Jake Carter, Nathan’s brother, told David Hennessy how he’s keeping busy in isolation, why Ireland is home for him now and his album plans.
His brother Nathan may be a massive name in Irish country music but 21-year-old Jake Carter has been making a name for himself as a pop artist. Living in Ireland since he was a teenager, Jake won RTE’s Dancing with the Stars in 2018 and has been seen on Irish screens acting and presenting that he does in additon to the music.
“I’m just trying to keep as busy as possible, as active as possible because that’s what makes the days go quick in lockdown,” Jake told The Irish World from where he is in isolation with his brother. “I think if you sit about and do nothing, that’s going to make it drag even longer. We’re going to try keep going with that until we can get back in the studio and back to doing what we love I guess.”
Jake released the emotional single Loving in Darkness in February and would be working on his follow-up single had Covid-19 not reared its ugly head.
“It has ruined plans, yeah. I was just getting ready to announce a tour before all this kicked off. We were going to go on tour just before the summer started but sadly I couldn’t announce that because of Covid-19. I’m working at the minute now to reschedule those dates hopefully to later on in the year when people can start to gather and start going out again.
“It’s been a bit of a pain but we’re all in it together. It’s not just me. I’ll just have to get through it.
“I was meant to be back in the studio actually to start recording the next single now with the hope of releasing an album later on in the year but that’s all been backtracked now because of this. The next single now will have to be delayed probably three or four months.
“Loving in Darkness was the first ballad that I had ever released so I was very nervous to see how the fans were going to react to it.
“It’s got a good reaction. It’s gone great. The couple of singles before that were a bit more upbeat, they were pop-funky tunes. I’ve loads of songs ready to go, a few more ballads as well that I’ll probably be using as well.”
Jake’s first steps in music were very similar to those of his older sibling.
“I started playing the fiddle, competing in Fleadh Cheoils and music was always around.
“Obviously with Nathan being a singer, I was always going to gigs with him from the age of 12 and 13 and getting up onstage, playing a tune here and there.
“Then when I was coming to the end of school, I stared gigging in Liverpool, doing pubs and clubs and restaurants, anywhere that would have me.
“I saw some sights that a 15 or 16-year-old probably shouldn’t have seen to be honest but it was a great apprenticeship.
“I kind of got the bug and knew I always wanted to be performing onstage. Nathan was over in Ireland and doing a great job and I then met my former manager so we put a band together in 2017 and I moved over and we started gigging doing summer festivals.
“It was slightly different to Nathan because I was doing pop stuff, I was on a different scene but it was great to have that help and boost and we’ve just been gigging since then.
“Things are going great. People seem to love the music and it’s building so I can’t complain at all. Hopefully now in the next couple of years we’re going to try and get over to England more and get back to Liverpool and do a few gigs and hopefully branch out further afield to Europe as well.”
The brothers have been sharing videos from their isolation that show them singing together. Will we see the brothers singing together more in the future? “It’s kind of inevitable I guess. People always ask that question.
“We actually did a Christmas song, Feels like Christmas. It got a great reaction. It was a good test just to see what people would think.
“Maybe in the future, there might be something if we find the right song.”
Unlike Nathan, Jake is a football fan and is keen to see what the Premier League will do about the season especially as his Liverpool FC are way out in front.
“Obviously it’s been tough not being able to watch any football for the last couple of weeks and I’m very keen to find out what’s going to happen with the rest of the season. We were top of the league and running away with the league. To be honest,there was nobody going to stop us so I am very intrigued to see what’s going to happen on that front.”
Steve Staunton, Ray Houghton, Ronnie Whelan and John Aldridge were all playing the last time Liverpool won the league: “It hasn’t been in my lifetime anyway. It was a good few years before I was born. It would have been great to see it this year. Hopefully it will happen, it will probably just be delayed a couple of months.”
Is Ireland home for Jake now? “It is, yeah. I don’t see myself leaving Ireland to be honest. I’m currently in a relationship with a girl from Dublin so I’m up and down to Dublin constantly. It’s definitely home for now and will always be a home. I’d say I’ll always have a place in my heart for Ireland.”
The girlfriend he mentioned is already familiar to some as Jake walked away from Dancing with the Stars with more than just the trophy that he did well to win. It was also where he met his girlfriend Karen Byrne who was his partner.
“I got more than just a trophy in the end. When you spend so much time with someone, you’re gonna know whether you click there and then. After the show we kept in touch and as they say, things just happened. It’s great, going very well so far anyway. She’s great craic.”
Are you wondering if there is any more singers in the Carter house. Well, it turns out that when the family get together, their sister Kiara stops both Nathan and Jake from topping the bill: “She’s probably a better singer than me or Nathan but she never really got into doing it as a job or anything. She also played in the Fleadh when we were younger. That’s where we all got our love of music from and I guess where my love for Ireland started as well, going over every year.”
Loving in Darkness is out now. For more information, go to the website.
