"I hadn't been anywhere before last year, I'd hardly left England. And now I'm going to Japan. I never thought I'd be going to a place like that. I think it is going to blow my mind."
Jake Bugg is getting used to going places. Twelve months ago he was an aspiring yet effectively unknown singer-songwriter: this week the 19-year-old heads to Tokyo as Britain's biggest rising star. With a No. 1 album under his belt and the endorsement of guitarist Noel Gallagher ringing in his ears, Bugg is indeed "living the dream."
Sounding far more sagacious than a teenager ever should ("It's about moderation, I've got to be professional, this is my job"), Bugg's music is similarly mature and developed beyond his years. Channeling the spirit of folk raconteurs and old blues rock, Bugg's songs mirror much of his conversation: concise and straightforward yet packed with meaning.