Name: Newton Faulkner

Profession: Singer / Songwriter

Latest Project: New album Human Love release date November 20th

Did you have certain expectations that you wanted to fulfil on this fifth album?

I was motivated by a certain mood when I wrote the album, I knew I wanted lighting on stage to perform and for it to be dark and loud with electric guitars thrown in alongside the acoustic guitar.

Was the symbolic concept of cutting off your dreadlocks at the beginning of the ‘Get Free’ video emotional?

It was emotional, it took a lot of years to grow my hair, probably about 15 years. It was definitely the most terrifying music video I’ve ever done because you can’t mess it up and do it again … it was a dangerous idea. It’s a new label and a new sound for me so it’s definitely symbolic.

Which is the most revealing track on the album and why?

Break is a song I find quite hard to play – it really gets to me. I don’t know how some artists play those incredibly painful songs – I can’t figure out whether it’s brave or kind of crazy.

Tell us about some of the exciting collaborations that we can expect on the album?

Well there is quite a few, I worked on Stay and Take with Tessa Rose Jackson, it was actually a session for her but we both liked the track a lot so we’re both gonna use it. I worked with Nick Ruth and Sam Farrar on Up Up and Away. I also did a track with Empire of the Sun, which sonically is probably the biggest step away from my usual style – they’re such amazing electronic producers and their whole approach is very different to the way I’m used to working – they just go those guys, they’re very fast and spontaneous and the way they reworked the track we recorded was really really good!

What direction do you think pop music is taking now, which style or genre is do you think is currently emerging?

I think bands are on the way up again which is cool, electric guitar seems to be very present right now even if it is not the main focus, so we’ll see how far that goes.

What was the first song that you listened to today?

My brother was playing the bass line to a Cypress Hill song this morning … so that was probably the first song I heard when I got up.

The last book you read?

The Incomplete Tim Key, which is a collection of poems, before that it was Murakami 1Q84 and I’ve just started East of Eden, I love Steinbeck.

The last exhibition that you visited?

I went to the Horiman with my son. He really liked the plant room, but the music instrument room he didn’t even care about?!

If you had to do a collaboration with a brand at the moment who would you choose and why?

I own a nice Kooples suit and I like their campaigns and I wear YMC in my music video – so perhaps those two brands.

Lastly how have you enjoyed your album launch this evening at Tape London?

It’s been awesome, really amazing the performance space is awesome and the sound is great you can really feel it through the floor.