Five years after his successful album Sunny Side Up — which debuted at No 1 on the UK albums chart — Paolo Nutini returns with Caustic Love, the album he’s been touring around the world with for the past few months. His second Dubai gig after 2010 will be Nutini’s last stop on this tour.
After touring with Sunny Side Up, the Scottish singer decided to stay away from the limelight to return with Caustic Love in April last year, which also debuted at No 1.
As described by Nutini, the 13 tracks on the album “sum up all the different kinds of love… unrequited love, the new love, the lost love. It’s about that intensity. The warm acid rain that can cleanse you of all your pretences. It strips you and then you’re vulnerable, but to the good stuff as well. The beauty and the passion and the comfort. Then if it takes the other turning it can corrode the comforts and leave you vulnerable to the jealousies.”
When tabloid! asked the 28-year-old what we could expect from his second show in the UAE at Dubai Media City on April 10, he said he’ll come with “a bunch of songs and smiles”.
“We don’t have a lot of fancy outfits or costumes. We come with a bunch of songs and smiles and [hopefully] try and take the people in the audience somewhere for a couple of hours, somewhere they don’t go all the time,” Nutini said over the phone from Australia.
“We will have a few changes; you have to remember that you are speaking to a guy that loves to change things, rearrange songs [and] sing songs people don’t know because we have been doing so many shows it has to be exciting for us too, you know. But sometimes changing too much and too soon — there are people in the audience who forget you’ve played 20 shows to those who’ve not heard the show once — you need to keep a balance in keeping it fresh.
“There are always decisions made on the day when we show up at the venue; you get a vibe, you know, an atmosphere and a sense of where we are, so that always influences what we end up playing. To be honest, if you don’t get an adrenalin, a buzz, when you are on stage in front of people, I think you need to check your pulse”.
Born to an Italian father and Scottish mother, Nutini was expected to follow his father in the family fish and chips business. But encouraged by his grandfather, a school teacher, he left school to become a roadie and sell T-shirts for the Scottish pop group Speedway.
In May 2005, at 18, he was signed by Atlantic Records and released a free-download single These Streets, followed by Last Request, which reached number five on the UK singles chart, Jenny Don’t Be Hasty and Rewind. His debut album These Streets, released in 2006, opened at the No 3 spot on the charts.
His second album Sunny Side Up, released in 2009, received mixed reviews ranging from “organically blends soul, country, folk and the brash, horny energy of ragtime swing” to “jaunty enough to make you retch”. Yet Nutini had enough fans to debut it at No 1 on the UK charts.
“I’d describe my work just as ‘music’, no genre. I’ve never wanted to be like anyone in particular or have had a band that I would have a T-shirt [of]. I’ve never idolised no one man, or one woman, or one band only. I’ve always loved and learned different kinds of music, so that I think reflects in my albums. I don’t know whether that’s a good or a bad thing, you know. Maybe I should have a style and stick to it. I don’t think I’ve managed to find that style yet.”
Ask him what drives his creativity and he says he “really doesn’t think of what keeps me going”.
“I don’t know. Curiosity, my youth. I just go. I don’t think I take too much time to think. I think I’m not big enough yet to get to that point. I try to take what I do seriously but without taking myself too seriously and, going through my 20s, I’ve realised that it’s not all just a big party. [But] you still have to have fun.”
And what is he currently working on?
“Not much. Chatting with you and drawing an alien vampire”.
Quote/unquote
“To be honest, if you don’t get an adrenalin, a buzz, when you are on stage, in front of a group of people, I think you need to check your pulse.”
Don’t miss it
Paolo Nutini live in concert at Dubai Media City on Friday, April 10, supported by The Coronas band. Doors open at 6pm.
Tickets start from Dh350 on platinumlist.net and ticketmaster.ae.
