Written and recorded while in isolation, ‘How Lucky We Are’ sees him continue the bright and atmospheric stripped-back direction he is making a firm reputation for. With his distinct vocal range layered effortlessly across sweeping acoustic guitar melodies, this new delight makes for a wonderfully warm and inviting return from an artist that has been making strong leaps these last few months.
So with his new single warming our hearts at every turn, we sat down with Jacko Hooper to find out more about his new release and what he has planned for the future.
Words by Chris Bound
Discovered via http://musosoup.com
Chris) Hi Jacko, how are you today?
Jacko) All good thank you, getting into a rhythm with the lockdown situation now so I’m in good shape.
For those that haven’t heard of you yet, how would you best describe your sound and who have been your biggest influences so far?
I try to be as honest as I can with my music; I’ve never really felt comfortable being listed as a ‘folk’ artist or even really a ‘singer-songwriter’ in the traditional sense… I write the music that I feel I need to. My influences vary but at the moment I’m listening to a lot of Death Cab, Pinegrove, James Vincent McMorrow and I’ve found myself revisiting the Damien Rice debut again because, well, how can you not?
You have just released your new single ‘How Lucky We Are’. Can you tell us how that track came about?
I wrote this track during the opening couple of weeks into lockdown, when things were feeling extremely uncertain and anxiety was high… That and you couldn’t get loo roll.
I had recently moved to a new flat and then found myself quarantining in it, which was unusual to say the least. I would go for my daily walk (government approved, of course) and found myself capturing a lot of photos and videos of architecture in the new area that I had moved into. The song came together quite quickly as I was writing about the situation we had all found ourselves in and what it meant to me. Putting the track to the imagery that I had been capturing during these walks seemed the perfect opportunity to make it into a lyric video.
And was there a particular style you were looking for when you wrote it?
Not really, I didn’t set out with any particular tone in mind but it very quickly became clear to me that it needed to be extremely stripped back. It’s a song about wanting those that you love in your life, to be able to not be alone and yet thankful for what I have and how fortunate I am to have people I miss in my life… The song needed to reflect this thought provoking and quiet alone time that was the start of lockdown. Vocals and an electric guitar felt fitting.
Can we expect a new EP, or even an album from you in the near future?
Not in the immediacy, this year I’ve released three singles and a track as part of a compilation album and I’ve got two releases to go (at least). My main focus at the moment is to release regularly and then work towards an album.
The coronavirus outbreak has obviously affected everyone’s plans, but what have you got in store for the rest of the year?
Getting these tracks out… I’m aiming at releasing a new song every two months this year. So far, so good. It’s obviously horrible to not be playing live but at the same time, I haven’t had months at a time to solely write and record for a long time and I don’t imagine it’ll happen again anytime soon so I’m making the most of it.
And finally, what advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in music today?
Enjoy it, otherwise you’re screwed - And good luck!