Having spent most of the year living out of a backback, self-confessed ‘hippie nomad’ Cam Cole is dropping on on Dublin for the second time this year before, I sincerely hope, he takes some time off for Christmas. His time on the road, naturally, informs his travel, and with a new album plus a series of EPs on the horizon, the lively rocker feels on the brink of something big.

I spoke to him ahead of his Grand Social show on December 15 (tickets here).

You seem to have had a bit of a mad year on the road. How has it been for you, and will all that travel seep into your music going forward?

Yes mate it was insane, the busiest year I ever had. I have been living on the road and in Trucks/Vans for almost a decade now so that lifestyle has always been in my music to some degree and that won’t change. It’s just who I am. But of course being in the US, Mexico, Canada etc. for the first time and the stuff you see there leaves an impression.

You’ve described yourself as a ‘hippie nomad’. How possible is that lifestyle on the road – I assume touring and travelling are pretty different experiences for you?

It is possible but you need say goodbye to some comfort. You have and learn how to rely on yourself. My lifestyle has always been travelling around, playing shows etc so all this touring comes quite naturally to me. The only difference is that now that the shows get bigger the whole organisation behind it has also grown. I used to just rock up in places and play, now there is a lot more going on behind the scenes with a lot more people involved. But that has always been my dream.

Camden is world famous for its music scene. How has it impacted on you and the way that you perform?

I guess if you want to stand out in Camden you can’t just be a good musician, you need to work on your show, how it looks, how it captures people’s attention-. So it made think about that side of it and up my game there.