Charleston keyboardist Ross Bogan, known for his role in synthwave band Doom Flamingo and instrumental act Lureto, dives into another musical concept with his latest experimental synth project, Wolf Mask. Bogan released his third single on March 3, “dreaming // falling.”
“I like making music in a conceptual way,” Bogan told the Charleston City Paper. “I’ve been writing a lot of dance music and that was the impetus for Wolf Mask. I want it to be fun.”
His material for Wolf Mask surfaced over the years as he worked on other projects and fleshed out rough ideas. He pulled together the wolf character on the fly for a music video released last year, which he created for Lureto’s cover of The Doors’ “People Are Strange” on the EP Walk Thoughts.
“Masks make people have the confidence or the boldness to act [differently] than they normally would,” Bogan said. “People put on a mask [and] they start doing strange things — and I liked writing for this character, but also it’s a lot of me.”
On “dreaming // falling,” the cascading rhythm ebbs and flows like a tide invoking a dream state. Bogan’s soft vocals and offbeat lyrics unfurl a welcoming dissociation: “I’m seeing / visions / different / it’s imminent / It’s good to see you / It’s good to be seen / Everything’s cool / Critical dream / Serene / Falling / Visions / Tentative / But Sweet.”
The new recording, tracked with producer/engineer Wolfgang Zimmerman at The Space downtown, is stacked with Charleston musicians including drummer Ron Wiltrout, guitarist Thomas Kenney, bassist Corey Stephens and vocalist Eliza Novella.
Experimental recording artist Dylan Dawkins of Persona La Ave collaborated with Bogan on the music video for Wolf Masks’ second single, “ticket2thesun,” which has a more straightforward pop-rock edge.
“The sound of Wolf Mask is just pure Ross,” Dawkins said. “I think an artist’s least-favorite question is ‘What do you sound like?’ Wolf Mask seems to operate in multiple genres — whatever Ross is vibing with at the time, he writes the tunes and records them.”
Staying true to his love for instrumental music, Bogan released instrumental versions of each single available on all streaming services. As he continues with Wolf Mask, he said he wants to be more intentional with writing new material and collaborating with musicians versus rehashing previous material from the past few years.
He said a lot of Wolf Mask’s musical atmosphere arose from working within the ’80s music aesthetic for Doom Flamingo material and digging into songwriting that distills deeper meanings in an upbeat sonic landscape, such as Steely Dan or the “ ’80s Gothic heartbreak stuff” from Tears for Fears.
“They’re pouring their heart out, but you still want to dance to it,” he said. “I have an affinity for that music, so that definitely comes through.”
Wolf Mask takes over the Pour House stage at 9:30 p.m. March 10, and Bogan will be joined by Doom Flamingo bandmates Kenney and drummer Sean Bing with bassist Aaron Utterback of Charleston alt-rock band Human Resources.
Tickets for Wolf Mask with Kairos Creature Club are $12-$15 and available at charlestonpourhouse.com.
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