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Interview with
NEWTON FAULKNER

(25th February 2026)

Interview by Dave Bruce

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Watch the full interview on YouTube HERE soon

Interview: Newton Faulkner Talks Octopus, Meditation & Musical Mayhem

When Dave Bruce from Amnplify sat down with Newton Faulkner, it was meant to be a quick chat ahead of his Australian tour. What unfolded was something far richer — a deep dive into creativity, chaos, technology, Buddhism, and the art of not chasing your own tail.

Newton was relaxed, reflective, and firing on all cylinders. Here’s what we learned.

From Shakespeare to Steel Strings

Before he became known for percussive acoustic wizardry, Newton Faulkner was a child actor. At just nine years old, he performed Shakespeare with a theatre company, even appearing in Richard III — conveniently dying early in Act Two so he could get home to bed at a reasonable hour.

But music eventually won.

At around 14, everything clicked when he picked up a steel-string acoustic guitar for the first time. Having already dabbled in bass, drums, and keys, he found the acoustic guitar was the perfect home for rhythm, harmony, and melody all at once.

When he attended an open day at ACM Guildford and discovered everyone else had been playing for 10–15 years (he’d been playing for just over one), he didn’t panic — he doubled down. For a year straight, the guitar barely left his hands.

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Finding His Sound (And Refusing to Repeat It)

Trying to define Newton’s sound today is a slippery exercise. Yes, many still associate him with the sunshine acoustic vibe of early hits like Dream Catch Me. But the new album, Octopus, is something else entirely.

“This album is a different beast. It’s a lot more sonically aggressive than anything I’ve done before.”

Over the years, Newton’s evolution has mirrored his curiosity about production. From hovering behind producers asking what every button did, to being thrown in the deep end and producing entire records himself, he’s embraced the chaos of learning.

During lockdown, when collaboration was suddenly off the table, he created expansive, layered tracks that didn’t sound remotely “home made.” That period sharpened his production instincts — and set the stage for what came next.

With Octopus, there were no safety nets.
No retracing old steps.
No chasing past successes.
No protecting the vocal “because that’s what people like.”

Instead?
26 plugins on a single vocal.
Distortion. Compression. Saturation.
Turning things upside down just to see what happened.
And it works.

Influences: From Folk Royalty to Punk & Hip-Hop

Newton’s influences span genres and decades.

On the acoustic and songwriting front:
Joni Mitchell
Neil Young
Tom Waits
Randy Newman

Production-wise, it’s a whole different playground:
Nirvana (Nevermind still hits hard)
System of a Down
Major Lazer
Santigold

The opening track of Octopus nods to early punk energy, while other moments lean into J Dilla-inspired grooves and experimental R&B textures.

This isn’t genre-hopping for novelty. It’s curiosity in action.

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The Benchmark Track

For Newton, one of the defining tracks on the album became the benchmark for everything else. It pushed his vocal into places he’d never explored. It took structural risks. It sounded, in his words, “totally nuts.”

But stepping away from it — and coming back — confirmed something important: Sometimes the thing that feels risky is the thing that’s actually right.

The Australian Tour

Newton returns to Australia with an extensive run of shows across Sydney, Wollongong, Newcastle, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Byron Bay, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

And this time, he’s not sitting down. He’s built MIDI shoes so he can perform standing up — triggering elements live and injecting physical energy into the show.

He admits they’re “badly behaved” (he’s not exactly a master craftsman), but they’re part of the adventure. Australia holds a special place for him.

“The response there has been really… people seem to really like it.” We’ll take that.

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Glastonbury in His Underwear

Quick-fire moments revealed that Newton once played the Other Stage at Glastonbury Festival in his underwear after someone shouted, “Get your kit off!”

He obliged. As you do.

Meditation, Taoism & Staying Sane

One of the most compelling parts of the conversation drifted away from music entirely.

Newton has been diving deep into meditation, Buddhism and Taoist philosophy — even recommending the book Neurodharma by Rick Hanson as a bridge between neuroscience and spiritual practice.

He meditates daily. Sometimes three times a day.

He spoke about reaching a point in his early twenties — when success exploded — where he had to look himself in the mirror and ask:

What actually matters?
His answer?
The work.
Not the noise.
Not the hype.
Not the chaos.
Just the craft.

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Favourite Things (Because We Had to Ask)

Albums on repeat:
Dookie – Green Day
Nevermind – Nirvana
Toxicity – System of a Down
Favourite artist of all time: Joni Mitchell
Favourite film: The Way Way Back
Favourite venue: Olympia Theatre, Dublin
Favourite food (tour edition): Pho
Favourite indulgence: Banoffee pie
Tattoos: None. Freckles only.

The Takeaway

Perhaps the most powerful moment of the interview wasn’t about gear, tours, or even songs.

It was Newton describing how, after years of navigating expectations following early success, this album finally feels like the truest representation of what genuinely excites him.

When other musicians listen and reference artists he genuinely loves — not diluted comparisons — that’s when he knows he’s landed in the right room.

Not by accident. But by evolution.

Watch the full interview on YouTube HERE soon

Newton Faulkner hits Australia soon.

If you want to see an artist who’s still experimenting, still curious, still slightly chaotic — and now performing in self-built MIDI shoes — this tour might be essential viewing.

NEWTON FAULKNER
Australian Tour 2026

Friday 10 April – Paddo RSL, Sydney
Saturday 11 April – Avalon RSL, Sydney
Sunday 12 April – La La La’s, Wollongong
Wednesday 15 April – Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle
Friday 17 April – Barwon Club, Geelong
Saturday 18 April – Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
Sunday 19 April – Prince Bandroom, Melbourne
Tuesday 21 April – Rosemount Hotel, Perth
Wednesday 22 April – Jive, Adelaide
Friday 24 April – The Northern, Byron Bay
Saturday 25 April – The Brightside, Brisbane
Sunday 26 April – Vinnies, Gold Coast

Tickets and information: here

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Follow NEWTON FAULKNER
YouTube – Instagram – Facebook
Spotify – TikTok

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Press Release 30th January 2026 (below) HERE

NEWTON FAULKNER
releases new single
‘WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG’

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AMNPLIFY – DB