Photo: Chris MacDonald / WENN
Jake Bugg is busier than most 19-year-olds. Last weekend, the 'Lightning Bolt' star performed three huge festival shows - at T In The Park, Scotland, with The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park and on the Portugal coast on the main stage of Optimus Alive.
The Nottingham star is one of the most-booked on the 2013 festival scene ('I feel very tired', he tells us), and is understandably looking forward to taking some time off his hectic touring schedule. More importantly, he wants to get back to work on his second album.
"At the end of August I go back into the studio with Rick [Rubin] in Malibu and that'll be a nice time to relax and make some new music after this mad festival season," he told Gigwise backstage at Optimus Alive, situated in the stunning city of Lisbon on the Portuguese coast.
Bugg scored huge success with his debut, self-titled album, and while he admitted that he hoped his second album would be a more 'mature' listen, added that his sophomore release isn't likely to stray too far from the template for success already laid down.
"A lot of the songs on the first record were demos, but now i'm in a nice studio," he said, hinting at a more polished sound. "I want it to sound like a progression, more mature, but it's only been a year, i'm still 19 and I want to keep that grit. I still want to keep the balance of upbeat songs and the acoustic side of what I do.
Watch Jake Bugg perform new track 'Slumville Sunrise' below
His debut album scored the youngster a No.1 and has since reached platinum status in the UK. Depite this success however, Bugg insists that he feels no pressure to repeat this when it comes to round two.
"People expect there to be a lot of pressure for how well the first one did, but I couldn't have anticipated how well that was going to do, not dwell on that fact, spend the time wisely and actually work on the second record," he said. "If there's any pressure it comes from me. I want to prove to myself that i'm progressing as a writer and as an artist, moving forward.
Jake Bugg names his Glastonbury performance as a summer highlight of 2013
However, before Bugg can make any proper headway on this new album, he still has a few more hectic weeks of summer shows ahead, and when you're as busy as he is, festivals can sometimes start to look a lot alike.
"Sometimes you get ones where they blur into each other, but then some do stand out. T In The Park will stand out, Glastonbury will stand out. The setting can be great," he said, adding that his overseas performances have also been a highlight of 2013. "I played a show in the centre of Paris the other day. It was crazy to think I was playing in front of 10,000 in the centre of Paris, who came to see me play. When I played in my hometown a couple of years ago there was about 30 people there."
