Earlier this week, I was fortunate enough to catch up with folk-infused troubadour Jack Savoretti, an artist I feel sure will effortlessly prove himself a pioneer of this year’s latest re-envisioning of the folk genre.

Seated outside a pub in Central London, the city happening around us, the conversation begins with an observance of the paper coffee cup Jack is holding. Normally, this would be quite a mundane topic, but given that Jack’s first tour of the UK took place in Caffè Nero outlets across the country, we launch straight into a discussion of his career so far. “When Caffè Nero told us they wanted us to be their artist of the month, being a small indie label, we thought maybe we can get more out of this than just a leaflet; maybe we can try and get some gigs,” he explains, a glint in his eye, “What started out as four Caffè Neros turned into sixty-eight. I think it really helped in getting the music out there.” He considers for a moment, and then adds, “It also gave me a good idea of what England is like – ‘the state of the nation’.”

The way Jack speaks is full of quirky phrases and pronunciations, accurately demonstrating his international roots, and actually, his international personality. The 24-year-old folkie is of Italian, German and Polish descent, and though he was born in Britain, he spent his formative years in Switzerland. “I grew up in a town called Corona, which was a very small little village on top of a mountain, and the people were a mixture of farmers and artists.” As he describes his eclectic upbringing, a kind of wistful, dreamlike expression comes over his handsome European features. “I’m very sensitive to environments,” he comments as the dialogue moves towards travel and relocating, “I like that ambience you get from different cultures.” De Angelis Records, who signed Jack after hearing a demo CD forwarded by a mutual hairdresser, are based between London and Los Angeles. Though presently based in South London (as is the trend for folk artists of the twenty-first century – though given his laid-back persona, I highly doubt his choice of location was based on this), his concept of home is uniquely relative. “If I’m in Italy, I’m the English guy, if I’m in England, I’m the Italian guy, if I’m in America, I’m the European,” he explains comfortably. “I kind of feel like I’m abroad wherever I am, and at the same time I always feel pretty at home.”

Jack’s debut album ‘Between The Minds’, released in 2006, received critical acclaim from BBC Radio 2 and a number of the major UK newspapers, and subsequently created a loyal fan following. “The first album was kind of a patchwork of songs I collected over two or three years,” he explains, “It really was a ‘collection’ of songs, not songs written for an album.” ‘Between The Minds’ is intensely poetic, and Jack is truly a force to reckon with in terms of his writing ability – his songs have a unique brilliance about them which makes them stay with you for days. “I think writing is like cooking. You use what you’ve got. You take the recipes you have and then you add somebody else’s advice or some idea that comes to you,” he says, ever the poet. Jack’s music clearly benefits from a diverse and cultured upbringing, but more than this, he produces melodic, soulful acoustic ballads that investigate the human condition at its best and worst. Everything Jack places in his music feels absolutely personal, as if he’s speaking about events that have just happened in his own life. Is this the case? “It’s like taking snapshots – sometimes you’re there in the background, and sometimes you’re not. A lot of the time I’m not really aware whether it’s personal or not, whether I’ve been there or not – that’s why I’m writing it,” he reflects on this for a moment, and then seems to catch up with himself, asserting that: “I haven’t started writing for the sake of writing yet, I hope that never happens.”

Despite an impressive degree of recognition for the first album, Jack is an artist who still remains very much at the edge of mainstream ‘popular’ music, but luckily for those of us who are hooked on the sensual and intelligent breed of musical poetry that he creates, Jack doesn’t view this as a problem: “I don’t know if it’s always the artist’s choice [whether or not to become mainstream]. What makes you mainstream is when somebody who has quite a lot of influence likes you,” he expresses insightfully, “It’s not easy to get people to know about something new. If you have a big machine and a lot of outlets, people hear about you quicker.” Of course the concept of mainstream recognition is looking increasingly likely for talented folk artists as inter-connected groups of South London folkies increase the presence of ‘anti-folk’ or ‘post-folk’ as part of the popular music scene. “I think the revival of folk is a sign of the times,” Jack says, “People are starting to re-evaluate things, what is important and what isn’t. The roots have come back; people want to be in touch with people again.”

The follow up to ‘Between The Minds’ will be released later this year, and Jack recently returned from Los Angeles, where the base of the new album was recorded over just two days. “I was allowed to make the album that I’d always wanted to make,” he says, his voice dripping with passion and enthusiasm. “The new album is everything I wanted to say to the bone. It’s the way the person next to you looks when you first wake up in the morning.” He pauses for a long moment, and then grins, “I really hope you like it.”

Him & Her – Jack Savoretti