I have an outright ban on doing morning TV

SEEING huge posters of himself on the walls of Tube stations and in shop

windows is something Ben Howard will never get used to.

The singer-songwriter last year won two Brit Awards, for Best Solo Male Artist

and Best Breakthrough Act — and saw his debut album Every Kingdom nominated

for The Mercury Prize in 2012.

But he says: “I actually find it funny. I can be among the general public and

next to me is a big picture of my face, but no one notices apart from my

friends.

“There’s no chance to get an ego with my friends as they take the mickey

and send me pictures when they see posters of me.

“London is great, though, as you can be as obscure or off-the-scene as you

want to be. It depends on what mood I’m in, it depends if I’m into it.”

Devon-born Howard’s debut album has sold more than a million copies — and it

has been a case of his music doing the talking.

You never find him hanging out with celebrity friends or name-dropping famous

fans.

In a way he is the anti-pop star, the opposite of that other troubadour Ed

Sheeran.

Howard has bought a house in Devon not far from where he grew up in Totnes and

where he recorded second album I Forget Where We Were.

He says: “I still have my old friends. They’re the most important people in my

life beside family and I’ve been blessed with friends who understand this

lifestyle.”

Even now, interviews are rare or carefully chosen. He says of a recent

magazine photoshoot: “It was out of my comfort zone but I enjoyed it because

it pushed me.”

And on last week’s Later With Jools Holland he was introduced while sitting at

the back of his band rather than at the front, face-on to the camera.

In a busy hotel restaurant in North London, the handsome 27-year-old goes

unnoticed by fellow customers.

It is only when the topic of appearing on TV comes up that I notice a

middle-aged woman turn around to see who is talking.

Drinking margaritas, he is more affable than his introverted reputation may

suggest.

He says: “I am really opinionated when I want to be but I’m just not loud.

“The world is a very noisy place and so I don’t need to shout about things.

There are so many people shouting and a lot of people get lost in it.

“That’s why I’m not on Twitter as everything seems to be on caps-lock. Plus, I

don’t have the time to answer every question I’m asked.

“I don’t want that responsibility, either. What if I say the wrong thing in

such a public domain?”

This attitude to the media is partly why Howard has a reputation for

awkwardness but there is more to it than just being shy of attention.

He says: “I’ve just deleted my entire Instagram, as it frustrates me

everything has to have a history and everything is accounted for. People are

creating a character for themselves and having to explain every step of the

way.

“On Instagram I got tired of creating something and having to stand by it. You

are a different person every five years.

“People may say I’m difficult but I’m not. I’m a bit shy but it’s funny how I

can sing in front of an audience and get up on a stage.

“But anything else makes me feel really uncomfortable. Early on there were

things I got thrown into which I wasn’t comfortable with.

“There are a lot of people who are really talented who put themselves into

uncomfortable positions because that’s the only way to get themselves heard.

“I have an outright ban on doing morning TV.

“I think that’s why a lot of people have a lot of respect for Paolo Nutini.

He keeps evolving and doesn’t get pushed into doing things he doesn’t want

to.

“It’s amazing watching people make decisions for themselves.”

The success of Every Kingdom has given Howard a certain freedom for this new

album.

He says: “The first record was a punt in the dark.

“It wasn’t preconceived of anything. I didn’t feel I had to make this record

as successful as the first one.

“With this one it feels like an extension. I’ve been asked whether it was a

statement to do something different or bolder.

“But the first album came out three years ago, the songs were written when I

was growing up and I was a completely different person then.

“This shows how much we’ve grown and you can hear it in the record.

“I look up to Radiohead, who are a band who keep evolving and keep

progressing. David Byrne is the same.

“We pushed in a few different directions and explored a bit. That was really

refreshing, to try out a few ideas and not worry whether it had longevity

and shelf-life. That was stimulating.”

A more confident and experimental album than its predecessor, I Forget Where

We Were was recorded as live near his home.

Howard says: “I wanted to test the music more by going back to the environment

we made the first record in.

“By keeping something the same when we had grown so much as musicians, we

could see where we had expanded. The studio is ten miles from home.”

I Forget Where We Were is the sound of Howard exploring new territories,

particularly on End of The Affair.

Those who saw Howard perform on Later With Jools Holland will know the

intensity of the record.

At nearly seven minutes long, it is the album’s central track.

Howard says: “With that song I was really testing myself.

“I wanted to get to the rawest emotion in myself and put it on the record.

“We have just started to play it live and I have to play it in a certain part

of the set, otherwise it ruins the whole set.

“I’ve played it first a couple of times and it’s hard to get out of that

headspace.

“There are moments in that song that are uncomfortable for me and the

listener.”

The atmospheric and angular guitar track Rivers in Your Mouth is a song that

Howard says was born out of frustration.

He says: “Sometimes things really boil up in me and it eventually comes out in

a song form.

“I don’t really like talking about how I write songs, as it spoils things for

the listener, but that was something that was a relief from the way I was

feeling.

“I’m always writing like that. Just before you arrived, I borrowed a pen and

paper to write something that I had in my mind.

“It’s always helpful to make notes when they arrive with you.”

Other highlights of the album are the gorgeous and expansive Time Is Dancing

and I Forget Where We Were, for which Howard is making his debut as a video

director.

He says: “I’m a perfectionist and when I have a vision or idea it’s hard to

explain it to someone else.

“That’s why I decided to make the video myself.

“I needed to match the visuals in my head to the music. I see images when I

play and they form photographs in my mind.”

I Forget Where We Were is a more emotional record than Every Kingdom, reckons

Howard.

He adds: “I wanted to create as many images with as few words as possible.

“That was really interesting, stripping words away and leaving space in the

music to create sentiment rather than having to spell it out. That’s one of

the joys of the record.

“There were all sorts of emotions making this record.

“I have really amazing memories of sitting around the kitchen table at 3am and

everyone being so excited and wired.

“We were chain-smoking rollies until we felt tired or sitting in the courtyard

with the beautiful blue winter skies.

“I almost have photo-memories of the times in the studio, like when we’d go

outside and watch the storms rolling in.

“We would watch the world falling apart with huge trees coming down.”

Howard might be a solo artist but he sees this second album more as a band

effort.

He says: “The songs are quite personal but I’ve been really lucky to have the

people around me to explore them and test them to their limits.

“It’s just the record is under my name as I write these songs.

“It would be different if I went in on my own.

“I couldn’t have made this album without my band.”

Howard wants to push himself as far as he can and says: “The things that

happened with the first album were huge surprises.

“The scale of The Brits was impressive and to be part of that was huge. I was

still surprised when they read my name out as the winner.

“I thought it was funny, as I don’t think of myself as an entertainer and I’m

not exactly extroverted. It was funny to be in the same room as so many big

names.

“And my parents are still excited when I am on TV.

“It might embarrass me for the rest of my life but I am glad for my parents as

they have so much pride in me.

“Like when I have critics, my dad is very protective, though I’m not bothered.

“But I enjoy meeting my fans and chatting to them.

“I find meeting new people interesting. There’s just never enough time to talk

enough to them and I feel guilty when I have to leave.

“I’ll never complain about this job. I’ve been very fortunate and whatever

happens with this record, I’ll never take it for granted.”

I Forget Where We Were is out on Monday.



Sun rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

