Vision: How would you describe your sound and how has it developed on the new album?
Johnny Flynn: I can’t really describe it. That’s not my job. Why would anyone want to describe music when you can listen to it?
V: You cite Yeats and Shakespeare as among your influences. In what ways would you say these literary figures impact upon the music you create?
JF: There’s a sense of mystery in their writing – there’s always the presence of something ‘other’ that sits amongst the physical things they describe that isn’t ever defined, and that connects with me.
V: Your lyrics are often very rich and poetic. What usually comes first when writing, the lyrics or the music?
JF: Either might come fist but a lot of the time they’re written quite separately and then I put them together.
V: You are often described as part of the nu-folk scene that includes Noah and the Whale, Mumford and Sons and Laura Marling. Do you like being described as part of a musical movement? How comfortably do you think your music sits alongside these artists?
JF: I don’t really see the point of putting people together in a box and I don’t see a huge amount in common between those musicians… I know them and am friends with them and have toured with them but I think we’re doing quite different things.
V: Which artists have had the biggest affect on your song writing over the years? Who did you listen to most when growing up?
JF: Lots of people. I like classic song writers like Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Johnny Mercer… I listened to a lot of old blues and country growing up. I’m into old Appalachian string bands… And punk. I like wire.
V: Which current artists interest you at the moment?
JF: Anna Calvi.
V: Your last album was recorded with your band the Sussex Wit but your EP and new album are solo projects. Are the Sussex Wit no more? Do you have any plans to play with them again in the future?
JF: The new album was recorded with the Sussex Wit – they’re still my band and we just finished a tour together. And some of them played on the EP.
V: We are reaching festival season. Are you a festival fan yourself?
JF: I like them but I have to go to about 30 every year so I get a bit festivalled out… I like it when I take friends along to ones we’re playing and have adventures.
V: In what ways is it different playing to a festival crowd rather than your usual audiences?
JF: The energy at festivals is usually a lot more relaxed- especially if you play on the last day, people have been decompressing for a few days. If you play a show in a town and people come straight from work or whatever it can be a bit more frenetic. But both are good.
V: What would you say has been your career highlight so far?
JF: Having a career…