Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly: Interview

Recording his debut album ‘The Chronicles of a Bohemian Teenager’ at just 18, Sam Duckworth, aka Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly, captured the hearts of music fans across the country.

This week sees the release of the singer's self-titled third album so Gigwise caught up with him to discuss his love of the Flaming Lips and getting back on the road.

Gigwise: How has your summer been?

Sam: Yeah it has been good; to be honest it’s just gone really quick. It’s funny because the last summer I spent in the studio and that went really quick and then we’ve got the album finished and appearances at festivals. It’s gone a lot quicker than I thought it would.

Gigwise: How have the UK festivals been?

Sam: Yeah Glastonbury was amazing. It's good because we were in the left field which wasn’t there last year and it felt like there was a bit of a gaping hole missing from Glastonbury. From the first Glastonbury I ever went to and was my favourite tent area. So I was really proud to be there on the re-launch. That was wicked. Leeds on the Friday night was great. I mean every festival has been fantastic.

Gigwise: Any highlight performances?

Sam: For watching. Yeah I saw The Flaming Lips who are probably my favourite band in the world and then Stevie Wonder in one weekend. I don’t think you can get any better than that to be honest. It was incredible probably the best festival line up that I’ve been to.

Gigwise: You’ve got your new album coming out ‘Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly’. It’s been over two years since the last album ‘Searching For The Hows and Whys’ was this a personal decision to take such a break?

Sam: To be honest that’s just how long it took. I had gone through two albums to get to this one which is incredible just writing wise. But I just wanted to make sure that the album was ready and it was the right record to come out. I think the danger of trying to rush things is that you kind of overlook things and you don’t give things the proper time and attention that they need. I just wanted to make sure that it became the strongest record. It was supposed to come out this time last year but it just didn’t feel like the writing was ready. And now a job good so it was worth taking the time I think.

Gigwise: Does it feel different writing now your 24 compared to when you made your debut in your bedroom at 18?

Sam: It does because you’ve got different influences and different experiences and most of all practice. If you practice over six years you hope that you find yourself getting a bit better at it. Having the debut kind of written i have written at least one hundred songs between then and now. Some which have come out others haven’t and going through different studio processes it felt like there was a lot of work to be done. To hone all of those ideas and influences and build them into this album. So it’s kind of feels like I’m in my stride now in what I’m doing.

Gigwise: What can fans expect from the new album. The first two singles ‘ Collapsing Cities’ Featuring Shy Fx and ‘The Uprising’ showcased a new sound.

Sam: Yeah it’s a bit more electronic heavy but only really in terms of beats and bass line. It’s an album that was written as an acoustic record but it kind of evolved into a lot more electronic. And there was a lot more focus on the relationship between the drums and the bass. With the last two albums it was an eclectic mix mainly with a guitar but this time I think all the elements are kind of working together a lot better than they have done before.

Gigwise: You’ve got a massive UK tour coming up how are you feeling about getting back on the road and playing the new album live?

Sam: It’s a mixture of exciting and daunting really. It’s been a long time since I’ve toured, I’ve done a few dates here and there but it’s kind of weird. I’ve spent two years in the studio it takes a while to get into the rhythm of touring and just being away for that amount of time. I’m really looking forward to that moment when it all clicks and hopefully it will come within the first two days. We’ve got quite a bit of rehearsal coming up and when you’ve got new songs and you have to try and revamp the old ones you have to make sure everything sounds its best and they all have fluency. So yeah I’m excited but it’s strange because I’ve almost forgotten what it’s like.

'Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly' is released this week.