Jake Bugg on his pop influenced new album ‘Saturday Night, Sunday Morning’

Jake Bugg goes pop. That’s been the gist of the discussion around the UK artist’s fifth album, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, since its release in late August. But despite the satisfying veneer of this summary, the reality is not so simple.

For one thing, Bugg, who’s now 27 years old, has never been a fringe artist. The Nottingham singer-songwriter rose to fame ten years ago hawking a folksy brand of indie rock that counted Billy Bragg and Arctic Monkeys among its forebears. And he made an immediate impact—the BBC handed Bugg a slot at the Glastonbury Festival before he’d even released a single, and his self-titled debut album claimed top spot on the UK charts in 2012.

Bugg’s 2013 follow up, Shangri La, was produced by rock radio maestro, Rick Rubin, and his fourth LP, 2017’s Hearts That Strain, boasted multiple co-writing credits from The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach.

As of 2021 Bugg has 730 million global streams and 3.6 million UK single and album sales to his name. So, no, Jake Bugg has never resided in the rock and folk underground, although he’s courted an audience with a taste for rootsy, guitar, bass and drums traditionalism.

Bugg’s history of recruiting big name writers and producers continues on Saturday Night, Sunday Morning, however there are a few key distinctions this time around. First of all, the 11 track album features half-a-dozen producers and twice as many co-writers. But what’s more significant is the assembled team’s relevant experience.

Watch the official music video for All I Need by Jake Bugg

Steve Mac, the producer of Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’, is the most heavily featured of the bunch, with Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber auxiliary Andrew Watt not far behind. Elsewhere, Bugg enlists the likes of Nathan “Happy” Perez (Halsey, Ariana Grande), Ali Tamposi (Kelly Clarkson, DJ Snake) and Jamie Hartman (Rag’n’Bone Man, Backstreet Boys).

So, what’s behind this apparent about-face from Bugg? Well, as the singer’s been at pains to emphasise since the album’s release, the idea wasn’t to go pop, but rather to burnish his nostalgic songcraft with a contemporary sensibility.

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Whatever the case, it’s working. The soul-infused Steve Mac collaboration, ‘All I Need’, is Bugg’s most successful single since his debut album, peaking at #9 on the UK Official Singles Downloads Chart, and the album itself hit UK #3 in the week of its release.

Tone Deaf caught up with Bugg to discuss growing pains, inspiration and the making of Saturday Night, Sunday Morning.

Tone Deaf: You’ve described making Saturday Night, Sunday Morning as the most fun you’ve ever had working on a record. What was different about this album?

Jake Bugg: To be honest, I think my attitude. I went into making this record with definitely more of an open-mindedness and that’s allowed me to just relax a bit more and to try new things and work with lots of different people and just try and get as much out of it as I could really.

TD: The songwriting was influenced by classic pop and rock artists like the Bee Gees, ABBA, Supertramp, The Beach Boys and Jean-Michel Jarre. Production-wise, it’s a major shift away from your first few records. Was that a really deliberate decision, to go in a new direction?

JB: Yeah, absolutely. It was a conscious decision, but also one made out of curiosity more than anything. I was interested to see if it was possible to bring my sound and all of the influences that I love into a more modern sound and to try it with modern production and just try to bring it a bit more into the here and now.

I guess every record’s an experiment, but this one probably more so than previous ones. I’m very happy with the results.

Watch the official music video for About Last Night by Jake Bugg

TD: A number of tracks on Saturday Night, Sunday Morning could be described as pop songs, certainly when compared to your previous albums. You haven’t always spoken kindly of contemporary pop music. Has your opinion on that changed?

JB: If I’m honest, I think there’s a lot that could be improved upon in modern music and pop music and from that perspective, it hasn’t changed. I think that people think possibly it has because of this record that I’ve made, but as I say, it’s more using more modern recording techniques—all the pop influences I was drawing from were more traditional groups from the ‘70s and stuff.

So, no, it hasn’t changed. I think it’s quite apparent to anybody that listens to [contemporary pop music] that it’s not the most inspiring stuff in the world.

TD: You worked with people like Steve Mac, Ali Tamposi, Happy Perez and Andrew Watt, who’ve had a hand in dozens of mainstream albums and singles in recent years. Were you able to form meaningful connections with them, even if you’re not a fan of the stuff they usually produce?

JB: Yeah, I absolutely had a great time. I got a lot out of it and I like to think that they got something out of too. Like, Steve Mac was a great guy to work with and he likes to work quickly, which suits me absolutely fine. And Andrew Watt, he’s absolutely smashing it at the moment, and Ali Tamposi. Brilliant writers and producers.

I just wanted to try as many different things as I could as possible and the ones that made it onto the record are the things that I believe those producers captured that true balance of more a modern approach to my music and what I do already.

TD: In the past, you’ve worked with writers and producers like Rick Rubin, Mike Crossey and Dan Auerbach, all of who have major rock credentials. Was the process of production on Saturday Night, Sunday Morning completely new?

JB: Yes, because making a record with Rick, it’s a live band in a room and there was a rawness to the second record, Shangri La. And also my last record [Hearts That Strain], which was produced by David Ferguson, again, it was a live band. It’s a more traditional way of working that I really enjoyed, but I also enjoyed the process this time around.

What I really liked was with some of the younger producers, we would produce the track as the song was being written. So, you know, you go in for a writing session, but by the end of the day you’re left with a fully produced track. And when you’re hearing a song being produced as it’s being written, it’s inspiring in itself and it keeps you inspired to keep writing the song.

TD: It’s still early days in terms of observing the response this record gets, but has making Saturday Night, Sunday Morning changed your perspective on your own artistic potential?

JB: I think so. If the fans are enjoying it, then it’s an avenue I would love to explore a little more and see where it leads. I do enjoy the sound and I’m enjoying finally hearing my music sounding a bit more modern, which I don’t think it’s ever really done in the past. I’m still curious to see where this road leads.