GIVEN that he recorded his new album in Rome at Ennio Morricone’s studio it’s not surprising that Jack Savoretti describes his new release, which is out next Friday, as having a cinematic feeling.

“I felt more like a film director than a songwriter and I really enjoyed it,” he said.

The sixth album from the singer songwriter, Singing to Strangers is widely tipped to be the release which takes Jack to the next level. The fact that it includes a song he co-wrote with Bob Dylan and another in which he shares vocal duties with Kylie Minogue has certainly already attracted a great deal of interest.

“I don’t think I fully appreciated the impact that would have until I did my first interview about the new album,” said Jack, “and someone said ‘are you nuts collaborating with Bob Dylan and Kylie? What were you thinking?

“I really hope that when you listen to the album people don’t really recognise which one is a Bob Dylan song.”

The track - Touchy Situation - features lyrics written by Dylan which he had never turned into a song.

“I had friends round the other day and played them the album,” said Jack. “We played spot the Dylan track and they both got it wrong which is the best compliment I can receive.”

Jack took a different approach to making the album.

“It’s really the first album I’ve ever had a plan with,” he said. “In the past I just thrown the dice and always put the songs first; I’ve never had an overall concept.

“This is the closest I have come to a concept album that’s for sure in the sense that I wanted to do it all in the same place, I wanted one producer and I wanted to use my band - my boys from the road. I thought that if I get them together I can’t go wrong.

“It sounds silly but this is the first album where I’m not really playing any instruments and I think that’s why it sounds really good because I got to allow the pros to do what they do and I got to focus on the songwriting and the singing.

“I also got to really listen to what they were doing. It’s like being a football player - when you are on the pitch, you don’t really notice what they are doing. With this album I felt like I was more on the bench with the manager and very quickly I could see what I liked or what I wanted to do.

“I was more in fear of going into the studio like that but very quickly I realised that I was very at home in that role.”

The album has a very distinct feel and it’s one that Jack was very conscious of in the studio.

“I brought out everybody’s Italian movie star alter ego from the 1960s,” he laughed. “My job was keeping everybody in a headspace where they were not entirely themselves.

“Now we can’t wait to take the songs on the road.

“I’m really looking forward to the grandness of this album live. There is a bit more theatre to it. In the past my albums have had anger and energy but this time there is romance and drama.”

Singing to Strangers is released next Friday, Jack Savoretti plays Manchester Apollo on Wednesday, May 29