Before we watched Jack Garratt‘s electric set on the Sunday of Barn On the Farm Festival, we took to the cornfields to have a little chat with the bearded man himself. The interview was fast flowing and high energy as Jack was preparing for his set, admiring Mumford & Sons, making lightsaber noises, and designating his new band name.
Jack! How’s it going?
Aaaaah it’s all a bit crazy really.
Haha, well we’re massive fans of your music and we have a few questions to ask you.
Oh thank you so much, that really does mean a lot! Fantastic, GO.
Slightly random we know, but if you had to be an animal what would you be?
What would I be? Hmm, could it be an infusion of two put together? Because then I’d be a cheetah cross chameleon. I like to think the speed at which I work is the speed of a cheetah – I like to work really fast and in a very intense environment but I refuse to stick to one certain sound or path or drum line. I need to try and be the chameleon. A chameleon sized… no! A cheetah with the attributes of a chameleon!
Yeah a chameleon sized cheetah would be a bit weird…
It’s like “Would you rather be chased by one duck sized horse or 100 horse sized ducks?”. Hold on wait…it’s the other way round. One duck sized horse would be easy.
Duck sized horses definitely. So, if you had to change your band name what would you change it to?
Ok so the answer is ‘viola! W A T E R F A L L’ because it’s an incredible band name. I actually have a list on my phone of all the band names I’m collecting.
But you stuck with ‘Jack Garratt’?
Yeah I stuck with it. Well they’re not for me, it’s just a list of terrible band names that are the best band names in the world.
Alright, out of all of the people playing this festival, who would you snog, marry or avoid?
Well ok, so here’s the problem… can I… right, I’d marry all 3 of The Staves. Hmm who else is here?
We’ve got Kimberly Anne, Sunset Sons… they said they actually want to marry you.
Aww that’s very cute, bless ’em. I would… ah god now it gets awkward. Amber Run! Right, there we go I’d snog every member of Amber Run and I’d avoid Alex Vargas because he’s my best mate and I see him all of the time.
Strong choices. You’re stuck on a desert island and you get 3 songs. Which ones do you choose?
Three songs? Fucking hell. Ok I’d get the album version of ‘Let’s Dance’ from David Bowie’s record Let’s Dance, which I think is 8 1/2 minutes long. So that’s one which is super long and I’d probably do the same trick with a Stevie Wonder track but I’m trying to think which one it would be…Oh yes-‘Living For The City’ the original album recording which is 9 minutes long. And then I just need an absolute tune. I’m totally digging ‘Pain Goes Away’ by REFS at the moment so I’d take that with me. It’s super downbeat smooth electronic, the dudes voice is incredible, the production is unbelievable- it’s super good go find it.
Talking of being isolated, do you find it hard being away from home when you’re touring all of the time?
Yeah man, it really sucks. I’m currently in the process of moving which makes it even worse because the whole of August I’m going to be totally homeless. It’s kinda difficult because I’m going to be on the road with Mumford & Sons whilst trying to move.
What an amazing opportunity though! Your music is quite the contrast to the Mumford boys.
Yeah in a roundabout way I kinda know a couple of the guys and I know they’re fans of my stuff. I haven’t hung out with them a lot but they just reached out and asked if I’d come and do some shows with them. More than anything I just totally love their attitude about music. For a band of that size to have gone to the strengths of which they’ve gone to and then go “btw we’re going to change everything you’ve ever known about us”, the move is ballsy as hell and I have to respect that. And also they’re absolute lads, so to go and spend time with them is a genuine honour and privilege.
Now you’re going to be on tour with them, do you have any weird pre-performance rituals they should know about?
I’m trying to think what I do that’s weird. Whenever I’m on tour I always have a very high energy level just because my show is so intense and I can’t afford to be tired. There’s so much travelling too that I have to make sure my crew is on the same energy level that I am, which my entire crew lovessss and doesn’t get totally annoyed or bored by… So because of that I find sound effects and impressions etc to do. I just recently found out I can do a lightsaber noise *cue incredible lightsaber sound effect*
Holy crap that was amazing!
I know, right? Apart from that I don’t really have any rituals except the fact I jump up and down a fuck tonne. I have something I wear on my neck which stays with me 24/7. It was a gift I got when I was in LA recently, I keep it round my neck at all times. It’s something that stays close to me and I freak out if I don’t have it with me. Other than that… I just go on stage and rock it.
You have that charisma so it totally works. Best of luck for tonight Jack, you’ll absolutely smash it and thanks again for coming to talk to us!
Fran Welch
@francescaewelch
Fran Welch
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