Jake Flowers : Feature

“In terms of popularity, it would be relatively nice; there is a line in a King Creosote song, I think it’s ‘I’m hoping I might just get by’ and that’s kind of the deal really, to be able to survive relatively comfortably from my music.” This kind of realistic yet humble statement is just one of many that come from Jake Flower’s mouth during the time I speak to him. The Shropshire based singer/songwriter is beginning to cause a storm in the music scene with his combination of U.S 70s style folk (“what’s inspired me most is the stuff my Dad played during car journeys... Paul Simon, James Taylor”) and contemporary lyrics and it’s easy to see why.

Already having received support from DJs like Janice Long and Russell Kane and influential publications like the Manchester Evening News (who described his vocals as conjuring up images of Cat Stevens or Pete Seeger) as well as being played on a host of commercial radio stations, recent events have been helping to ensure that the only thing that can come Jake’s direction in the future is success.

Jake comes across in interview the same way he does in his music, intelligent, honest and versatile. He studied Philosophy and literature at University during which time he truly developed his love for folk music. After graduating he carried on song-writing, “I also set up a little label called Shackleram Records, through which I put out a couple of things early on.” This was followed by his first album ‘The Rooster’ and an E.P, from which a song was picked to feature on a folk complication album entitled ‘The Crow Club’ - a compilation compiled by and named after a small London club he used to play in. 

Jake’s manager Sarah (from Concrete recordings) recalls the story of how he became signed and what she thinks makes him so unique. “We first discovered Jake on the Glastonbury Festival Emerging Talent list, compiled by Q Magazine and passed to us by the Festival Office for consideration for our Late N Live venue.  We'd been trawling through many, many bands and there was something refreshingly immediate about his music... each song has a strength both in the storyline and the structure. Lyrically, he is clearly learned and articulate with a command of the English language so rare in these days of frenzied pace and text-like jargon. Jake's insight into human nature is astounding for one so young.”

Jake sources his influences as ranging from “the obvious, Dylan, Neil Young and Tom Waits” to more left-field artists such as The Fleece Brothers who he describes as “pretty much” his favourite band.

In many respects it would be fair to say Jake fits the traditional folk mould very well. He defies the latest fashions in favour of what he feels comfortable in,  has long wavering hair and lives in a remote part of the U.K away from all the hustle and bustle of city life. “It is really in the middle of no-where , the nearest village is a ten minute drive, and it’s a few miles walk to a bus stop... its pretty remote.” Jake also believes his location strongly effects his song-writing. “The pace of my songs and the pace of my song-writing is quite relaxed really”, although Flowers himself believes that due to his lifestyle, this may attract a lot of people to his music, “I think people might possibly use my music as an element of escapism”.

Flowers is refreshingly frank about the music scene around him and seems fully aware of the kind of music he could be labelled with “there are a lot of people who are more alternative at the moment...I think that can be an excuse for being a bit crap”. What is so interesting about the singer himself is how observant and aware he is of people around him and the industry he is in, yet seems completely unaware of how talented he is. He speaks frequently of how talented the musicians he admires are (he speaks of The Killers, very frequently of The Fleece Brothers and describes Mumford and Sons and also Karima Francis as amazing), yet never really acknowledges his own talent, merely commenting that “I don’t think anyone else is doing quite what I am doing”. 

His dedication to the concept of his live shows is also an aspect of Jakes craft that he takes very seriously, “I am always looking for ways to make the set more interesting...so many song-writers just sit or stand and play..I think it’s worth a bit more effort to try and make your set a bit more interesting”

Flower’s writes from an autobiographical view but retains that he is more of a storyteller then a lyricist, “I think my lyricism is... a bit more story-telling, a bit more literary”. In Flower’s songs he often writes about things that have happened in his life that he has found interesting or unusual such as in his song ‘Fireworks’.  There is a song based on a local fireworks robbery near his home, however the song is romanticised through it’s subtext, which instead tells the story of a couples’ relationship through creating beautiful metaphorical verses to describe it - 'the couple home/over suffering hush tones/ I swear the spark had flown from their lives’.  Although perhaps that could be perceived as a little twee (something Jake himself is very much against), but on further listens it becomes clear that his song-writing abilities are far to established for it to ever head in that direction.

While Jake may not be the biggest name around at the moment he is guaranteed to be a household name very soon.  He is bringing something new to the industry that has not been seen for a long time, as an honest, unpretentious songwriter that doesn’t feel the need to write conventionally about subjects such as love, but instead tells stories of them in his own imaginative way.

His plans for the future? “I will probably do a bit more recording, and spend some more time writing... I plan to get a few more people on board working with me as well.”

He has a string of dates coming up this year and a host of festivals so there is no excuse to miss out on his talent. In the words of Jake “I would like to be just a lot more known basically, but things are moving forward, the pace is definitely accelerating”


Words: Kevin Angel

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