IT'S been seven long years since US singer songwriter Brett Dennen was last on these shores. He is back touring with British diva Paloma Faith and spoke to Matt Westcott ahead of gigs at the York Barbican on November 1 and Newcastle City Hall on November 18.

Matt: It’s a little while since you appeared in the UK. How have you changed and what have you learned since then?

Brett: I don't really know. I know I'm in a place of learning right now. I feel like I'm learning how to write songs again. Focusing on what I want to say with them. Learning more about myself.

Matt: You are compared with the likes of Ry Cooder, Robbie Robertson and Paul Simon and one critic said you were “James Blunt with backbone”? Is that accurate and do you like comparisons?

Brett: I don't know about Mr Blunt's backbone, he seems to be fine. He has a pretty witty Twitter feed. I understand comparisons and how they are helpful so I don't mind them. I've never heard the Ry Cooder comparison. That makes me feel great.

Matt: You were homeschooled, do you think that helped your creativity and had you had a mainstream education would you have been the performer you are now?

Brett: It absolutely helped me. It made me the artist I am today. It gave me the space and the confidence as a child to identify myself as an artist.

Matt: Did you always believe that this is the career path you would take?

Brett: No. I thought I would be some kind of art teacher, like in a high school or a junior college.

Matt: Where do you find your inspiration? Are you likely to be penning songs while travelling across the UK, for example?

Brett: I never know when it will come. I just have to be open to it whenever it presents itself to me. Nature always gets me inspired.

Matt: When you have a deal with a major label such as Atlantic, does that come with pressures and how do you cope with them?

Brett: At first it felt that way. But now I know that they are a lot like any other label or anyone else in the biz. It's up to me to get what I want. It’s up to me to know what is best for myself.

Matt: I imagine your live performances is where you feel most at home. What kind of performer are you?

Brett: I have two types of performing. With a live band I am very outward and I dance a lot and command attention from the audience. When I perform solo acoustic I am more subtle, I play more with nuance and speak to the crowd more.

Matt: Are you looking forward to touring with Paloma Faith? She strikes me as someone who is very down to earth and giving?

Brett: Oh, so excited. She's such an original. She's exactly the kind of person I want to be around.

Matt: When you return to the States, what are your plans?

Brett: I plan on writing and skiing. In January, my girlfriend and I are going to hike Kilimanjaro with an organisation called Love Hope Strength, which raises funds for cancer treatments in developing nations.