Jake Bugg: From Shangri-La To Auckland (Interview)

Its just days before his 20th birthday, but already Jake Bugg has made his mark on the music scene with two Brit Awards nominations and a Mercury Prize nomination for his 2012 self-titled debut album. Jake has already performed in New Zealand, playing a memorable set last July at Auckland’s Powerstation. Now, with a new album under his belt, Shangri-La, (named for producer Rick Rubin’s California studio) he returns, this time to Auckland’s Town Hall.

The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda spoke to Jake Bugg recently, just as the young musician was about to play a homecoming show at the Nottingham Arena.

Listen to the interview with Jake Bugg here:

Or read a transcription of the interview here:

MD: Now from what I understand you’ve had some kind of homecoming recently. You’re playing up at the Nottingham Arena is that right?

Jake: Yeah that’s right, yeah.

MD: And how does that feel for you? How it is coming back to your old stomping grounds after travelling the world for the last year or so?

Jake: Well it’s very strange to go back to somewhere you know better than anywhere else in the world but, you know, you’ve been away form for so long. But to go back and play at the biggest venue in the city is a very special moment for me.

MD: And I understand you have your cousin’s band opening, is that right…The Swines?

Jake: Yeah that’s right?

MD: And I did a little reading and read somewhere, where at one point that you opened for them. I was wondering if you can go back and tell me what the scene was like when you were the opening act for them?

Jake: It was cool man. I loved being there. I was about 16, 17 you know and it was cool man. He’s a cool guy. You get to know the band and hang out and it was just, it was all just a good experience I think.

MD: And you’re about to turn 20 on February 28 if I’m not mistaken.

Jake: Yes.

MD: Does that kind of mean anything to you? Does that weigh heavily on you?

Jake: Um, well, you know, it’s your teenage years when you go through most of the changes, both physically and mentally. It’ll be strange to see those go, but you know it’s time to try and achieve more in my 20s than in my teen years.

MD: I notice in your song Storm Passes Away there’s a line in there when you sing ‘They keep telling me I’m older than I’m supposed to be.’ Is that something you feel people are kind of laying on you?

Jake: Yeah I mean some people they just say, ‘oh he’s an old soul’. I just want to write my songs and go about my business.

MD: It must be kind of weird to have all these comparisons to people like Bob Dylan and Oasis and whoever else they can think of at the time to compare you to. Is it a drag or is it an honour? How do you feel about it when you read these things about yourself?

Jake Well I never read them. The only reason I ever find out about these things is when people ask me about them.

MD: Right, sorry about that.

Jake: No that’s alright. But you know, I never aspire to be anyone but myself. I find like some of the comparisons are lazy but on the other hand, there are a lot worse people to be compared to.

MD: Right exactly. I mean there’s been a lot of new Dylans and they’ve all done well for themselves for the most part so you’re in good company.

Jake: Well Bob Dylan got compared to many people I’m sure when he first started out.

MD: The one thing that I was really struck with when I saw you last July was your ability to come up with this almost Sun Records era rockabilly sound with you and your band. I guess I wasn’t expecting it from hearing the first album. I understand that since then you’ve been to Memphis, you’ve got to be on a bill with Jerry Lee Lewis. What has connected you with that kind of sound?

Jake: Well I mean, great tunes man. You know we used to go lay those tunes down live and tell stories. I listen to any kind of music but that’s just something that felt most naturally to play at the moment, just on a guitar. And then it gets the crowd worked up, yeah its fun.

MD: I’m kind of curious as to what your process was. You must have done a bit of digging back into musical history and listening to different songwriters and different styles of music. Did you get on the internet? Did you go look in old records? What made you want to do that and how did you actually do it?

Jake: Well there’s so many ways now. You have people telling you about you know different kinds, people introducing you to different kinds of things. Documentaries sometimes are a good way of getting into an artist. And the internet is a powerful tool now. Usually when I get into an artist or discover an artist I like to trace back who influenced them, what happened in the process and what things came together for them to develop the sound that they had.

MD: And is there someone recently that you’ve kind of discovered and kind of gone back through and traced their history?

Jake: Well I’ve made a few discoveries. I haven’t had time to trace their history for the likes of Aaron Neville, who’s got a great voice and great songs. Bill Withers and I’ve been listening to quite a bit of Sun House which is, do you know a pretty far back. But that’ll be interesting to see where that goes.

MD: And you might want to check out Aaron Neville’s latest album which came out about a year ago. It’s kind of him singing all the doo-wop songs from the 50’s that he loved.

Jake: Well there you go then. There’ll be something in that. Cheers man.

MD: In your signwriting yourself you usually work with Iain Archer and I think you did some work with Brendon Benson on the new album as well. How does the collaborative process work with you and writing other guys?

Jake: Well, I never like it. If you think you’re going to sit down and write a song then it becomes more of a task then something you just enjoy. I like it to be a little less formal and spit the kettle on, pick up the guitars and see what happens. You might get nothing. But it’s also cool to just also have that instinctive opinion on where the song should go so that can be quite useful sometimes.

MD: And a guy like Iain Archer, he’s been around for a while writing songs; for a longer time than you have at least. Is there something that you learn from him that helps you with your own song writing?

Jake: Well I don’t think you take away points. As a muscle memory that it just develops and I think working with a few experienced songwriters certainly helped me to learn a bit more. And I think it’s something that’s more subconscious rather than thinking about it too much.

MD: Right; and speaking of learning about song writing I understand you’re taking part in a song writing master class at the Royal Albert Hall, is that right?

Jake: Well yeah it’s just some kids coming down. And they’re probably going to join the sound check or something and see what it’s about. They might not learn anything. They might learn a thing or two and go away and think, ‘I want to do that, or I don’t want to do that’. You don’t know, they might take something away from it.

MD: Have you thought about what you’re going to say to them and how you’re going to present song writing to them to kind of get them interested in it?

Jake: Well the truth is man I just like, songs you know, songs write themselves. But they’re a very important thing. They connect with people. You know it’s not really something you can teach that much. I can show them ways of being inspired I suppose or jamming around or getting on the drum kit and seeing how exciting it could be. But you don’t wanna bore kids to death man; going into musical theory and crap like that. That’d be a real bore.

MD: Right. Would it have helped you say 5 or 6 years ago if someone had come around and given you some pointers on song writing do you think?

Jake: Yeah I mean, I guess the only thing, it’s very difficult. I think the only thing is to make sure it comes from the heart and soul. And that goes a long way. You want to feel like you’re the person you’re listening to. They’re singing to you, they’re singing right next to your ear. And songs can be interpreted in many different ways. What it means to one person can mean something  different to the next.

MD: Have people misunderstood or reinterpreted songs of yours in a surprising way that you never thought of?

Jake: Well Two Fingers is the most common one because in England two fingers means a completely different thing then what it does in the rest of the world. Its peace signs everywhere else. So that’s a major interpretation.

MD: Well here in New Zealand it kind of goes both ways. You probably get the right interpretation. Being an American I can imagine people would have been confused.

Jake: Well they think it means peace yesterday.

MD: (laughs). And I did want to touch on your experience working with Rick Rubin at his Shangri LA studio a little bit. We talk about what you learned and take away from different people. What did you get out of working with Mr Rubin?

Jake: Well the whole experience was just great. To the musicians he put around me, I felt like I improved as a player. A lot of the songs were just ideas. And Rick kind of dragged them out of me and made sure I turn them into songs which taught me that, by doing that, it created more space to allow new songs to be made.

MD: And what about the environment of the studio itself? Did that have any effect on how you approached the songs and the end result?

Jake: Sure. Lyrically and musically it didn’t influence that but me as a person to be able to feel so relaxed to make those ideas into songs and put those songs on record, it certainly helped for that.

MD: Because it’s certainly a long way from Southern California to where you’re from in England.

Jake: Yeah it’s very different. And that’s probably why the record starts off pretty heavy and pretty angry. It’s all about getting to peace and getting all that frustration out.

MD: Right. And getting frustration out seems to be, well I don’t know if that’s the driving force in what you’re doing and why you’re so creative at the moment. You seem to be writing a lot of songs. People I think were surprised that you came out with your second album out so quickly after the first. Do you feel there’s this creative energy happening? Are there more songs coming out of you know left and right it seems like.

Jake: Yeah you know I’m always trying to write songs. That’s my outlet. That’s the whole reason I got into music in the first place. Cos you know the stresses of this world and how things are going. And just to wind down and just pick up the guitar. It’s very therapeutic and relaxing.

MD: You’ve been on the road and awful lot. The fact that you’re coming to New Zealand less than a year after your last visit. Most people come year once every ten years if that. Are you concerned about burning yourself out on the road? It takes a toll on a lot of people.

Jake: Um, no. I’m young and the thing that keeps me going is the music, playing the shows and seeing the people sing the songs back. It’s a very inspiring incentive to keep on going.

MD: So for folks who saw you here last year, how will the show that’s coming up compare to the show that they saw last year?

Jake: It’s the same band, just a three piece. You know it’s all about some of the new songs now and incorporating them into the set. Having a few different bodies of work to choose from. It’s about the people who come to see you. I play the songs they want to hear.

MD: Do you take a lot from the audience? Is there a certain amount of energy you need to take from the show for it to be successful for you?

Jake: It depends man. The audience can have no energy but be polite and just listen. And sometimes it happens. And it’s that intimacy that is also a very special thing.

Jake Bugg and his band will perform at Auckland’sa Town Hall on Thursday, April 10th. Click here for more information.

 Click here to read The 13th Floor review of Shangri-La.