Jake Bugg for Issue 14

There is this power that music has: to make you feel something, to understand what nobody else can, and to help you escape for a few brief moments. British singer-songwriter, Jake Bugg, lives and breathes music - and graces the Autumn Winter '18 music cover of our 14th issue. Through eighteen pages we sit down with Jake to talk about the experience of his acoustic tour with his fourth album, Hearts That Stray, and what he plans to do next. Finding his purpose in life early on, we dive into conversation about how music can understand your most difficult hours and dwell on depression for a little while - before we discuss the power of music, Jake's dreams and you get to join us backstage at one of his gigs. It's surprisingly easy to find comfort in his words and some of the lessons he has learned along the way.

"When I was growing up, I wanted to be a singer-songwriter and travel the world, and there were a lot of people around me that thought it seemed like an unrealistic dream. I didn’t enjoy growing up very much. There were many facts involved, things that happened, things I probably suppressed, but I feel like it took those things to make me have that drive and have a change of lifestyle. I wanted more than I had. I felt that I didn’t deserve to have some of the things happen to me that did, and no one should have to go through that to have that drive. Even though it felt really hard at times, now I have the life I wanted and everything I asked for or dreamt about came true. A few years of crap life and hopefully I’m making it all up now. In ten years time I might be the washed-up singer dude, or maybe I already am, haha. There are always going to be things that bring you down, but it makes you stronger".

Cecilie Harris captures his honesty and the subtleness of his presence, whilst Fashion Editor David Nolan matches the AW18 styles. Within Jake's passion for music, you find strong empathy for his fellow humans and music lovers. He wants to give his listeners something to escape with: "You have a responsibility in a way because music is a form of meditation. It’s an opportunity for people to escape everyday life, so I like to give people something so they can do that".

Some musicians do it for fame, some do it for admiration from the masses - Jake does it simply for survival because it is the only thing in his core that makes any sense. Those are the kind of musicians worth listening to. Having been able to create an incredibly unique sound that stands out from your usual formula music, Jake Bugg is definitely one to spend some time delving into. And you can do so in his Boys by Girls 18-page cover story in our new print issue, The Dreamers, beyond the brief teasers below. You can now buy issue 14 in selected stockists worldwide and via our webshop.