Photography: Miles Holder

Words: Sammie Caine

With a stark sense of honesty to his music and a clear talent for songwriting, YUNGBLUD has emerged on the music scene and is certainly one to watch. Not only does YUNGBLUD offer music sure to get stuck in your head (including ‘I Love You, Will You Marry Me’), but he also delivers a message with his lyrics and an energy set to get you dancing along at a gig.

Following the release of his self-titled EP, FAULT had the chance to catch up with YUNGBLUD ahead of the exciting year he has before him.

 

So, the YUNGBLUD EP is finally out! How does it feel getting to release it to the world?

It’s pretty amazing. I think it’s kind of the first body of work that I’ve got to put out that represents what’s been going on in my head. Right now the world is such a confusing place for young people – I think we are such a clever, clued up generation and see a future and world that we want to live in, but it’s been held back by a generation that aren’t necessarily ready for the world to go there yet or just don’t understand us.

I didn’t agree with that; do you know what I mean? Me and a lot of my friends were angry and it’s just been so amazing to kind of use my music as an outlet to talk about shit like that, because I think everything right now is so safe and it’s amazing to have [the EP] out and to kind of allow people to go to it and just know exactly who I am as an artist. Yeah man, it’s exciting as fuck.

 

What’s one place you can’t wait to go play on tour?

Probably New York, man. I love New York. I can’t wait to play there in March again. I played a showcase there but I can’t wait to play a proper gig there. I love that city, it just blows my mind.

 

What would you say is your favourite song to play at gigs, and why?

I think probably ‘Tin Pan Boy’ because it just goes off every night and I can just get it out. As soon as I walk on the stage I can be undeniably, completely myself and I can just get everything out and it’s just sick. It’s the last song, so everybody’s going mental together and it’s kind of just uncensored.

I don’t know, I feel like I can just let everything out without people looking at me like I’m completely mental.

You’ve definitely made an impact with your music already – especially with the likes of ‘Polygraph Eyes’, which touches on the issue of sexual assault. Do you think it’s important to make a statement with your music?

Oh absolutely, that’s the fundamental core of Yungblud and what I am. I just believe that music’s been so lost and I think mainstream music’s not representing anything. I think it’s just quite sad because the stuff I grew up on represented a way of thinking or a way of feeling.

I don’t know, I just think the world is such a crazy place right now and politics is an issue. There’s stuff at the forefront of everyone’s mind right now and I just can’t believe that nobody’s talking about it in popular music. So, I just thought I need to do that.

And I’m not trying to preach to anyone or anything because if I get preached to I just switch off. I’m just saying what I think and all I want to do is empower people to say what they think because then that’s how we can change shit.

Who, or what, inspired you to get into writing and performing music?

I think music was just the only thing that encaptured my soul when I was young. I know that sounds really cliché and weird, but I was just brought up in a very musical family and it was always on in the background no matter what, it was just always on.

It was the thing that could kind of make me feel happy or make me feel sad instantly and that just encaptured me. But then I found out I was shit at it – all my mates could play ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ better than me and I didn’t like that, so I kind of sat there and approached it from a different way and started writing. That got my interest because the way I could tell a story through music was just so much better to me than just playing the guitar, so it kind of started from there. I started writing my first songs at probably like 11.

You’ve been compared to artists such as Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turn and Sex Pistols’ John Lydon. how does it feel knowing that you’re already getting that kind of attention as a musician?

It’s amazing. Of course, it’s incredible because Alex is such a big influence of mine and I want to be that. I always said I wanted to be that.

I fundamentally love artists, real artists, who represent something. To me, man, if you’re not representing something or you’re not talking about something real, you’re not an artist you’re a singer. And I don’t want to be a fucking singer, do you know what I’m saying?

So to be compared to people like Alex Turner is just amazing because he was one of the only people that got me growing up and it’s down to him that I’m in to writing music. It’s amazing that I’m kind of placed in that calibre and that category because that’s all I wanted to be. That’s all I want to be. I just want to be an artist, I mean a proper artist like that.

What’s next on the cards for YUNGBLUD?

A lot. I’m getting tired looking at my travel schedule. I can’t wait though – so much touring. I don’t even think I come home ’til September already. I literally gave up my flat in London because I’m not going to be home before September.

And just releasing so much music, there’s so much music in the bag and I can’t wait to just release it all and get it out there. It’s weird, man, as soon as I write a song I just want to put it out. I know you’ve got to do the whole fucking games and shit, but I just can’t wait to put all the music out, it’s gonna be sick.

 

What is your FAULT?

Ooh, what is my fault? I pick my nose.

The self-titled ‘YUNGBLUD’ EP is out now, and YUNGBLUD is playing shows across Europe and the US throughout 2018.