Phil Lewis

"Phil's sound (is) quite unlike anything else on the market."
Never For Nothing CCM Newsletter

“a writer who has the musical ability that sets him apart from others”
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/content/content_detail.php?id=1497&type=Demo

“Enough weirdness to keep it interesting. When I’m humming that melody later I’ll wonder where it came from.”
Garageband.com user

" ..well written, superbly structured songs that have a lightly infectious nature" http://rbfanzine.co.uk/drupal/?q=node/202

“The kind of simple, classic pop we should all be privy to” http://www.subba-cultcha.com/article.php?id=4241
Who Is Phil Lewis……?

Over the past 10 years I have written and recorded over 50 original songs
I usually write the songs by myself (at home on my acoustic guitar) and then recruit gigging musicians to help me fully realise them. In the recent past, I have worked with musicians from the 45 Rebellion (based in Derby) Smokehand (based in South Wales) and Pala.
Some of my songs have airplay on various local radio stations
After taking a 6 year sabbatical from writing songs in 1999, I recorded my first ‘full-length’ album “Whispering” (11 songs) in 2005 with seasoned producer Brook Trickett, in Darwen, Lancashire.
My last album, ‘Ancient Light’, was recorded during 2006 in Cardiff with the Incredible String Band keyboard player, Lawson Dando. It got consistently positive reviews in a variety of music press.
My latest album “Movements In Space”, was recorded in Derby over a few weekends early in 2008, with the main guitarist on “Ancient Light”, Ben Haynes - formerly of Pala and the 45 Rebellion.
I am based in the South Wales town of Penarth, which is about 5 miles away from the city of Cardiff.
Contact: My website address is www.phillewisuk.co.uk , my MySpace website is www.myspace.com/phillewis1971.
My email address is philip.lewis100@ntlworld.com and my mobile number is 07502 198123

A little bit more about me……

Early influences
One of my fondest and most enduring memories from my childhood, is the weekly family ritual of gathering around the radio on a Sunday evening and listening to the Top 40 rundown. It didn’t take long before I started thinking that I’d like to make the kind of music that I was hearing. I wrote my first song when I was about 12. It was called “U.F.O.” and it was about, er……a U.F.O. But in my defence, I was only 12.

As my main exposure to music was through whatever was in the top 40, I soaked up a variety of different styles of music. Early on, I took a particular liking to Rap music and Rock music. I was even a breakdancer for a little while back then. No matter who performed it, I always appreciated a good song. As I grew up, I found myself drawn towards artists who had a chameleon-like quality and were able to constantly reinvent their sound and challenge their audience – artists like Bob Dylan, Prince and David Bowie. As my pocket money rose, my record collection grew ever more eclectic, taking in George Clinton, U2, Queen, Johnny Cash and the Beastie Boys, to name but a few. My current favourites are Crowded House, REM, James, Gnarls Barkley and “Off The Wall”-era Michael Jackson/The Jacksons.

Early songwriting
By the time I started working, I had bought my first guitar, taught myself the basics and started to write songs ‘properly’. I have now written quite a few songs, some good and some not so good. And to answer your question, no – I haven’t written any more songs about U.F.O.’s………yet!

Recording
I started booking time in local studios and working with friends who were also musicians. The results were made available as a series of demo tapes; “When the Madness Ends”, “Set Your Sights”, “Demographic”, “Fidei Defensor”, “Generation Ecstasy” and “Full Circle”, which were sent out to magazines, fanzines, record companies and the like. Most of the tapes received a warm reception - comments included; “Wales finest unsigned writer..” (NFN Oct97), “Tuneful and confident” (Repeat fanzine #10), “Refreshingly pleasant, adult style pop” (Snakebite fanzine issue 5). Recording became more expensive though and, due to my inability to hold a band together for long, I rarely got the chance to play live. So I hung up my guitar and wrote songs only if there was something clawing it’s way out.

After a hiatus of about 6 years I recorded my first full length album, ‘Whispering’ but I wasn’t happy with the finished product.

Mid-way through 2006, after a period which produced a set of songs that I thought took my writing to a new level, I went in to the studio to record an album with the first person I’d ever recorded songs with - Lawson Dando, who had recently returned from a stint as the keyboard player with the Incredible String Band and was keen to get back into production work.

Spurred on by the positive reaction to “Ancient Light”, I wrote a fresh batch of songs in a frantic 3 months of songwriterly activity. Ben