in Victoria next month: “I’ll put more powder on my face and keep a hair dryer beside the stage,” he says in a deadpan tone.

Audiences at the festival should expect a blonde mop of hair from Wolf, who is itching to change the colour (yet again) once the campaign for his latest album The Bachelor is over. Wolf’s costume of choice for the December 11-13 festival and the side shows he'll be playing? His naked body. “It’s always the one that comes out when I really want to show the crowd I love them. When I’m fully clothed it means I’m in warrior mode,” says the 26-year-old.

Despite the effervescence Wolf is known to exude on the stage, he says touring can takes its toll on his physical and mental health – so much so that it was the initial inspiration for his recent album. “It’s the very long tours that mentally drain you,” he says. “But now I’m with a wonderful man. If I was single and on the road, giving the audience so much emotion every night, it would be a very lonely experience.”

Before Wolf was happily coupled, he says he felt lonely and lost, “I didn’t have much respect for myself, and I certainly didn’t have my heart open.” Hence The Bachelor. However, the somber album title is countered by tracks that contain uplifting lyrics and grand sounds.

“Hard Times is a motivational song for myself and my audience. It’s a survival song for listeners to escape the trappings of their daily life – human rights and issues facing the GLBT community. It’s total coincidence that the lyrics tie in with the economic crisis. In a way it’s like a love song in the state of recession,” he says.

Avant-garde British actor Tilda Swinton, who looks uncannily like Wolf, appears on the album as The Voice of Hope. Wolf approached Swinton at the premiere of her film Julia and slipped her a CD containing samples of his music and a note.

“Tilda Swinton was very much the icing on the cake for this album. I was very very worried about the record. I got into trouble with my record label because it wasn’t what they expected. It’s very hard when you pour your heart into a record and someone rejects it.

“After the rejection, Tilda was a positive force. She gave me that energy. She delivered and the vocal is so beautiful,” he says.

Wolf’s next project will be an album titled the The Conqueror, which is slated for release in 2010.

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