Jack Peñate

His next step could lead anywhere…

It’s a million miles from South London (well, thousands), but even in Texas the charms of this budding troubadour have proved irresistible. With only two singles under his belt, interest in Jack Penate is already palpable and he stands on the brink of greatness. But, as Clash soon learnt, his next step could lead anywhere…

Word, they say, spreads. Which must go some way to explaining why Jack has just left the stage at Clash’s SXSW party to the sound of nearly a thousand curious musos eagerly applauding their latest discovery, glad they listened to reason and came to check him out instead of the myriad silliness that goes on in Austin. His performance, also watched by close friends Jamie T and Adele, was sandwiched between six other high-profile breaking bands, but still his name resounded in exalted whispers for the duration of the festival, a true mark of quality.

Sitting across the road from the venue in a rare moment of SXSW tranquillity, Jack – resplendent in his brand new dazzling shamrock Nike Airs – surveys the satisfied faces of those leaving. “I decided that while I’m doing this I always want a show to be really energetic and I wanted, for me, to work hard when I play,” he says, winding down. “It’s great for me because it means that I won’t allow myself to do a show where I feel I haven’t given every single thing of me.”

It’s worked so far. Already the snowball that is Jack’s career has rolled from tiny gigs around London, through support slots with friends Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen, to an unprecedented mammoth UK tour, preaching his self-described indie-soul to the population, but the daily grind of being on the move is not about to bring him down. “One thing I’m really proud of is that we are really enthusiastic and never pessimistic,” he says of his band, which is completed by friends Joel and Alex on bass and drums respectively. “We are always excited about things. If it’s a Sunday night in Swindon we’ll somehow make a wicked night of it. We are never like, ‘Fuck this!’ We are always up for it. Every experience is great.”

Fortunately for this eager beaver, it’s likely to continue in this upward trajectory. His two singles, although limited to only 1000 copies each, were rapturously received by critics and fans alike. “I believe in working for what you get,” he says. “I’m so much more for building it up as long as possible so we’ve got a real healthy group of people who will always love it whatever.” This organic approach, and the idea of supplying each copy with a self-portrait Polaroid is, he explains, the Young Turks ethic.

Young Turks, Jack says, is “a friendship group who put on nights or DJ’d or played music. It was kind of like an art collective to be part of”, the inspiration of his friend Caius Pawson. The pair put out his debut single ‘Second, Minute Or Hour’, which fell into the midst of the most ridiculous of major label bidding scrums. “It was crazy. I didn’t enjoy it at all,” he confesses. “I found it a really awkward period. It was very surreal. It all happened so quickly.” He continues: “I remember at one point me nearly crying one day when I literally had 80 phone calls. It was 5 people from each label who were trying to get me.” Following his heart in the end, his decision to go with XL Records was based on their artistic freedoms and Jack’s urge to evolve his music, which he clearly saw was shared by their impressive roster – Devandra Banhart, Dizzee Rascal, MIA, The White Stripes. As fate decreed, Caius also found a job at XL, and the pair released the second single, ‘Spit At Stars’, with the major funding the ongoing DIY spirit.

I won’t allow myself to do a show where I feel I haven’t given every single thing of me.

Jack’s imminent album, however, will be his first release proper on XL, and he’s a clear vision of how it should be received. “I want it to be respected. I feel like I’ve worked really hard to get where I am now through graft and getting people’s attention, and I feel hopefully now that I’ve got your attention that I can show now what I’ve got there, and I really do think that there’s more.”

There’s that desire to evolve again. He’s not fickle, more that he’s impatient to the influx of inspiration that dawns on him recurrently. One song, ‘When We Die’ – slated to be the album closer – was recorded with Jack alone in a church with an acoustic guitar. “It’s a song about how you’ll be when you’re dead, your own funeral. I’m interested in death. I find it a great subject to bring up because it scares a lot of people and it’s the funniest thing ever. I remember playing that song to my mum and she was like, “Why do you do this to me?”” he laughs. “I’ve got songs which are kind of folky in a way. I really want to make beautiful music. My heroes are Jeff Buckley, he’s my absolute hero, and I love people like Leadbelly, people with real soul, Otis Redding, people who make fuckin’ beautiful music. My aim is to get to that.”

The future for Jack Penate is one with no restraints. His biggest fear, he admits, is being trapped in a sound he can’t move out of. “Or you’re just a fuckin’ unbelievable songwriter so you can carry on using that sound,” he adds. “You know, like The Rolling Stones. Actually, they changed, they did a lot of stuff, but there’s a fundamental sound to them. But they just write ridiculously amazing songs, do you know what I mean? That’s fine, but I dunno if I’ve got that skill yet, so I just wanna change sound while I can. I’ve got a lot of time, man,” he says, before ironically dashing off, late to see his mate Kid Harpoon in action across town.

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