When I picked up the phone to speak with Jake Bugg, I'll admit that his reputation preceded him.
The Nottingham songwriter earned fame and success at a young age, sparking a slew of reports that showed him as a cocky, self-assured artist, one with a barbed quip for every occasion.
What I swiftly found, however, was that appearances can be deceiving. Sure, Jake Bugg is hardly a shrinking violet – those controversial quotes don't come from thin air, after all – but he's a much more considered, rounded individual than some would give him credit for.
In a way, upcoming album 'On My One' could change this perception. It's a return to basics, with the songwriter speaking openly of his debt to the blues during those Jacknife Lee helmed recording sessions.
But each generation shapes the blues in their own image, and for Jake Bugg it's a term that applies as much to hip-hop as slide guitar. Indeed, 'On My One' could well be the artist's most eclectic, wide-ranging and individual statement to date.
Agreeing to give Clash a few minutes of his time, we drew up a quick list of questions and held our breath…
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The new album is fast approaching, so how do you feel?
It's a bit anxious, just waiting round for it to come out. It's kind of out of my hands now, and you don't know how it's going to be received. It can be hard waiting around.
When did you put the finishing touches to it?
I think it was January. And that was pretty much it, after that.
Do you find waiting for material to come out quite difficult?
I'm excited for it to come out. When you put one single out and not everyone is digging it, then get a bit impatient waiting for the next one to come out, hoping that it'll do better than the last one. I'm still waiting to see how the first single is doing. So we'll see.
You promised to shake things up on this record, why was that?
I'm a big believer in songs writing themselves, y'know. When I sit down and write a song I don't have anything in mind, I just write whatever comes out. So that's what I did. There's a lot of different sounds on it, but I think that's the way it should be sometimes. I don't want any song to sound the same, I want every song to sound completely different.
So songwriting should be as natural as possible, then?
Pretty much. If I feel like I'm writing a song and it's not sounding that good then I'll scrap it before it even gets written.
Were there any sticky moments on this album, then?
There was a few challenges on this album. I was working with a guy called Jacknife Lee, and I had a song and he said I needed a better chorus. I didn't think there was anything wrong with the chorus, but I went away and wrote another one. Sometimes it can be hard to hear that you could do better, but I went away and did it. And thankfully I did because song wouldn't have been as good with the old chorus. Sometimes there are challenges, and it's about knowing when it's right to go away and work on it.
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You've got to do what you want, and give the people what they want, at the same time…
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As a songwriter do you need that outside voice, that second opinion?
I feel like I could have written ten different choruses for that song, but sometimes it takes somebody to tell you which is the best one.
How was Jacknife Lee to work with?
He was cool. And I think the songs I had written were kind of written in more of a traditional sense, so he kind of brought out the modern element in them. So I think it worked out pretty well. The balance of my own traditional way of writing and then his modern producer techniques, which seem to work pretty well.
There's a couple of hip-hop tracks on here – is that something you've always had a love for?
I've always liked hip-hop. I mean, I didn't sit down thinking I was going to write a hip-hop track, I was just messing around in the studio. Sometimes you're messing around knowing that you're writing songs for people who are never going to hear them. And then some people that I played it to loved it, and some people really didn't like it. But some people did. For me, I don't really care if it made it on the record or not, but if people like it then I feel like maybe I should put it all on.
How do you navigate yourself through situations where people give you conflicting opinions?
I don't mind. I understand that music is subjective, and I'm sure there are a couple of songs on my albums that I'm probably not a fan of myself, but I know that everybody else loves them, and you've got to consider everybody else. There are songs that I don't mind, songs I can do without – there are songs that I love more than others. You've got to do what you want, and give the people what they want, at the same time.
So what kind of hip-hop are you into?
It's raw, isn't it? It's the sonics. I'm a big fan of blues music, and it's kind of the modern equivalent of that, to me. There'll be a guy with a guitar singing about how he's got the blues, about how shit life is, and it kind of reflects that, to me.
They're both extremely direct forms of communication.
It's very similar. There is also the production side of it, the raw, gritty beats. Everything is a little bit tucked up, but it's so simple. Very minimal. I like the East Coast stuff, to be honest. Stuff like Joey Bada$$ and Run The Jewels. I don't like a lot of contemporary music, but they're pretty good.
I read the interview you gave to the NME recently, in which you said you were left wing when you were younger, but had become more right wing as you grew up. Do you have defined political views, or do you feel a little remote from politics in this country, so you simply can't put yourself in a box?
Yeah, exactly that. And I think a lot of people my age feel a little bit lost with regards to politics. It doesn't represent them.
You grew up on an estate in Nottingham, do you feel an obligation to help in a non-political way?
Well that's what fuels the foundation I work with – the Robin Hoodie Foundation. It helps anyone. Not just Nottingham – anyone who needs it. Whether it's in favelas in Sao Paolo, or whether it's places for kids to go hang out up in Newcastle. Just something for kids to do, and inspire them to play music – because music helps a lot of people.
Well, your focus is on London this week – you're playing four shows, one for each of the compass points.
We haven't played for a little while as a band, so we needed to get our chops together, play in front of crowds again. Get warmed up for the year, really. We played a show last night, that was cool. Made a few mistakes, but hopefully we'll play even better tonight. It's nice to see the fans, who seem keen on the new stuff. It's exciting to be back, and playing shows again.
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'On My One' will be released on June 17th.
