Virtuoso multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wolf is back by Royal Appointment. But, TIM HUGHES discovers, this time he is keeping things nice and simple

PATRICK Wolf is going to church. Ten years after the release of his debut album, the striking multi-instrumentalist is marking what he calls his “jubilee year”.

And the creative genius, who has based his career on his mastery of a vast array of instruments, is trimming things right down for a series of dates in old theatres and ecclesiastical venues, which, on Monday, includes Oxford’s St John the Evangelist Church.

For the former choirboy turned ‘baroque and roll’ star, it’s like coming home. “St John the Evangelist was built with wonderful acoustics – quite the opposite of places like the O2 Arena.,” he says.

“I’d rather play St Paul’s Cathedral than Wembley Arena as I am obsessed with reverberation. I love the way sounds react to certain spaces and architectures. It’s also about getting closer to the audience.”

His visit to the grade one-listed decorated gothic church coincides with that of another fan of religious architecture – Prince Charles, who is visiting the Iffley Road venue and St Stephen’s House, where he will meet trainee church ministers. Patrick will perform an intimate acoustic set for the prince.

“It’s exciting,” he says, adding: “I have a responsibility to change minds and opinions and challenge people about what it means to be a human being.

“I’ve learned so much about the music industry and have played some very big shows but I haven’t lost the connection with who I am – nor have I lost my mind or my sound.”

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of his debut Lycanthropy, he has chosen a selection of songs from his back catalogue and reimagined them acoustically – simplifying, de-cluttering, changing their feel and, in some cases, rendering them unrecognisable. The songs, scored for woodwind and strings, feature on his latest album Sundark and Riverlight, and are a fitting way of rounding off a decade of experimentation. Coming from a man who made his name through his groundbreaking use of electronica, along with a fondness for renaissance musical instruments, it is refreshing.

“My interests have changed,” says the virtuoso ukulele, piano and viola player. “I have a basic folk band and play a really honest set of music and story-telling. It’s a very conversational show.”

It is, he admits all very different to the Patrick Wolf we discovered a decade ago.

“When I made electronica it was coming from a tradition of Stockhausen – of people breaking the rules as they didn’t have the technology to work with,” he explains. “It was about making wonderful music with no tools. Now there are too many tools, so I am trying to work with just four instruments rather than doing the thousands of hours of homework I’d need to do to keep up with it.”

The artist, probably the first to make the harpsichord sexy, is also on a mission to save endangered instruments. “There should be a way to stop the extinction of musical instruments,” he says. And in my own way I feel I’m doing that.”

His latest discovery is the tenor guitar. “It’s a really beautiful four-stringed country instrument,” he says with genuine respect. “And all my work translates onto it.”

By reworking his old songs he has regained ownership of them. “It’s hard to hear those songs now,” he admits. “I want my music to expose the songs’ basic production and to hear the bare bones with just one instrument and a vocal.“ Patrick, who has come out as both gay and bisexual, has made no secret of the fact he was bullied at school for standing out. His experience has added to his sense of being an outsider and continues to make him an inspiration to other victims of bullying. He can, he says, give hope to others who suffered like him. “When I was 11 years-old I was 6ft 4ins tall. But while other people were playing rugby, tying sailor’s knots and trying to join the army, I was secretly playing the violin and listening to X-Ray Spex in the toilets during geography lessons. “But because I wasn’t popular as a person at 12, I’m not interested in being popular at 29. At this point in my life I don’t feel I’m a victim. However, I am outspoken and I believe people should be proud to be activists and change the world.

“I’m not angry about homophobia or the lack of freedom of speech in Russia, though. I just want to raise awareness. I was angry but have had to get rid of the residual anger I had from being bullied. “Luckily I have had my music as well as psychotherapy. I had a big change when I was 25 or 26 as far as wanting revenge. Now I feel I have a responsibility to show there is some form of light at the end of the tunnel.”

And it works; he is proud to get letters and messages from teenagers around the world “who have lived to tell the tale” about overcoming bullying.

“Maybe I can’t shake off my rebellious DNA,” he suggests. “At the end of the day, a lot of people want to become musicians because they want to be celebrities, but I’m not interested in that.

“I don’t do what I do to be popular - I just want to be remembered.”

Patrick Wolf plays St John the Evangelist Church, Iffley Road, Oxford, on Monday at 7.30pm. Tickets are £15 from wegottickets.com