Rufus Wainwright on His ‘Blatant’ Grammy-bait New Album ‘Folkocracy,’ Released 25 Years After His Debut

variety.com:

Todd Gilchrist editor Twenty-five years have passed since the release of Rufus Wainwright’s self-titled debut album, a rhapsodic collection of 12 songs celebrating his open homosexuality and given suitably cabaret-inspired flair by producer Jon Brion.

In addition to commemorating the occasion with an expanded, remastered, digital-only re-release featuring ten extra songs from its three-year, 56-song recording process, Wainwright will on June 2 also premiere “Folkocracy,” an anthology of covers produced by Mitchell Froom.

It’s a full-circle moment for the singer-songwriter after decades of sidelining his family’s pedigreed genre: though he’s collaborated many times with his folk-singer father Loudon Wainwright III, late mother Kate McGarrigle and aunt Anna McGarrigle, the album marks the first official folk/ Americana recordings of his career.

Ahead of his June 2 performance at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles, Wainwright spoke to Variety to discuss the serendipity of “Folkocracy” arriving within just weeks of the May 19 anniversary of “Rufus Wainwright.” In addition to detailing his careerlong (until now) aversion to folk music and the multifaceted but “blatantly honest” reason he decided to lean into his family’s legacy, Wainwright looked back at the impact (on both him and the world) of creating such a slow-cooker of a debut, and reflected on his ongoing negotiation between original material and adaptations or covers as a conduit for his creativity. “Folkocracy” arrives within weeks of the 25th anniversary of your debut album.