Nick Capaldi Talks New Single, Hometown And More

When did you begin songwriting and recording music?

In 1994, when I was 14 years old, a letter came home from school offering musical lessons. I
chose guitar off the list and became quite obsessive about the whole thing, quickly becoming
‘star pupil’ according to our headmaster, who was the teacher. My parents felt I needed to
progress and found me another teacher, who lived just down the road from our house, called
Ken Watkins. What was interesting about Ken is he had released a record on vinyl and one
of the songs on that record, he had written. That was it for me, I challenged myself to try and
write my own song. I remember sitting in the kitchen, writing the whole thing quite quickly. I
then got my little sister to give her opinion on it and she said she thought it ‘was great’. Over
the next couple of years, whilst I was still at school, I’d amassed a folder and numerous
cassettes and had written over 300 songs. What I would consider my first proper recording,
would have been around 1996, when a neighbour who had a multitrack recorder helped me
record one of my songs. I played it over and over again whilst dreaming of one day making
albums and playing live.

Your new album ‘You and All the Seasons’ is out now. How did you want to
approach the making of the record?
This was the first album to be recorded at my new studio which is a metropolis of vintage,
high-end equipment and with a fantastic in-house engineer called Gareth Matthews.
Suddenly, I wasn’t against the clock to finish the record and spent 8 months getting the right
session musicians in and really working it until I was happy with everything. It’s the biggest
production I’ve ever done and I’m so proud of it.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?
My wife, Grace, and I, built the studio which is called Echotown in Dorset. It’s a lovely
creative space. I like to self-produce my own music because I naturally envision what I want
in my mind.

One of your new tracks is the new single ‘Lovely People’. What was the
story/inspiration behind the song?
I was in the studio rehearsing with my drummer. He nipped outside and I continued
messing around on the guitar and the chords and melody came up. It felt like a very
happy kind of song, so I ended up writing positive lyrics about people and places.

Who created/designed the single artwork?
Some of the extremely lovely people that I know, are Julia’s House Children’s Hospice
Charity. I decided to donate the proceeds of the single to the charity. One of the activities
they do with the children is hand painting so Grace and I decided to make a huge mess of
the dining room and did our own handprints.

All proceeds from the physical release of the single on vinyl and CD will be going
to the charity Julia’s House. I just wondered if you could tell us and our readers a bit
about the charity and the work they do, how the idea of the charity single came about
and where people can purchase the single?

The charity work with terminally ill children and their families to provide invaluable support. I
was lucky enough to visit the hospice and play some songs to some of the children. I saw
first hand what a positive environment they have created, and I witnessed children being
creative, playing instruments and having fun. At present, they only receive 8% of funding
from the government so rely on donations to keep going. They have their own choir, and
they came to our studio to record their Christmas single, and I mentioned to them that I
would be more than happy to try and help raise funds with this single. I thought the title of
this single just embodied the charity perfectly.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals etc?
I personally don’t use many effects on stage apart from some reverb however, when I am on
electric guitar, I love to use a pedal that was given to me as a child which is a RAT Distortion
pedal. I always enjoy playing my 1973 Gibson J-160E custom acoustic guitar.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?
Although I was born and brought up in Bristol, I consider Weymouth in Dorset as my
hometown, having lived there since the age of 8. The town and its surrounding areas, I can
only describe as, inspiring, beautiful, peaceful, supportive and magical.

Do you have any plans for live shows in Europe/UK in 2024?
Currently I only have plans for live shows within the UK, however I would love to visit further
afield. We are visiting Nashville later in the year to visit friends in the industry so there will be
some performances happening then.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel
that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?
To be honest, I’m not much of a novel reader but I’m still a huge Enid Blyton fan and
absolutely love the ‘Famous Five’ and ‘Secret Seven’ series. If I was asked to write music for
an adaption of either of those, I’d be a very happy chap!

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c)
most reflective?

My happiest would be ‘Grace’ named after my wife. The song is me thinking about
how we met and the magical times we’ve had so far. Although not totally an angry
song, I’d pick ‘Patience and Peace of Mind’. This song is about the frustration of still
not being able to learn to be patient and to be able to exercise mindfulness. The
most reflective, would be the title track ‘You and all the Seasons’ where I sing about
the things and people who make my world turn around every day.

Who is in the band with you on the album?
It was kind of different for every song, but the staple of musicians would be Paul
Beavis on drums and Ian Jennings on bass, both from Andy Fairweather-Low’s
band. Robbie McIntosh on the guitar, he used to be in The Pretenders and Paul
McCartney’s band. I was also lucky enough to have world famous guitarist Albert
Lee perform on ‘Roll On’. The London Community Gospel Choir guested on three
tracks. I was also so happy to have Jody Linscott join us who also played with Paul
McCartney and was in Kokomo. BJ Cole played on quite a few songs, he’s played
with so many greats including Elton John and Liam Gallagher.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any
recommendations?
The first two bands who first inspired me to write lyrics and melody were Blur and
The Beatles. Two very different bands in my opinion but I think that’s where I got my
quirkiness from, with the mash up of styles. Years later, Ryan Adams would become
a huge influence for me. I would definitely recommend checking out the album ‘Cold
Roses’ which got me hooked and made me go out and buy everything he’s ever
done.

Was it a difficult album to write?
No. I’d had quite a long break from writing just due to life and moving house so by
the time I came to start writing You and all the Seasons, it was as if it had all been
inside just waiting for me to write it. I was actually finding it hard to find the right time
to begin writing until Grace reminded me that Albert Lee was booked in 2 weeks’
time, and I hadn’t written a song for him to play on. That song was ‘Roll On’ which
was probably the first country-tinged song I’d ever written. When he arrived at the
studio, I said ‘Albert, I wrote this song with you in mind’, he looked at me and replied,
‘I should hope so’.

How do you look after your voice?
I’m absolutely terrible and never warm up my voice even though I know I should. I know
you’re not supposed to have dairy, but I love my cups of tea during recording sessions, so I
guess I just hope for the best.

What makes Nick Capaldi happy and what makes you unhappy?
Relaxing at home with my wife, dogs and a nice glass of wine make me very happy. What
makes me extremely unhappy is animal cruelty and when there’s no red wine left!