On my radar: Jake Bugg’s cultural highlights

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/oct/05/on-my-radar-jake-bugg-cultural-highlights

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Twenty-year-old singer-songwriter Jake Bugg grew up on the Clifton council estate in Nottingham. He started playing guitar when he was 12 and appeared on the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury at 17. He was signed shortly afterwards to Mercury Records, and in 2012 released his self-titled debut. The album reached No 1 in the UK charts, and in 2013 Bugg was nominated for the Brit Awards British breakthrough act. He worked on his second album Shangri La with record producer Rick Rubin and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. Bugg’s latest tour kicks off in Cardiff on 5 October.

Film: Cloud Atlas

This was pretty strange, but out of the last 10 films I’ve seen it was probably the best. Sometimes you can watch a film and you don’t think it’s that great, but by the end of it you feel strangely moved, in a weird way. There’s a lot going on here, in different time periods, yet nothing much changes really. I haven’t read the book [by David Mitchell]; maybe it would explain a little bit more.

Book: The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Currently I’m reading this old novel written in medieval Japan by Murasaki Shikibu. It’s about an emperor’s son and the tale of his life. If you go to Japan now it’s a completely different world anyway. It’s pretty interesting reading about how people were in the 11th century – including information about class and different hierarchies. You learn something about a completely other culture.

Game: Fifa 15

In this job we wait around a lot. On some days we probably don’t get any free time, but if you’re on the tour bus or waiting for a sound check there’s nothing to really do. So you get some mates around and play games, and it kills a lot of time. Fifa 15 just came out: I’ve only just started to play it but it’s great. Somebody has written the “10 Fifa commandments” including things like “Thou shalt never walk in front of the screen when a game is being played”.

Music: Skip James

Skip James is an old blues artist, really dark and disturbing, but in a great way, really soulful. I recently downloaded one of his albums, which has been great to listen to for “me” time. When I’m writing a new record it’s always good to listen to different things, and even if you don’t like it you’ll take something away from it. He has a really haunting sound: one of his songs is called Devil Got My Woman, which is a classic blues title. He’s fantastic.

Restaurant: Forty Dean Street

I’m staying in Soho at the moment, and there’s this really nice Italian across the road. The staff are really friendly and they’ve always got great stuff on the specials menu, and the price is actually really good – it’s not too over the top. You kind of miss it when you’re looking to go there, even if you’ve been a few times. They do this absolutely amazing sea bream: a pretty big piece of fish, with a nice glass of white wine – it’s gorgeous.

Place: Malibu, California

This is probably my favourite place in the world. I spent about two weeks out there last year when I was doing my record. It’s got this absolutely amazing smoothie shop called SunLife which uses fresh, great ingredients. The beaches are fantastic: you can just sit out there and soak in the sun, and it’s really pleasant. I’m not really one for beaches or anything, but there’s just something about the sun over there that’s a little bit different. It makes you feel really good.