Newton Faulkner, English singer, songwriter and musician, chats with Kevin Cooper about the current state of the music industry, playing the Peace Train Music Festival in Korea, his latest album The Very Best Of Newton Faulkner…So Far and his forthcoming tour of the UK.

Newton Faulkner is an English singer, songwriter and musician, known for his percussive style of guitar playing. In 2007 Faulkner’s debut studio album Hand Built By Robots was certified double platinum in the UK, after it topped the Albums Chart. It was promoted by three singles, Dream Catch Me, I Need Something and Teardrop. Dream Catch Me reached number seven in the UK Singles Charts.

Faulkner’s second studio album, Rebuilt by Humans, was released in 2009 and charted at number three on the UK Albums Chart. The first single from the album was If This Is It. This was followed by an EP titled Sketches which preceded the release of his third studio album Write It On Your Skin which was released in 2012 and reached number one.

He has since released Studio Zoo in 2013, Human Love in 2015 and Hit The Ground Running in 2017. His latest album, The Very Best Of Newton Faulkner…So Far was released in March 2019.

In 2016, Faulkner was cast as Johnny in the musical American Idiot, which is based on songs from the band Green Day, and last year he starred as the Sung Thoughts Of The Journalist in the 40^th Anniversary musical version of Jeff Wayne’s War Of The Worlds.

Whilst busy with the release of his latest album and preparing for his forthcoming tour, he took some time out to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.

Newton good afternoon how are you?

Hi Kevin it’s nice to speak to you again. I’m fine thanks how are you doing?

I’m very well thank you and let me thank you for taking the time to speak to me today.

It’s not a problem, it’s always a pleasure.

And just how is life treating you?

Life at the moment is treating me very well indeed. There is quite a lot going on at the moment. I have a hefty workload as you can imagine building up to the forthcoming tour and the recent release of The Very Best Of Newton Faulkner… So Far, so there is a lot going on in all directions. So what can I say except life is very good and I am really very proud of The Best Of album. It feels like the right time to release the album.

When I released the last album Hit The Ground Running in 2017 I really did feel as though I had finally found what I had been looking for with all of the previous albums. In the past I have been making albums not knowing just what I was doing whilst thinking that I actually did know what I was doing, and then realising that I had no idea, but that is actually okay (laughter).

That is pretty much the methodology that I used for the last six albums. Now I have done that I finally feel as though I can just write and do what I do which is pretty much what I managed to do on the last record. The whole setup was different in the fact that there was no A&R, there were no label meetings, there were no playback meetings, there was none of that stress and pressure; I just sat down and got on with it, and the response to the album was unequalled really.

The last time that you and I spoke was just prior to you going out on tour with Amy Macdonald performing her Under Stars tour. How was the tour, and did you enjoy it?

Yes the tour was great, it really was fun. It helped that I had met most of her band around the place and they are a really good bunch.

I caught you at the Royal Concert Hall here in Nottingham and I have to say that I thought your version of Bohemian Rhapsody was great.

Thanks man, that’s terrific. I’m glad that you like it.

I recently spoke to Glen Matlock and he told me that the two of you were in Korea at the same time playing at the Peace Train Music Festival right below the border of North Korea. How was that?

It was totally insane (laughter). We were actually playing on the North Korean South Korean border. The festival had been organised by Glastonbury Festival promoter Martin Elbourne in the demilitarised zone between North and South Korea. I have to say that we all really did have a lot of fun and I have to say that Korea is a fantastic place, and the people are fantastic.

Is it something that you would do again?

Yes most definitely. It’s fun and exciting whenever you get to go somewhere new and fresh, and that was one of the few occasions that I actually had some time to myself which allowed me to look around the place. I got there and they had flown me out two days before I had to do anything. I asked them if there were any promotional interviews to be done and they said “no, just chill” (laughter). So I took myself off to Seoul and had a look at just what was going on. Korea really is a beautiful country; the countryside was amazing.

Glen was moaning about the buildings, he said that they really did look a little primitive in places.

Yes I know exactly what he was talking about. There really were definitely some places that were run down far more than the others. Well they weren’t really run down, it was just that they weren’t built up (laughter). There were a few shanty towns scattered here and there between the cities but I found it to be the most beautiful place.

Apparently the existing train line, which is currently broken because the border between North and South Korea is in the way, originally went all the way to Moscow and then over to Berlin. What they are hoping in the not too distant future is that it will go directly to London plus it would also link South Korea by train to the rest of the world which can only be a good thing for humanity.

Really, no one told us that whilst we were there. That really would be something amazing. I really do like a sleeper train every now and again. They are expensive but they are fun. It always feels as though you are on a romantic adventure.

I don’t know about romantic (laughter). I once did a twenty-four hour train journey from Sydney to Brisbane over in Australia which sounds fantastic. The only problem was that the train kept stopping every mile or so to let people get on and off (laughter).

(Laughter) yes that would wake you up.

Anyway let’s leave train journeys, romantic or otherwise, to one side for the time being and let’s talk about your latest album The Very Best Of Newton Faulkner… So Far. Have you been happy with the fans reaction to the album?

Yes I am, I am very happy. As I have said this really did feel like the right time to put out a greatest hits album. There is still a hell of a lot of stuff that people haven’t heard, and to be honest I am more intrigued to see their reaction to that than I am to their reaction to the collection of more recognised stuff. For example, there is a whole album of covers which took me a huge amount of time and really was quite challenging. A lot of people think that I am simply taking the piss but then they say “you know that thing that you have been taking the piss out of for years, could you stop taking the piss out of it and make it into a serious cutting-edge record” (laughter).

I always respond with “yes, probably, I’m not sure” (laughter). There are things like You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) the old Dead or Alive track, there are loads of tracks like that which I have recorded just for fun. Fortunately they get such an amazing reaction from the audiences every time that I play them.

Why do you think that those songs receive such a great reaction?

I personally feel that it is all down to the nostalgia thing. People can tap into that and the songs really do something magical. But then going from hearing a song at a gig for twenty seconds to being asked “can you do a full version, and then can you produce it like a real album track”, that to me really is a challenge (laughter). Even to get the vocals to a point where it doesn’t sound as though I am not taking the piss; it really is a challenge. Some of the songs that I thought were going to be really simple, especially the guitar and vocal tracks turned out to be really quite psychedelic production pieces. Something like Pure Imagination which I always thought was going to be a guitar and vocal track, but that ended up somewhere where I never imagined it going.

Do you think that the album gives an accurate account of your career so far?

I feel that it gives an accurate account of one aspect of it. Obviously singles are there to do a certain job, whereas an album will do something different; they are a whole collection. I still very much make albums that you can listen to from start to finish. That’s my mission every time, to build something that has got a journey to it, a shape, a beginning, a middle, and of course an end. It is like a whole thing. Obviously within that there are the tracks that I am really proud of, which aren’t on The Best Of because it is not taking that into account, it’s not what it is there for. I feel that many of the tracks on The Best Of are the fans favourites.

I am really pleased with the three new songs on the album, especially Wish I Could Wake Up which came out just before Christmas which is generating such a lot of interest and opening quite a few doors for me over in Germany quite strangely. There is Don’t Leave Me Waiting which I honestly feel is a really solid pop song, which I am really proud of. There is another one to come which I am really happy with, and I have got a weird feeling at the moment and I think that particular song may very well be a game changer. However, I am not entirely sure, because as you know I am never entirely accurate with my predictions (laughter). I usually think ‘oh no please don’t put that on the record’ and then it goes to number one, and then I’m like ‘okay you were right, again’ (laughter).

You mention the new songs, and I have to say that I absolutely love Wish I Could Wake Up. It made me think back to the 70s and 80s when artists would be fighting to see just who would get the Christmas number one; something which is currently lacking don’t you think?

I totally agree with what you are saying but just to prove a point, who is number one at the moment? Unless you are number one I personally don’t think that anyone else really gives a shit (laughter). Obviously joking aside I would say to anyone who is at number one “well done” because it really is seriously hard to get there and it is still a massive stamp of approval but at the same time people aren’t keeping track of it like they used to. At the same time people are no longer waiting for records to be released.

Back in the day there would be a build-up of anticipation for weeks prior to a record being released so I have to ask you, do you still get excited on release day?

How can I answer that, let me say that it’s different. It is still terrifying which is what makes it exciting but there is no longer the build-up to releases. So much so that people have actually stopped doing it completely. The really big artists are like ‘okay, let’s release a new album, now’ (laughter). I can see why people are doing that, minus the traditional build-up methods because there is so much music that is so easily accessible now; no one is waiting for anything. They don’t have to because they have got the entire universe of music on demand all of the time. I think that if you were still into buying CD’s and there was a CD being released by a band that you particularly liked, then you are going to be excited because you don’t have that many options.

But now, because everything is there all of the time, it is totally different. I personally don’t know if that anticipation is ever going to come back. I think that when people were physically buying records, and we all know that records were, and still are, quite expensive, I think that was why everything became genre driven. In the past you would wear a certain type of clothes and you would buy these records; the records released by your band. You would buy them because you knew that you would like them in advance of buying them. It would be like ‘oh I love that band, and that is why I wear eye shadow’ (laughter).

That led to all of the movements which again is really something that has again disappeared simply because people can listen to everything whenever they want. People aren’t waiting around, and I think that people can now listen to a much wider variety of music than they used to, if they want to. Obviously the whole play listing thing is now totally different and it has most definitely taken the place of radio for some people; it’s now a case of ‘I like this band, I’m in this mood, I will type in this, I will hit go, and then I won’t really listen to it’ (laughter). The amount of changes that have come in since I started is both amazing and frightening.

I honestly believe that Handbuilt By Robots was one of the last albums to sell in real numbers. It was straight after that that I made the second album, which was not even two years later, but by that time the whole industry had completely shifted between those two points. Since then the industry has been constantly shifting and constantly changing. It has now gone thoroughly Wild West and no one has any idea what is going to work, or even what is going to happen next. There are simply no rules nowadays. In fact you don’t even have to make albums any more. You can now record a track one morning, upload it yourself, and say “here’s my new track, I am very happy with this” (laughter).

And then after you have done that for a while you can put it all together as an album just so that it looks a bit neater. I sometimes sit and think to myself is it really worth all of the time and effort that you put into making an album because at the end of the day people are no longer listening to albums in the right order. Everything is automatically shuffled unless you switch it off. I personally put lots of time into the shape of my albums, making sure that each track runs nicely into the next. I try to make sure that the end of the album is quite satisfying and feels like the end of something. I think that almost all of my albums have had an intro of some kind that goes into the first track so you feel as though you are being led somewhere and the whole album is building up to the finish.

Once the album is finished are you able to walk away and leave it alone?

Yes I can, once it is finished then that’s it, it is done. I have always looked at mastering as being the full stop. That is, of course, unless there is something really bad going on (laughter). I always try to look at mastering as being the end of the process. I find it terrifying to imagine that I could listen to something and think ‘oh I could just move that and reload it backup’ (laughter). That to me would mean that nothing is ever finished and I simply couldn’t handle that so I am just pretending that ‘I cannot do that and that simply doesn’t exist’ (laughter).

How many tracks to choose from did you begin with?

I actually can’t remember. I think that I went through my entire back catalogue saying “that should be on and that should be on” and by the time that I had finished I had chosen around fifty tracks. Obviously then other things come into play, things like ‘well actually we would make more money off that album if that certain track is on there so let’s make sure that we put that one onto the final choice’. So to be fair there was a bit of shuffling around in that aspect. Then I would listen to it as a whole just to make sure that everything works. I will listen to see if things stick out in a good way, songs such as Shadow Boxing was always going to stick out because it is a different track sonically from anything else that I have ever done.

However, I feel that it does it in the right way. Another task to consider is picking the right down moment because most of the album is rather upbeat but I need to put in the folkier stuff, making sure that was represented on there, simply because it is a huge part of the live set and a huge part of what I do, light and shade and all that.

Would you personally say that the likes of Spotify are now viewed and accepted as being a necessary evil?

To be honest with you there would be absolutely no point in me taking all of my stuff off Spotify thus denying my fans from hearing my work. The goal now is for as many people to hear your music as possible; that’s why we make music. I no longer think that anyone makes music purely to make money. Everyone wants their work to be heard and to see people respond to it. Everyone wants to cause some kind of emotional response. And if Spotify reaches lots of people and subsequently allows your music to also reach lots of people then that’s great, that is that boxed ticked. You are reaching people, and people can get to your music if they want to. That is a hugely important part as to why people make music at all.

Having said that, the tricky bit is to now make a living out of making music. That is fine if you are in the very top half a percent but that seems to be the same across everything now. All of the money is shared amongst this very small percentage, whilst everyone else has to try to scrape together a living. It really is hard now.

Everything is upside down at the moment. In the past you would tour to promote an album whereas now the album has taken centre stage, and has become far more important than the tour.

Yes that’s right. In fact I was recently looking at a tour poster for Skunk Anansie which is currently being displayed in London, and in huge letters it gave you the date and the venue which is Brixton Academy. And then in much smaller writing it said ‘oh, and there’s an album’ and I was like ‘wow that has happened’ (laughter). That is now what album posters look like. They are telling people to come to the gig and are saying “oh yes there is also an album which you should possibly listen to before you come to the gig, but no pressure” (laughter). Which I agree is totally upside down. Whether that is better or worse I don’t know. Does it really matter, is this really a worthwhile conversation because things have changed, it is not going to go backwards. In fact it all might change again to something completely different.

I feel that the whole music business has become a disposable commodity to the kids of today.

I totally agree with you on that point. However, from my personal point of view I would actually be pleased if the kids were still downloading their music, but it appears that all they want to do is cherry pick a couple of tracks from your album to listen to on the likes of Spotify and when they are bored with those simply move onto something else. The whole concept of ‘I want to listen to this, so I am going to buy this so that I can listen to it whenever I want’ seems to have now gone completely out of the window. Which now means that it is not being bought in any format; so it is going to be very interesting to see exactly what happens next? There are rumblings that vinyl sales have gone up a lot from where they were which was next to nothing, and it is interesting to watch that.

What I am finding is that I can go down to my local supermarket and buy an album on CD for £8 but the very same album on vinyl is going to cost me almost £30 because at the moment the demand for vinyl albums isn’t there as it is for CD’s. It still isn’t a level playing field, not yet.

That’s right and I feel that it is still going to take a little while for the demand to grow enough to allow the manufacturers to lower their costs. At the moment the problem is that new vinyl albums are hugely expensive to make. Who knows just what will happen next, there really is no point in guessing unless you are simply looking to invest.

We will all have to just start buying cassettes once again (laughter).

No (laughter). I even feel that the medium driven stuff has now all gone. We had cassettes, mini discs, compact discs, I just don’t know if there is going to be another thing like that. They have all kind of served their purpose and we are now onto a whole new realm of things. In the future I can see that you won’t even need a device as your music will stream straight to your headphones themselves. They will simply play music, and that will be it (laughter). However, I do very much believe that as many doors close then they open somewhere else which will allow us to take advantage of other things. We currently have the amazing opportunity to be able to connect with millions of people all of the time, which simply wasn’t possible when I started in the business.

What would you say has been the highlight of your career so far?

That’s easy, it’s the fact that it is still going (laughter). Everything kicking off was exciting and crazy but the fact that I can still put on a tour, I can still go out in front of people, and people still sing along; that really is a highlight to me. The last album was amazing for me; the live response to all of the new songs I really didn’t see coming. Normally I will try to sneak in a few new songs on the tour whilst trying not to piss the people off (laughter). I will usually slip a couple of new songs into the set list but on the last tour I played almost the whole album and by the end of the tour I was actually being heckled to play more new stuff (laughter). I don’t know if that has ever happened to anyone before. I was like ‘did you actually just say that’ (laughter).

Do you still get a buzz out of touring?

I get a massive buzz out of touring, and let me tell you, the day that stops will be the day that I stop touring. I am pretty honest with what is going on in my life, especially on stage. I am quite a message singer and so I go deep in to where I was when I was writing the song. I try not to play songs and not really think about what I’m playing. I try to do as much story telling as I do singing, together with an element of acting thrown in for good measure. It really is so much fun, and I have to say that if I was allowed to tour more, then I would tour more. In fact I am actually currently trying to expand my touring into other areas a little more. I am trying to open a few more doors over in Germany and Australia.

It’s funny that you should mention acting because the last time that you and I spoke you were in rehearsals about to play Johnny in Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot. How did that go, did you enjoy it?

What can I say, it was great fun whilst at the same time it was brutal. However, I have to say that I learnt a hell of a lot whilst doing it.

Then you moved on to play The Sung Thoughts Of The Journalist, in Jeff Wayne’s musical version of The War Of The Worlds, how was that?

(Laughter) well I have to be honest with you and say that was far easier for me than American Idiot simply because there was more singing and less acting.

Is acting something that you would like to get more into?

In some ways yes, although I have to say that I wouldn’t go for millions of auditions. I simply don’t have the time as I have a career with the singing (laughter). But yes, there are things that I would like to do. For example, I would totally love to get into voice acting, which looks like an absolute dream. And also with that I already know just how all of the equipment works. So yes, I would love to get more into that if the opportunity arose, but at this moment in time it is not something that I need. I would love to do it for fun, and see where I could get to. Compared to music, voice acting is a very small industry.

Do you already have thoughts on the new album?

Oh yes, loads. That’s the main reason why we did The Best Of now as the new songs coming through had a slightly different feel to the stuff that I usually write and record. The next album feels like it will be a totally different step for me. I feel like the journey between Hand Built By Robots and Hit The Ground Running was one thing, it felt like I was trying to find something. So it feels like a journey of not knowing what I was doing, to thinking I know what I am doing, to then learning that I don’t know what I am doing, to then completely accepting that I don’t know what I am doing and that’s okay (laughter).

So I have felt like that across all six albums and now I feel that I have found what it was that I was looking for sonically on Hit The Ground Running so I can now move on taking with me all that I have learnt from that and apply it to something else.

On that note Newton let me once again thank you for taking the time to speak to me today, it’s been great. You take care and I will see you in Birmingham.

Thanks Kevin, it’s been a pleasure as usual. You take care man and I will see you there.

Newton Faulkner, an English singer, songwriter and musician chats with Kevin Cooper about playing Johnny in American Idiot, his experience with PledgeMusic, his new album and supporting Amy Macdonald on her forthcoming UK tour.

Newton Faulkner is an English singer, song writer and musician from Reigate, Surrey. He is known for his percussive style of guitar playing. In 2007 Faulkner’s debut studio album Hand Built By Robots was certified double platinum in the UK.

Faulkner’s second studio album, Rebuilt By Humans, so named after an accident to his right wrist, when he said that he had been “put back together again by humans”. His fifth studio album, Human Love, was released in November 2015.

In 2016, Faulkner was cast as Johnny in the musical American Idiot, which is based upon the songs of the band Green Day. He played the role on the UK Tour, and continued in the role when the show returned to the West End at the Arts Theatre in July 2016.

Whilst preparing to tour the UK as Amy Macdonald’s special guest, he took some time to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.

Hi Newton, how are you today?

Hi Kevin I’m very well thanks, how are you?

I’m doing okay thanks, and before we move on let me just thank you for taking the time to speak to me today.

That’s okay it’s always a pleasure.

And just how is life treating Newton Faulkner?

Life is good at the moment, crazy busy but crazy busy in a good way. Crazy busy is so much better than any of the alternatives (laughter).

The last time that we spoke you were about to play Johnny in American Idiot so I have to ask you, how did it go?

Yes I remember and I have to say that it was absolutely mental but so much fun (laughter). It was really hard work but so enjoyable.

Is treading the boards something that you would like to do again?

Yes I would, in some form most definitely. The whole experience for me was totally fascinating and a whole new thing for me to be tackling. The scary thing was that I only had a week’s rehearsals before going on tour with the show (laughter).

I have to ask you, at what stage are you at with your latest studio album?

Things are going really well and I have already got the first five tracks in some form or another. And the album is most definitely coming together. What I can tell you is that it has got an identity to itself already. So even if you played the first three songs back to back you would hear yourself saying ‘oh, so it’s going that way’ (laughter). Which to me is really weird because that is not a decision that I ever made. I simply kept writing and I have in fact written quite a lot of stuff for this album already. I released myself from the shackles and I wrote some stuff that was far too heavy, some stuff that was way too depressing, and then out of the stuff that I liked there was this certain quality to it.

Then once I knew what kind of stuff I wanted to write then loads of stuff suddenly came out. The vocals on this record are serious; there is some serious singing to be done (laughter). I have made my life very, very difficult but in a really fun way (laughter). I didn’t really show off my voice on the last record but I genuinely feel that I can do it now. The last record was more about the production really and I really did like it. It was big, loud and tribal but the vocals were produced and double-tracked. It almost felt as if the vocals were part of the production whereas with this record I think that there are going to be a lot more standalone performances.

Do you have a title for the album yet?

No, not yet (laughter). I have had some thoughts regarding the title but nothing is in place as yet.

This will be your first album to be totally funded by your fans. Does that put you under any added pressure?

I have to be honest and say yes it does. It is absolutely terrifying especially as quite a few people have already bought it (laughter). It is terrifying but absolutely brilliant. I am already speaking to the fans about the album which is amazing in the fact that they trust me that much in the first place. And then the whole PledgeMusic pre-order campaign has been amazing; it means that I can leak bits of the album out to the fans and I don’t have to go through anyone at the moment. It allows me to write something and put it straight on to the internet, and note the fans reaction to it (laughter). It’s great because it makes me want to write more material simply because I am not writing it then having to send it off to someone who will criticise it, then send it back to me.

I am really enjoying singing the new songs and so I film myself doing that and post it on the internet for the fans to see and up to yet they are all enjoying it saying ‘that’s awesome; we have never heard you playing stuff like that. We like that’, so I think that’s cool and I go away and write some more stuff like that (laughter). It kind of makes the whole process considerably more fun.

And in my past experience of PledgeMusic it’s fantastic for the fans because they feel so much more a part of the whole process.

Yes they do, they really do. I have always tried to involve the fans with my work and if anything, perhaps I took that too far with Human Love because I was live on the internet for five weeks but now that I am only leaking out small snippets I am finding it to be really fun to do that.

So do you think that the album will be ready for a summer release?

I think so, yes. Everything is running to schedule at the moment and so I am going to try to write the rest of the album whilst I am away touring Europe with Amy Macdonald. I like to write whilst I am out on the road, mainly in sound check. I love writing during the sound check (laughter).

So what made you take the leap from being signed with BMG to now doing it all yourself?

The honest answer to that is that I simply found that I didn’t need anyone (laughter). In some ways I don’t notice that I am on my own and in others it is so much better so I think that it is going to be alright (hysterical laughter).

Does it not frighten you not having that safety net of the record company anymore?

No, not really (laughter). I don’t think that I have ever used the safety net. If the safety net had been there and I haven’t touched it my whole career, then I don’t think that I need it anymore. The major plus for me being on my own is that I can work totally freely; doing whatever I want because there is literally no one that can tell me what to do anymore (laughter).

Is there not a danger that you could potentially drop into bad habits?

Well there is only one way to find out (laughter). It’s a big change in some ways whilst in others it just makes perfect sense.

Working on your own without the backing of a record company together with getting the funding for your work via PledgeMusic, do you see this as the way forward for both artists and the music business?

The record music business has literally changed every single week since I got into it. It is so massively fluctuating; people get power and then they lose power. One minute everything is about radio and then the other it is all about something like Spotify. The business is permanently in a state of constant flux. I make records that you can listen to from start to finish; I simply couldn’t do anything else, and I couldn’t make two singles and then sit back and put the telly on (laughter). That really is not how I think or work. I own a huge amount of vinyl and I love listening to an album from start to finish. Then I will pick up the next one and again, listen to it from start to end.

I am very much an album minded person. If it is obsolete then I am still going to do it (laughter). I love it to bits and I am not going to change simply because it is no longer considered to be totally cool.

I recently interviewed Grant Nichols from Feeder and he said that their fans are wanting them to release their new material on cassette tape.

Really, that’s fantastic and I have to say that I really do like the sound of a cassette tape. There is something quite warm when you listen to a cassette. In terms of mastering and mixing, I once tried to make my album sound as though it had been recorded totally on tape (laughter). At that time I didn’t like the way that mixes were going; everything was massively tinny, massively over compressed and not particularly pleasant to listen to. I didn’t like it so I started to look for something that was the opposite and so I tried tape where you don’t get a hard top end or a crazy bottom end either. In general, tape always feels nice and warm. It sounds a bit woolly but in a nice way so I recorded my album on tape (laughter).

You have briefly mentioned that you are about to go out on tour with Amy Macdonald. Are you looking forward to being back out on the road?

(Laughter) I am looking forward to it massively as I haven’t supported anyone for ages. It’s going to be great in Europe as Amy is massive over there in Germany;, massive. She is so big that she is almost like the Queen in Germany. Amy has been the biggest selling artist in Germany for the past ten years so as you can imagine the European tour is totally amazing. Also I know a lot of Amy’s people from doing other things so when I found out exactly who was in her crew I thought that it would be far too much fun for me to miss out on, so I simply had to agree to it (laughter).

Will you be playing any of the new songs from the forthcoming album?

Yes, I think I will, why not. I don’t have anyone to piss off anymore so why not (hysterical laughter).

Will you be playing any of the UK Festivals this summer?

I have a few lined up but what I will tell you is that I won’t be playing any of the really big festivals this year. The reason for this is that basically I feel that I overdid them; playing them for far too many years. What happens is if that you play them every year the organisers start to realise that you would probably be there even if they didn’t pay you, so you have to remind them that you like being there but you also like being paid (laughter). It’s always good not to do them every now and then and this year is one of those years for me.

You recently openly supported March4Women. What was it that drew you to that particular cause?

To me it is such an obviously good cause which the more you get into makes a huge amount of sense. I just thought that it was the kind of thing that I would like to be involved with. For me it really did make a huge amount of sense the more research I did into it.

When you cut your hair for the Get Free video was it a shock to your system?

It was utterly terrifying, and I have to tell you that I have never been that nervous before because there was no room for error; I couldn’t get it wrong. If I had cut it too short then I couldn’t do it again; it was all down to the one take (laughter). It was constantly going through my mind that every piece of hair that I cut that was the last time that I could cut that hair from being really long to being half the length. So yes it was utterly nerve-wracking and the most terrifying video that I have ever made (laughter). I still haven’t seen a video that I can imagine being that unpleasant to me.

Will you keep it short now?

Yes, I quite like it the way that it is. It really is far more convenient and much better for lots of things. The one thing that I do miss is the blindfold and cushion for when I am on planes and trains but I can always buy myself a blindfold and a cushion, I don’t have to grow them out of my own head (laughter).

What was the last song or piece of music that made you cry?

Oh no, this is quite embarrassing because it is something that I was working on today but it wasn’t my own music which sounds terrible (laughter). I tend to get carried away in the studio because I tend to work for hours and at times I get really tired. I was listening to a track and I thought that it sounded really pretty and it did bring a tear to me eyes. There are records that make me cry every time that I hear them, they never fail. I’m Still Here by Tom Waits off his Alice album which is really short, does something really strange to me. I don’t know why, but it gets to me every time. If it comes up on random play I have to skip it really fast before it takes hold.

On that note Newton let me once again thank you for taking the time to speak to me, it’s been a pleasure as always. Have a great time on the tour and I will see you here in Nottingham. Bye for now.

Not a problem Kevin, it’s always a pleasure. You take care and bye for now.

Newton Faulkner performing his Human Love Tour at Rock City Nottingham on Friday 15^th April 2016

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

It is not often that you see a man with just a guitar and a superb voice instantly captivate an audience, but Newton Faulkner managed to do it at Rock City on Friday night.

He took to the stage alone with just three spotlights for company, strapped on his guitar and took this packed crowd back in time to his debut album, Hand Built By Robots, with a sublime acoustic version of To The Light and a mesmerising, I Need Something.  With the crowd firmly in the palm of his hands, he showcased what he is best at; playing a guitar and singing his thought provoking lyrics.

He was joined on stage by Toby the drummer and his brother Toby for a more upbeat section of the show which included Step In The Right Direction and Clouds, as well as an exhilarating and exciting performance of Bricks.

Touring to promote his much acclaimed fifth studio album, Human Love, Faulkner gave some new songs an outing.   Up Up And Away showcased his brilliance on the guitar, whilst Passing Planes was an unbelievably powerful track that sent shivers down your spine, with its resounding monstrous rhythm.

This crowd were also treated to a couple of covers which were given the Faulkner treatment.  We had his incredible version of Massive Attack’s Teardrop and even Justin Beiber’s Sorry had this audience hanging onto every word.

Fans favourite, Dream Catch Me was delivered solo, but as the crowd were drawn in, the rest of the band slowly started to edge in and actually managed to enhance the performance with prominent bass lines and drum beats.  It was awesome.

Wrapping up the show with Orange Skies, he then conducted the audience into a medley of songs which included Green Day’s Basket Case.

Faulkner’s vocals remain outstanding, with a deep rich velvet undertone that allows him to deliver his lyrics to an audience who were spellbound by his charm, wit and charisma.  Before he even sung the first note of his set, he commanded the guitar in such a way that is rarely seen in mainstream music, and he makes it look ridiculously simple as well.

But it is his manner which is endearing.  Faulkner could so easily have been playing to a handful of people in someone’s living room or busking on a street corner.  He, however, invited this audience into his house, albeit last night it was Rock City.

Newton Faulkner, singer-songwriter, chats with Kevin Cooper about his musical inspirations, playing Johnny in Green Day’s American Idiot rock opera, his latest album Human Love and his current tour of the UK

Newton Faulkner is an English singer-songwriter and musician from Reigate, Surrey.  He is known for his percussive style of guitar playing.  In 2007 Faulkner’s debut studio album Hand Built By Robots was certified double platinum in the UK, having topped the charts in August of that year.  It was promoted by three singles, Dream Catch Me, I Need Something and Teardrop.  Dream Catch Me reached number seven in the UK Singles Charts.

Faulkner’s second studio album, Rebuilt by Humans, was released in 2009 and charted at number three in the UK Albums Chart.  The first single from the album was If This Is It.

An EP titled Sketches was released in April 2012, followed by third studio album Write It On Your Skin, which was released in July 2012 and reached number one in the UK Albums Chart.  Faulkner’s fourth album, Studio Zoo, was released in 2013 and reached number ten in the chart.  His fifth studio album, Human Love, was released in November 2015.

Earlier this year, Faulkner was cast as Johnny in the musical American Idiot, which is based on songs from the band Green Day.  He will play the role from 7^thMay until the UK tour ends at the Grand Opera House in Belfast on 2^nd July 2016.

Whilst currently on tour, he took time to have a chat with Kevin Cooper and this is what he had to say.

Newton good morning how are you today?

I’m very well indeed Kevin as I hope that you are to?

I’m great thank you for asking and let me just thank you for taking the time to speak to me today.

That’s ok I’m quite looking forward to this.

And I have to ask, how is life treating you at this moment in time?

Life at the moment is really good.  This tour is going really well as did the European leg so things are really good.  I truly cannot complain and it has been a really good few months.

You are now five dates into the tour, is all going well?

Yes it is, really well.  I have to say that Europe was the perfect setup for this.  We have a lighting guy out with us on this run who couldn’t be out with us in Europe and he was not happy about that (laughter).  He said that Europe was the strongest start to a tour that he could remember and he couldn’t be out there with us.  He was not amused (laughter).  The problem was that the UK tour dates were not immediately in our heads because there has only been a week between tours.  However I have to say that he has hit the ground running.

You are bringing the tour to Rock City here in Nottingham.  Do you enjoy the vibe that you get?

Yes I do as I have had some great gigs there.  Whenever I see Rock City on my list I think to myself that I have had some really great gigs there.  I really do like touring.

Has the dynamic changed on stage at all now that you are a three-piece?

If I am being honest with you the current setup is amazing, and for a three-piece we can make so much noise.  We have also got complete freedom as we are not using any backing tracks whatsoever on this tour.  Everything that you hear is all played live by the three of us which is great because as I have said, we really do make a great amount of noise (laughter).  Also we are using a load of sounds off the record so we have got access to loads of stuff so we are not feeling penned it which makes it really good fun.

I have to say that I am really enjoying the latest album Human Love.  Were you pleased with it?

That’s really nice of you to say Kevin, thank you I’m so pleased that you are enjoying it.  I must admit that I was really pleased with it.  The fan base absolutely loved it and it is the first time that they have ever said that it is the best thing that I have ever done.  Lots of them even comment that it is better than the first album.  The tricky bit now is getting it outside the fan base which is hard.  It is a real challenge these days because getting your record played on the radio is somewhat like playing Russian roulette, because there are absolutely no guarantees that whatever you do you are going to end up on the radio (laughter).  So yes, it is very interesting playing some fun and games.

Have you been introducing some of the new tracks off the album into the current tour?

Yes we have and we have thankfully found that the majority of the fans are quite happy with the current set list.  We have struck a really good balance between stuff from the previous albums together with the new one.  It is quite a good solid spread.  Having said that what we are finding is that the tracks off the new album are probably the most fun to play live.  The latest album was made for being played live whereas the others weren’t in some ways, because I knew exactly how I wanted this tour to be.  I knew who I wanted to use and I knew what I wanted them to be doing as soon as we started making the record.

So just who did you recruit to play with you on the current tour?

I have used Toby (Calling) who has played the drums on lots of stuff over the years.  Toby and I went to college together so I have known him for a long, long time; about fifteen years now.  I always knew that I wanted him to do it.  Since then I have thought that if Toby is doing that then my brother could do this, this and this and then we could do three-part harmonies.  So I had quite a definite plan for the whole thing.  The whole thing just sounds huge.  I was getting a big sound when it was just me on stage, so now that I have added in another couple of people who are all working as hard, with all of us multi-tasking; well it is quite simply a huge amount of fun.

Something like Passing Planes off the new album would have been impossible for me to have done it on my own.  Plus there is Up Up And Away which we all have to go completely mental on (laughter).

It all sounds as though you are having a little too much fun to me.

(Laughter) is that possible Kevin.

Shouldn’t touring be all about hard work (laughter)?

Of course touring is hard work (laughter) but I simply wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it (laughter).  The reason why I like it so much is that it is technically incredibly challenging, in fact there are bits of the set that are bordering on the impossible which is exactly the way that I like it.  There is a bit of my brain that I think has always gravitated towards the most difficult way of doing things I think, which is weird because I don’t know if people actually understand what it is that I am doing (laughter).  To be honest I don’t expect people to understand because it is weird and nice and complicated.  However I do think that they can feel the tension and know that there is an element of danger happening before their eyes (laughter).

Just picking up on something that you said about radio airplays, why do you think that the music business here in the UK have to pigeon hole everyone?

I know exactly what you are saying Kevin and I personally feel that it all comes out of the BBC’s PR and not the artists PR.  The whole business is now all about converging demographics.  A part of me thinks that I should understand but another part of me is absolutely certain that I don’t really want to (laughter).  If I understood exactly what it was that I had to do then I would do that but I don’t think that I would really mean it.  So you would gain something by it but you would probably lose more by doing that.  It’s rather depressing Kevin because when you get to that point it is no longer about music, it is all about the maths; it is that calculated.  I would much rather do stuff that I like, and not simply make stuff that is safe.

I want to make music that some of the people are going to absolutely hate just so long as some of the other people will absolutely love it.  If that is the case then I’m fine (laughter).  What you don’t want is for everyone to say it’s alright (laughter).  That for me is the worst case scenario.

Where do you take your inspiration from?

Musically, my inspiration comes from all types of stuff, including my rather old vinyl collection (laughter).  In fact I have bought loads of vinyl albums whilst we have been travelling around on this tour.  For example I am currently listening to a brilliant South African classical guitarist called Derek Gripper.  He plays the music of Mali on a classical guitar.  I listen to loads of stuff almost as research.  My parent’s record collection obviously had a massive influence upon me and just how my brain works and that was Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Crosby Stills And Nash and the whole Californian sound.  They didn’t go too heavy and I seem to recall that the heaviest thing in their collection was a Steppenwolf album (laughter).

As I got older I started finding stuff for myself and the first handful of bands which I really got into were Green Day, Radiohead and The Presidents Of The United States Of America.  I always forget just how much I absolutely love them to bits (laughter).  I feel that they have definitely influenced my writing to a certain degree because I have always done some stuff that is slightly stupid and that is definitely from them.  They are incredible musicians as well; they are such good players.  I actually got to meet them at The Sasquatch! Music Festival Launch in Washington State and they were amazing.  I don’t like bands that take themselves too seriously.

When I got into playing I started listening to players such as Nick Harper, John Martyn and on both levels Joni Mitchell.  And then when I actually started making records I started looking more into the production side of things, I found myself listening to things from a production point of view.  From that point of view, for me, I still think that Cornelius who is a Japanese recording artist and producer certainly does it for me.  I have been fortunate to work with him twice now and I absolutely love his production style.  I would call his work Landscape Art and it is absolutely beautiful.  I would love to work with him again to be honest.

I have to keep my ear to the ground so I obviously listen to some of the pop stuff that is out there.  However it is just a little bit to see what is going on (laughter).  I have to own up and say that I think that the last couple of things that Justin Bieber has released have been absolutely amazing.  From a pure pop writing point of view it’s like shit this is really good (laughter).  There is always people out there making amazing music; it is the industry which changes and makes you think that it’s all one way, but the music never changes.  There will always be rock bands rocking out really hard in some dingy bar; there will always be guys crying into the microphone with an acoustic guitar somewhere else, and there will be super-weird bands doing all sorts of stuff all over the place (laughter).  The trick is finding them.

Are you constantly writing?

No I definitely stop and start.  In that respect my writing is quite patchy.  I seem to be on a weird cycle most of the time.  It starts with a listening phase where I am hungry to find new stuff and when I will listen to as much stuff as I can.  Then I harvest it into my brain and then after that I will write a whole batch of stuff, perhaps five or six songs.  Then I usually stop for a while and go back into my guitar technique when I try to improve my playing.  From there I will practice my singing and try to improve my vocals by pushing my voice really hard (laughter).  I have done a lot of work on my voice in order to be able to push it really hard whilst not hurting myself which is surprisingly easy to do.

Obviously with this album I just started thinking about what to do next because I quite like a starting point.  It’s that Brian Eno kind of thing about just one rule will glue the whole thing together.  Otherwise you find yourself simply staring at a blank page especially with the sort of things that I do because there don’t appear to be any rules at all.  But it does seem to be the case that I can do whatever I want (laughter).  The tricky bit is working out exactly what it is that you want to do next (laughter).  Once you have got a theory or a couple of rules then you find that everything simply starts falling into place.

Is it melody first or lyrics first?

I don’t have a system because I almost don’t want a system.  I remember listening to someone who had a system for song writing describe the way that they wrote and it sounded really boring (laughter).  They just did the same thing every time and I was thinking what every time, come on (laughter).  I like pushing myself outside of my comfort zone in as many ways as is possible.

After the huge commercial success of your first album Hand Built By Robots back in 2007 were you ever daunted by the task of following it with your second album?

Not really Kevin, I didn’t have the time as I was so busy (laughter).  With the second album there was quite a fast turnaround as well.  I had been out on the road for two years and I have to say that the first album was a really good starting point.  I have to say that it has got some good stuff on it (laughter).  The success of the first album was almost completely down to luck more than judgement simply because I didn’t know what I was doing (laughter).  I was just blagging my way back then as I still am to a certain degree.  You can never really know music; it is just a constant revolving mystery which is amazing and a wonderful thing to be part of (laughter).

Are you managing to behave yourself on this tour?

This really is a quite different tour for me because at the moment I am managing to remain spectacularly well behaved which is actually really nice (laughter).  I haven’t been hungover once and I honestly don’t think that I will.  I think that I am going to stay on the right side of that on this one.  I will go straight on to other things after this tour so I won’t stop.

On the subject of other things, you are going to be playing Johnny in Green Day’s rock opera American Idiot.  Are you looking forward to that?

Yes most definitely Kevin but I am absolutely terrified (laughter).  But I am definitely looking forward to it.  It’s a whole new shenanigan for me (laughter).

What was the last song that made you cry?

That would have been I’m Still Here by Tom Waits from his album Alice.  It’s only one minute and twenty seconds long, it’s a tiny little thing but beautiful.  That is a song that gets me quite often.  It takes me by surprise.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

To be honest it feels like I am on a constant highlight reel (laughter).  I am just having a really good time.  Joking aside a real highlight is when I get to play at the really big festivals such as Glastonbury and the Isle Of Wight.  Festivals are particular fun.

Festivals or smaller intimate gigs?

I honestly don’t really have a preference.  It’s a bit like the weather, I like a bit of everything (laughter).  I could never just do one, I would always want to play them both.  One of my favourite times was when I was traveling backwards and forwards between the UK and America a lot.  I would play to five people in a bar in San Francisco and then come back to the UK and play in front of ten thousand (laughter).  It involved such different disciplines.  It was really fun.

On that note Newton let me thank you for taking the time to speak to me.  And I am looking forward to seeing you at Rock City.

It’s been an absolute pleasure Kevin.  Take care and I will see you there.