Wainwright has worked his way to the sweet spot

New album Unfollow the Rules marks a return to pop for Rufus Wainwright. From his home in Laurel Canyon, the singer discusses family dynamics and sexual politics with Ben Walsh

‘Life is imbued with demons, but at a certain point you start realising that life is a finite situation and you really have to cherish the time we have left,” says a mellow Rufus Wainwright, sitting on a sofa with his shoes off.

Wainwright has had his fair share of demons to confront, including his former reliance on crystal meth, a sexual assault during his teens and his father, folk musician Loudon, walking out on his family when Rufus was just three.

However, the 46-year-old, sporting a cosy jumper and a neatly trimmed beard, now appears settled with his husband Jörn Weisbrodt, a German arts administrator, in Laurel Canyon, a blissed-out Californian region famed for housing countercultural rock giants, such as Neil Young,

Jim Morrison and Frank Zappa.

It is also home to Joni Mitchell, who is a clear influence on Wainwright’s excellent forthcoming album, Unfollow the Rules, particularly on the lush, catchy Damsel in Distress – a song about a friend he has “issues with” and “people in your life who eventually turn on you and you still have to deal with them”.

Wainwright didn’t write it with the Laurel Canyon scene in mind but he had been hanging out there with Mitchell. His songwriter sister, Martha, pointed out the comparison.

Mitchell was not, however, an artist that Wainwright listened to growing up, because his musician mother, the venerable folkie Kate Mcgarrigle (who died in 2010, at the age of 63), would not permit it.

“My mother had issues with it that were twofold,” explains the Montreal-raised singer. “On the one hand my mother pooh-pooed her success because it wasn’t pure enough. My mum was from a real folk background and Joni, for her, was a bit of a sellout. Second – and I think this is the real reason – my mum was very jealous of her fellow Canadian songwriter’s success and felt somewhat left in the dust.

“I’ve known Joni in two incarnations,” he adds. “I met her before the accident [Mitchell had a stroke in 2017], when she was pretty distant, very imperious, incredibly charming but also very scary; after the stroke, she’s much more peaceful and approachable, much less angry. She’s thriving now.”