Credit: Far Out / Press

Sam Fender and Noah Kahan team up for ‘Homesick’

Fri 19 January 2024 11:09, UK

Sam Fender has returned, teaming up with singer-songwriter Noah Kahan for a new version of the latter’s track ‘Homesick’.

The song initially appeared on Kahan’s 2022 album Stick Season, which he has been re-imagining with the assistance of a series of his favourite artists. Others who have assisted Kahan in the Stick Season Series include Hozier, Lizzy McAlpine, Post Malone, Gracie Abrams and Kacey Mugraves.

‘Homesick’ finds Kahan and Fender reflecting on growing up in their respective hometowns of Vermont and Newcastle, finding common ground despite their geographical differences.

While discussing the new track, Kahan said of his love for Fender’s work: “When I first heard Sam Fender’s music, I stopped what I was doing, started ‘Dead Boys’ from the beginning, and listened four more times. It was everything I loved about a song. I followed this artist like a crazy person, checking every day to see if he had dropped new music. Reading every lyric and looking for his interpretation of what they meant.”

He continued: “I must have listened to ‘Hypersonic Missiles’ 1,000 times before Seventeen Going Under came out, and I had never felt so connected to a song. I come from a very different place than Sam did, that much was clear in the lyrics, but it felt like I had grown up the same. The nostalgia, pride, bitterness, confusion, and anger that Sam wrote about feeling was so similar to what I was feeling about my childhood and my hometown at the time. This song was the final push for me to start writing about my own experiences.”

Kahan then explained how ‘Seventeen Going Under’ was the first song he listened to while recording Stick Season, stating: “‘Homesick’ was born out of the confidence instilled in me by listening to someone accurately depict their hometown and what it means to them, for better or for worse.”

While on his recent UK tour, Kahan spent the day with Fender in Newcastle, which made him understand his artistry even further. “I felt very much like an outsider, but by the end, I did start to understand where these songs were coming from, and just how special of a guy Sam really is,” he added.

Meanwhile, Fender said: “I was told Noah wanted us to work together, and I’d heard the tune ‘Homesick’ and thought it was a lush song. We then spoke on the phone and immediately hit it off. I loved the idea of the song being a transatlantic call-and-response between two young kids desperate to escape their hometowns. The ‘running away’ theme has been done to death by myself, and many other artists over the last 50 years, but it’s relatable.”

‌Looking back on their time in Newcastle, Fender revealed they enjoyed a “swift Guinness” in the Lowlights Tavern in North Shields before the duo “walked in the bitter cold of the sea-front.”

‌On his contribution, Fender added: “I cut my parts in North Shields, on the banks of the Tyne, literally overlooking the ‘static cranes’ that I mention in my verse; it’s a stone’s throw from the estate in which the riots took place in the early 90’s.”

Kahan is set to return to the UK for a series of arena dates later this year, while information regarding Fender’s highly-anticipated third album remains under wraps.

Listen to ‘Homesick’ below.