Prairie Wolf joined DJ Jules live in the KGNU Boulder studio to share music and talk about their upcoming shows with pedal steel player Luke Schneider—September 12 at The Neighbor in Fort Collins and September 13 at Glob in Denver. The band performed songs including Common Exotic, Burning Edges, and Modifications, discussed their psychedelic lounge-inspired sound, and highlighted influences ranging from Krautrock and spiritual jazz to dub reggae, Eddie Harris, and Neil Young. They also previewed future shows, including an October date with Bitchin Bajas, and invited listeners to visit prairiewolfmusic.com for more information. (Studio Session: 9/9/25)
DJ Jules: Alright, now we have our in-studio performance with our very special guest, Prairie Wolf. Hello, gentlemen.
Prairie Wolf: Hello. Hi there.
DJ Jules: Hi. How are you today?
Prairie Wolf: Can’t complain.
DJ Jules: Love it. Okay, good—that’s great. So, what’s the deal? Why do we have you here? What’s the pleasure and honor of having you live here at the KGNU Boulder studios today?
Prairie Wolf: We have the pleasure of playing a couple of shows this weekend with a friend and big influence on us, Luke Schneider. He’s a pedal steel virtuoso, and we’re joining him for a show at Glob in Denver on Saturday, presented by KGNU. Thanks, KGNU.
DJ Jules: Woohoo!
Prairie Wolf: We’re also playing with him the night before up in Fort Collins at The Neighbor. Can’t forget about the folks up in Fort Collins.
DJ Jules: Where is The Neighbor?
Prairie Wolf: It’s on Mason, just west of College. It’s a great space—really, really cool spot.
[00:01:00]
DJ Jules: Very nice. Okay, so two upcoming shows for Prairie Wolf, and that’s what brings you into the KGNU studio today. We are locked here in the studio, and we’re gonna get some songs from you. Is that true?
Prairie Wolf: True story.
DJ Jules: True story. And we’re also going to play some new music for all of our listeners.
Prairie Wolf: Absolutely.
DJ Jules: Okay, so what are you going to play first for us?
Prairie Wolf: This is a tune called Common Exotic from our last LP, Deep Time.
DJ Jules: Wonderful.
[Song plays.]
DJ Jules: That was beautiful.
Prairie Wolf: Thank you.
DJ Jules: Thank you very much. Yes, that song is from your last LP, correct?
Prairie Wolf: That’s correct.
DJ Jules: And so you have two shows coming up, one in Fort Collins and one in Denver. You just performed for the KGNU audience—that song—and how will it differ when you play live? Do you bounce off the audience’s energy? Is it where you three are at on that day? What’s your sound and style with a live performance and with a song like that?
Prairie Wolf: We try to keep our blood pressure pretty low. We take our time with songs when we play them live—it helps us calm down, helps the audience get in the mode for Prairie Wolf, which is not exactly high energy, but that’s what we do.
DJ Jules: How does one get in the mode, mood, and mindset for Prairie Wolf?
Prairie Wolf: That’s a great question. I guess, if you’re into it, make yourself a cocktail. Put on your smoking jacket or your robe—your most relaxed setting. Our music has been described as psychedelic lounge music or elevator music, so think of that.
DJ Jules: I hope people listening get inspired and show up at your upcoming shows in their fanciest robe or lounge jacket. We’ll need pictures! Now, we also talked about how you have some upcoming music. What’s your writing style like? Before we get into the new songs, can you explain to the KGNU listeners what your sound and style are like, and how you create new music together?
Prairie Wolf: We improvise a lot. We get together as often as we can and start with something familiar to see where it goes. That bleeds into our songwriting. We’ll start with a chord, a riff, an idea, a tempo—see where it goes. That’s worked well for us this year, as we write songs in a live setting, more or less. Every show, we see where the song goes, start there the next show, and build on that.
DJ Jules: So you’re able to carry over from one show to another, seeing how the song has evolved?
Prairie Wolf: We try, yeah.
DJ Jules: If you’re just tuning in to KGNU, we have the honor and privilege of having Prairie Wolf in-studio, and they’re going to play us a new song right now. What is your second song going to be for all the KGNU listeners today?
Prairie Wolf: This is called Burning Edges.
[00:05:00 – 00:09:00 Song plays.]
DJ Jules: I like the vibe on that one.
Prairie Wolf: Thank you.
DJ Jules: Yes. I have ideas of influences I was picking up in that song, but I’d love to know who your influences are, because my head went in all sorts of directions with that one.
Prairie Wolf: Influences—we all came together liking the Krautrock cosmic music of the ’70s in Germany, but then combined that with spiritual jazz. Along with the drum machine aspect, maybe it calls to mind some of the more soul things like Shuggie Otis or Sly Stone. That’s a combo of stuff we’re always drawing on. We all love dub reggae too, so there’s a healthy dose of that in there. And you know, gotta throw some Grateful Dead in the mix.
DJ Jules: I love all those descriptions—they’re different flavors and some very specific niche components, but you layer them together nicely to create such a wonderful sound and style.
Prairie Wolf: Thank you. We try.
DJ Jules: Yeah, you’re doing it beautifully. Good job—you’re executing it flawlessly. It’s wonderful. We should also mention that there’s a band we’re playing with next month in Denver at Glob as well, called Bitchin Bajas. I’d say they’re probably a more recent influence on everybody. Along the lines of what we’re doing, I think, to some extent, but probably better. We’re excited about that show. That one is—what is it—October 12th, I think?
DJ Jules: I think that’s right, October 12th. So where can the KGNU listeners find Prairie Wolf’s upcoming dates?
Prairie Wolf: There’s this invention called the internet that we’ve become really fond of, and we’ve built ourselves a website—it’s prairiewolfmusic.com. Prairie Wolf is P-R-A-I-R-I-E, Wolf. Two I’s in Prairie when you type it out.
DJ Jules: Love that. And will you remind the listeners again—especially for the ones just tuning in—since you mentioned a show in October, what are your shows this week? Where and when are they happening?
Prairie Wolf: This Friday, at The Neighbor in Fort Collins, and then Saturday night at Glob in Denver. Both shows are with Luke Schneider, an ambient pedal steel genius. We’re all looking forward to seeing him—he’s amazing.
DJ Jules: Amazing. And now, before we get into your third song, we talked about your influences. So now I want to hear who you’re currently listening to and enjoying. The last time you had the chance to put on some music, what did you go for?
Prairie Wolf: I recently found this band from Montreal called Constantinople. They have a couple of collaborations with a Senegalese musician named Ale Sissoko, and that has been my most recent obsession.
Prairie Wolf: I’ve been spending most of the summer listening to Eddie Harris. ’70s jazz, soul, weirdo—he made some extreme records on his own with drum machines. He even made his own amplified instruments, horns, and brass instruments. He’s a good weirdo, and his records are easy to find. Eddie Harris. Yeah, and if you come to Fort Collins on Friday, you might hear us play an Eddie Harris song.
Prairie Wolf: I’ve been listening to Neil Young a lot. I just saw him at Fiddler’s Green last week. I listen to Neil Young constantly—I was listening to him when I was driving over here today.
DJ Jules: Thanks for sharing, guys. And hey, here at KGNU, we love a good weirdo—it’s all about it. Alright, so let’s embrace the fun and let’s hear your third song that you’re gonna play for the KGNU listeners today.
Prairie Wolf: This one is called Modifications.
