Ahead of hitting the road to celebrate and promote his 8th studio album Octopus, I caught up with Newton Faulkner to chat about the making of the record, how the recording process has changed over the years and where he’s most excited about performing on his UK tour.
I was at home in my office, stressing that my internet connection was not stable and either of us could slip into ‘Dalek mode’ at any given time, Newton on the other hand looked cool, calm and composed in his home studio, surrounded by guitars, keyboards and other musical wizardry. I opened up the conversation by reminding him that we had met briefly at Boardmasters Festival in Newquay in mid-August where we pestered him for some photographs ahead of his performance overlooking the picturesque Watergate Bay. He asked if we wanted him to take his top off for the shots, we looked at each other rather perplexed until a massive grin appears on his face, I wonder if any other photographers took him up on his offer? Newton explained that it was never his intention to get topless and he used this type of response in order to diffuse any awkwardness that might be in the air. We got the shots we needed, he kept his top on and we continued to watch his show which was timed perfectly with the sun setting over the cliffs of Watergate Bay as he ran through his repertoire.
Octopus was released 18 years after his debut Hand Built by Robots which landed in July 2007, I asked Newton if he thought back in the day that he’d still be around nearly 20 years later, continuing to put out new music. He laughed and said that he did as there was nothing else that he really wanted to do. The only other option was to become a fisherman which he didn’t really like the idea of.
I was keen to learn if Newton was a ‘hands on’ kinda guy when it came to being in the studio and with a wry smile, he chatted about how his label at the time (he thinks it was for album #4), filled his house with cameras and recording equipment that captured his every move via a live stream. A brave venture by all accounts as he explained, there were many people who would have been watching the live stream wondering what an earth he was doing! Many would have been questioning WHY he was doing what he was doing and despite living under ‘Truman Show’ conditions, he managed to get through the process relatively unscathed, having learned a bunch of new tricks in the process.
Having just wrapped up a hectic week of in store performances up and down the country, I was interested to get his take on these more personal appearances where there was no stage curtain to hide behind, allowing the fans to see everything, warts n’ all. Newton laughed and agreed that they really do make you face the fans without any barricades in the way. He said that when you get to play to a large audience (1000+) you treat them as one organism, one people, like a huge throbbing mass, they rise together, they react together and you can easily see where the gig is going. When it comes to being in a small room with a hundred or so people, you can’t help but look around the room, trying to see what type of people you’re dealing with, has he come with her? did she really want to be here? is she thinking about that to have for dinner after the show? he smiled as he rattled off the many instances that he thought of whilst on the small stage. An interesting concept, but not one that he shies away from, the fans are after all what makes an artist so he had nothing but thanks and adoration for those that follow his music.
We chatted about his forthcoming 19 date tour of the UK and Ireland and I asked if there was anywhere on the tour map that he was excited about playing? He told me of a time in the early days when he was supporting a band in Truro, Cornwall and owing to a delay with their flight, they arrived literally minutes before taking to the stage. Newton had played his set and was asked if he would carry on playing to fill the time before the main act took to the stage, luckily, he had some more songs in his bag that he hadn’t performed and was happy to do so. He played ‘Teardrop’ at the show (cover of Massive Attack’s classic) and he said that many people couldn’t believe that it was just him performing the song on stage, alone. After the show, he was challenged about it and many fans questioned whether there was another musician backstage, helping with the song, there wasn’t and despite pleading his innocence, it got people talking, people told their friends, they told their friends and before you knew it, he was the hottest ticket in town. To summarise, he owes a lot of his career to those people at the Truro gig that got so many people talking years ago after his extended performance there. Sadly, he is not taking in Truro on this tour but he will be playing in Exeter, which is the nearest venue to Cornwall so maybe there’ll be some fans from back in the day flying his flag in the front row!
Supporting him on his UK and Ireland tour will be two artists ‘Nati’ and ‘Marie Naffah’, Newton was involved in the selection of both of these rather than the record label selecting them on his behalf. He went on to say that Nati has been on the road with him a few times and always brings her ‘A-Game’, so much so, he watches from the wings, quietly panicking that she really is giving it 110% and making him up his game to stand that little bit taller than her on stage when it comes to his performance. Marie Naffah is a London based singer-songwriter who creates music to fulfil 3 things, The privacy of process, The power of performance and The promise of real community. Newton was excited about having her on his tour and said that her shows are thrilling and that everyone should make the effort to get there early to catch both acts if they can.
Being on the road can cause havoc with your day to day routine and knowing that Newton is a creature of habit, I asked him how touring affects his routine. He added that over the years he has really learned to travel as minimally as possible. He shared a story about supporting The Kings of Leon a few years back and whilst their crew was loading in the gear, he saw something that looked like a wardrobe being wheeled in, he followed the team into the dressing room where they opened it up, revealing just about every gaming console available, complete with controllers and enough games to keep an army amused for many months. Whilst he has no desire to play video games on tour, he was rather jealous of this! To ensure that he stays sane, he takes very little with him, he explained that he meditates at least 3 times a day whilst on tour, once in the morning, before the show and shortly after his performance, this keeps him balanced and on top form. He also mentioned that he takes a rope device with him which he did explain in detail how it worked but I can’t recall them for you here. Regardless, he gets by with very little and as long as he has a comfortable bed and a shower, he is happy.
I asked him about sight seeing, and whether he was planning time out to catch up with his surroundings, he admitted that he does have quite a tight routine that doesn’t really allow for much downtime between arriving at the venue, loading in, sound-checking, preparing for the show and relaxing and reflecting after it, though he will make an effort to try and get out and about and see what the towns and cities on his tour map have to offer.
Newton has a longstanding relationship with the Teenage Cancer Trust charity and I asked him how this has been central to his campaign and how the charity has shaped his perspective on music’s role beyond entertainment, he said that the work that the do at Teenage Cancer Trust is amazing and really made him take notice and understand how musicians and bands can help to get involved. He himself has played many times at the Royal Albert hall events over the past few years but most memorable for him was his hair shaving event that happened in 2024 onstage in Islington, where, armed with a pair of clippers, his family assisting in ridding him of his trademark dreadlocks that he has cultivated for many years. I asked him if it was a symbolic gesture of ‘leaving the past behind’ or whether they were just annoying him and he wanted them off for good! He smiled and said that he doesn’t miss the locks and there would be no chance on earth that he would ever considering growing any back in the future, take from that what you will!
Ahead of closing, I asked what advice Newton had for young musicians or bands who were on the first rungs of the ladder, he pondered for a moment before saying that there are so many factors these days to contend with, social media, algorithms, streaming services, it’s quite overwhelming so his advice would be to control what you have the power to control, there are many things out there where you don’t or won’t have the power over but do what you can to get by and don’t wait for someone else to do things for you, carve your own path, don’t settle for someone delaying your progress because it doesn’t suit their timeline, find your own way and regardless of whether you ‘make it’ or not, you’ll be a whole lot happier as a result.
Catch Newton Faulkner celebrating and promoting his 8th studio album Octopus at the following dates and venues, tickets are available HERE and for everything else, visit his WEBSITE
OCTOBER
Sat 11 Isle Of Wight Strings Bar
Mon 13 Norwich Waterfront
Tue 14 Manchester O2 Academy 3
Wed 15 Cardiff Globe
Thu 16 Birmingham O2 Academy 3
Sat 18 Exeter Lemon Grove
Sun 19 Bath Komedia
Mon 20 Cambridge Junction
Wed 22 Leeds Lending Room
Thu 23 Newcastle Think Tank
Sat 25 Aberdeen OGV Podium
Sun 26 Glasgow SWG 3
Tue 28 Liverpool Arts Club Theatre
Wed 29 Leicester O2 Academy 2
Thu 30 London Camden Dingwalls
NOVEMBER
Thu 13 Belfast Limelight 1
Fri 14 Portrush Atlantic Sessions
Sat 15 Dublin Ambassador
Sun 16 Cork Cyprus Avenue
