You tackled a behemoth of a song in Massive Attack’s Teardrop – but it worked out well for you don’t you think?
Yeah, I knew the risk I was taking when I started working on it. Doing it live was one thing but when I was asked to record it I was genuinely terrified. It’s such a deeply loved song. Luckily everyone kinda liked it. Which was nice.
You’ve got a lot of fans in the South West and slot nicely into the scene down here, why do you think that is?
I have no idea. I remember the first gig I did in the general area, I’d been playing lots in london and people were getting it but it was taking a few songs, first chord down here and you guys were in.
Folk is having a bit of a resurgence in the UK at the moment, who are your fave folk acts?
Mumford and Sons have to be up there and there are so many amazing acoustic players around at the moment. Gareth Pearson’s particularly good. I’ve been in a bit of a recording bubble so there’s probably a whole bunch of the new things I’m currently unaware of.
Your influences are quite varied, are there any which you think might surprise people? If so, what are they?
I’m trying to work out if there’s a difference between stuff I listen to and my influences. Kool Keith I listen to a lot but I don’t think I can call him an influence, unless it’s an incredibly subtle one..
Have any other musicians named you as an influence? If so, who? And how do you feel about this?
It’s one of the biggest compliments you can get, there’s a few around.
Tell us about your new release ‘Sketches’, what is it all about?
Sketches is an EP that’s out on May 20. It’s got an album track, an acoustic version of an album track and two things that were really good but didn’t fit anywhere. The album’s going to be called, Write It On Your Skin. It’s much more raw than the first two, I recorded a bunch of it at home which definitely changes the vibe. I’m really proud of the songs and built a good little team with me, my brother and Sam Farrah, who also produced it too.
What’s the best sketch you’ve ever seen?
The Da Vinci’s take a lot of beating.
If you could sketch anything…what would it be and why?
I’d draw things the way you actually see them with one focused point and all the weird doubles and triples of everything you get around the outside. Would be hard though.
Newton Faulkner plays Bristol’s O2 Academy on May 5 as part of Bristol Folk Festival. Tickets £16adv from www.seetickets.com
