Jake Bugg Interview

The sultry and lovely Jake Bugg is heading down under later this month to perform at Byron Bay’s ever so popular Splendour In The Grass festival. The insane festival sold out within an hour, but luckily for Bugg fans, Splendour have set up a few sideshows so no-one misses out on the musical action. Young in heart, mind and even in real life aged just 22, the laid back star has three albums under his belt. At aged 18, his self-titled debut album entered the UK charts at Number 1, making him the youngest British male artist ever to do so. After earning a second Brits nomination, Bugg’s creative momentum hasn’t stopped there. His brand new album “On My One”, has already re-ceived a great reaction by fans. It remains to be seen what Australia will think of the new material. With UK indie pop band Blossoms supporting Jake Bugg in Sydney and Melbourne and local wordsmith Peter Bibby warming up the stage in Perth, the shows are set to be second to none. We chatted to Jake Bugg about Aussie expectations, travelling the world, his massive 2016 tour and what the future holds.

Hi Jake! It’s Suanne from BBM Live, thanks for taking the time to chat to me today!
No worries! How are you?

I’m great thanks and how are you?
I’m good thank you!

So where exactly are you right now?
I’m just in London at the moment.

And what are you up to?
Well it’s the morning! It’s not too bad, it’s a bit chilly though.

You’re only young, but have you always known music was what you wanted to do?
Yeah absolutely, from the age of about, I’d say 12 or 13. I started making songs at 12 and I just fell in love with it straight away.

Wow that’s young! Are you excited about playing Splendour In The Grass later this month in Australia?
Yeah! Absolutely. I think I‘ve played it before and it was cool, an amazing festival, so I’m really looking forward to playing again. It is going to be fun I think.

Yes, definitely. There are a lot of other top acts playing alongside you, who else are you looking forward to seeing?
It sounds bad I know, but I don’t actually know who else is playing to be honest, I’ve been so busy. But I’m sure they’ll be great.

You’ve got Blossoms supporting you in Melbourne and Sydney. So what was it about Blos-soms that made you decide they’d be the chosen band to support you?
Yeah I picked them to support me, I’ve met them a couple of times as they’re on the same label as me. I met them when they had just been signed. They’re really nice guys and it will be cool playing a few shows with them.

That’s cool! So, What can people expect from your performance?
Well we’ll be playing some old songs, some new songs, mixing it up a little bit, so yeah it’ll be an exciting mixture of the old and new, and I hope people like it.

Sounds good. Do you have any rituals before you go out on stage?
Nah not really, a couple beers at most to be honest, but no nothing weird, I don’t usually have ritu-als really.

So you’ve got 3 sideshows set up, meaning people who missed out on Splendour In The Grass can still get the chance to see you! Are you going to be playing your same set at the sideshows or can we expect something a bit different?
Well we’ll probably be playing a few more of our own sort of shows because we’re not restricted on festival times which is cool, so yeah we’ll probably play a few different things and it should be a bit different.

What is it about Australia that you enjoy most?
It’s always nice to go out there. There is only so much you can do in any place really. Just going out and exploring the local places, the food is great there. I usually just find some nice bars and just have a nice time really. The weather and the beaches are really nice.

I know you travel a lot and you’re heading to Japan, Slovakia, Canada and more places on tour, but where is your favourite place in the world you’ve ever been to?
It’s hard to say. When I recorded my second Album called Shangri La, I was in Malibu which is obviously in California. It’s such a beautiful part of the world that I like very much.

Is it strange playing to different audiences all the time on tour? Do you feel like you change your performance to suit who you’re playing to?
It depends, like if the crowd are acting a bit lairy then I’d maybe change the set a bit and play something a bit more upbeat if thats what they want! But obviously it all depends where you are in the world and what the crowd are acing like.

So you were born and raised in Nottingham in the UK but where do you call home at the moment?
Yeah that’s right, Nottingham will always be home. But for now I live in London now, and that’s where I’m based.

So you were the youngest British Male artist ever to enter the UK charts at Number 1 with your self titled debut album, and that was four years ago now, how does it feel looking back at your journey and coming so far? Is it surreal?
I’m kind of used to it now to be honest, I just kind of get on with it really, enjoy playing the songs, and travelling the world. I mean I’m not the young guy with that Number 1 album anymore unfortunately.

It must be amazing though, being able to travel the world and do something you love?
Yeah absolutely, I couldn’t ask for much more. It’s amazing.

Your third album “On My One” has just been released last month, and its different to the others as it combines pop, soul, rap and indie. But you’ve said previously to NME magazine that its “make or break” for your career, so what did you mean by that?
First of all, I think a lot of the time nowadays if you make a bad album, you maybe won’t get an opportunity to make another one. `But the fans all seemed to like it, so I think its going okay so far, and it will be interesting to see what the fans are like down in Australia as well.

Yeah it’s great, I think it’s a unique album. If you could pick any artist in the world, who would your dream collaboration be?
That’s a tough question haha. I think basically, it’s more who would want to collaborate with me to be honest haha. But it’s always good to try different things no matter who it is. I think you learn something in the process, but it’s hard to say exactly.

So where do you see yourself in ten years time? Do you have a plan or are you going to see where life takes you?
I think I’m just going to carry on and do what I do. It’s hard to say what I’m going to be doing in ten years time, hopefully still making records, and making music, that’s the goal really! But you never know what the future holds really, do you?

That is true. Lastly, have you got anything to say to your huge Australian fan base?
Yeah, I’m really looking forward to coming down and playing some shows and just having a good time with everyone! I hope everyone is excited.

Thanks so much for talking to me and good luck with everything and the tour.
Thanks very much! It’s been nice talking to you!

Jake Bugg Australia Tour Dates

Tueday 26th July – State Theatre, Sydney (Blossoms to support)
Wednesday 27th July – Palais Theatre, Melbourne (Blossoms to support)
Friday 29 July – Metro City, Perth (Peter Bibby to support)

Get tickets for the Jake Bugg Splendour Sideshows

By Suanne Cunningham