IN CONVERSATION WITH JACK KANE
Interview by Samo Šajn
Jack Kane is a singer, songwriter, and actor from Hertfordshire. His music blends honest, emotional storytelling with big, cinematic pop sounds, drawing on influences from Lizzy McAlpine to Chaka Khan. His upcoming EP Obvious, out on 24th October, tells a five-part story about love, heartbreak, and learning to trust yourself again. After a sold-out UK tour, Jack is quickly becoming one of the most exciting new voices in British pop.
'Obvious' plays like a five-part story rather than a standard EP. What led you to structuring it like that?
To be honest I didn't set out to make a throughline, it just sort of happened! But once I realised each track on the EP was tackling a different stage of a relationship, from infatuation to fallout I thought “well, that's the EP!”
The songs zoom in on awkward, everyday moments. Missed birthdays, silences, even breaking up at a department store. What attracts you to those small details as fuel for your songs?
The devil's in the details! I think lyrically I find it really interesting delving into the minutiae of situations rather than the broader topics. There is definitely a place for those relatable, broader songs… but not on this EP.
Your music swings between very intimate verses and widescreen, neon-lit choruses. How do you build that tension in the studio?
I think from a technical point of view I do tend to visualise a lot of the songwriting process. And if I've lingered on a close up shot for the whole verse, it's time to see the full wide picture by the chorus, or vice versa. I think contrast within each song is something I've explored a lot within this EP, and the studio process on this EP has been the most fun so far. I have really tried not to nit-pick at anything on this project and just leave it truthful to how we did it on the day.
There’s a vintage streak running through your music and visuals, nodding to 70s–80s pop while feeling very current. How conscious are you of that aesthetic when you’re creating?
I wouldn't say I'm conscious of it per se, but I will say that I can't help but nod to those eras as that music is so ingrained in who I am.
Some tracks were born in improvised “flow sessions” with your collaborators. How do those spontaneous moments feed into your more meticulous lyric writing?
I think it’s a bit like a painting in the sense that the flow state, will give you the sketch of the picture, and sometimes that can be very surprising and give you these untapped topics which are always very exciting. It’s always such a rush to realise halfway through that it actually makes sense and is moving. Then you have to go in with the finer brushes and connect the dots of what your subconscious was driving at, and usually while trying to make it make sense you end up with these crazy trains of thought that I don’t think you could recreate step by step.
You’ve said you only want to release songs that will still mean something to you in 10 years. How do you decide which ideas pass that test?
I’m a looper! I will listen to the same song 10-20 times in a row. I usually find that if I'm wanting to do that with any of my own demos, there’s something in them that will have some longevity. I'm also lucky to have lots of people in my life with great music taste that I can test drive the tunes out on.
On your sold-out debut headline tour fans were singing unreleased songs back to you. How did that affect your confidence in the new material?
I thought hearing people sing my songs back to me would eventually become something that I'm used to. I’m not! It’s always such a crazy pinch me moment, sometimes I'm singing and watching someone say the words and I just start picturing them listening to the music either in their cars, rooms, headphones in - on the bus, and it’s so surreal. The fact they knew the unreleased stuff was insane. A lot of the set list that night was brand new, and the first time I'd played it live, so it’s extra pressure to get the words right when the crowd has already learned it!
You’ve supported artists like AURORA. What have you learned from watching and sharing the stage with acts at that level?
AURORA sets the bar so high. Of course, her music, vocals, stage presence is a massive learning experience as a viewer, but more so how she conducts herself as an artist is what really strikes me. So far, to me it seems like acts of that calibre are really lovely people with lovely teams behind them. So, I'm striving for that.
You’re also an actor, with roles in Miss Saigon and Lena Dunham’s Too Much. How does acting influence your songwriting and stage presence, and vice versa?
All of it is a form of storytelling, with acting of course it’s usually someone else’s story. Although they are ultimately the same kind of coin, I try to keep the two pretty separate in my head, the last thing I want is to be “acting” at my own gig. I think the parallel comes in a lot with songwriting and script writing. Having a background of songwriting has really helped when it comes to the pacing, dynamics and structuring of scriptwriting.
When people finish listening to Obvious, what feeling or message do you hope stays with them the most?
I hope people feel seen in the messiness of it all. It’s not about perfect love or happy endings, it’s about the funny and painful human moments between. I want people to walk away and feel like it’s okay to laugh at yourself, admit you “missed the signs” and still find some beauty or humour in it afterwards.
