Singer-songwriter Jack Garratt talks to about the pressure of success, self-doubt and the joy in his new record
word for it – I was and how difficult I was finding it to deal with, I was simply told: ‘Be quiet. You’re privileged and lucky and you just have to be alright with it’ and so I did.
“I just kept myself quiet and it ended up ruining what should have been the height of my career.”
On release, the left-field Phase made it to number three.
But in comparison to his awardwinning predecessors – Goulding with her chart-ready take on electro-folk or Smith with his neo-soul – it looked anti-climactic. Jack started work on his next album but became disillusioned (“It was trash”) and took time away to deal with his anxiety.
Eventually, he was coaxed into the studio with Jacknife Lee, a veteran record producer who has worked with U2, Robbie Williams, the
Killers and many more.
The result was a suite of songs exploring the events of the past four years – the joys of his marriage, the breakdown he suffered while living in Chicago.
“I didn’t know I was writing something positive until I started playing in front of people,” he enthuses. “I thought I was writing something that was intending to be honest, and at the time I was translating honesty to be something that was quite dark.
“It was only when I started playing it for other people that I realised that there was more vocabulary to it than that.”
Love, Death And Dancing’s 12 songs, with titles like Mend A Heart and Doctor Please, mesh tightly despite their eclectic styles.
“It’s about a time in my life that I feel like I lost,” he explains.
“This is my attempt to take ownership over a period of my life where my confidence was at its lowest, my opinion of myself was at its lowest, my trust in myself was at its lowest.
“And there I was expecting myself to make art that I liked from that.” Jack has learned many lessons in the past few years, including how to take care of his mental health, a skill proving essential during lockdown.
“There’s an unrealistic expectation for every artist to sit at home and make something that’s going to entertain the masses,” he says.
“That’s an abusive way to look at artists in general, in any capacity.
I’m not a social media influencer, so I’m not going to spend all of my time on social media engaging with fans. “I also understand that that’s an important part of my job so I’m still active. What I really try to do is not give absolute control over to this horrific situation.”