“Sharing that emotional connection is important”: Noah Kahan on visiting Sam Fender’s Newcastle for ‘Homesick’

Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Noah Kahan stopped by The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X this morning to chat with guest host Toby Tarrant about the power of collaboration. During the candid interview, Kahan revealed that his 2024 hit “Homesick” wasn’t just a remote digital swap, but a product of “living” in Sam Fender’s world.

When asked how his high-profile collaborations with artists like Hozier, Lewis Capaldi, and Fender come together, Kahan emphasized the need for a physical and mental bond. “I think it’s really important when you’re making a song with somebody to have, like, an emotional connection with them,” Kahan explained.

To achieve that authenticity, Kahan traveled to the North East of England to see Fender’s roots firsthand. “For Sam, you know, he took me to his neighbourhood in Newcastle and I kind of spent the day just living with him and his life,” Kahan told Tarrant. He noted that the experience was transformative for the track: “It really helped me understand who he is as a person and as an artist. So, when he sings about his home, Newcastle, like, it felt like I connected to it more than just if we had texted and he had jumped on the song.”

Kahan admitted that while the modern industry makes it “so easy nowadays to do, like, everything remotely,” he prefers a more grounded approach. “Getting a chance to be in the room and in the space that they live in and understand who they are is important to making the track hit more emotionally,” he said.

The Vermont native also found a surprising similarity between Geordies and his own neighbors back home. “They remind me of, like, Vermonters,” Kahan laughed. “Very, like, dry and funny and like to go get a beer, and so I had a fun time doing that with Sam.”

Tune into The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X weekdays from 6:30am – 10am and on Global Player.