Rhys Lewis (born 18 March 1991) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist signed to

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

. His debut studio album ''Things I Chose to Remember'' was released in July 2020. His second studio album ''Corner of the Sky'' was released on January 20, 2023.

Early life

Rhys Lewis was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

to parents who were both teachers. He has two brothers; one older, Tom, and a twin, George. George is the older twin, making Rhys the youngest in his family. Lewis was educated at

Bartholomew School Bartholomew School is a secondary school with academy status which is situated in the village of Eynsham, West Oxfordshire, England. In the 2016/17 school year there were 1221 pupils on roll, 122 of whom are in the sixth form. The school's cur ...

Eynsham Eynsham is an English village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, about north-west of Oxford and east of Witney. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 4,648. It was estimated at 5,0 ...

and first started performing in a cover band with his brother. He also worked as a '

dinner lady Lunch lady, in Canada and the US, is a term for a woman who cooks and serves food in a school cafeteria. The equivalent term in the United Kingdom is dinner lady. The role is also sometimes known as cafeteria lady. Sometimes, a lunch lady also p ...

' at

Cokethorpe School Cokethorpe School is an independent day school in Hardwick, West Oxfordshire, about south of Witney. It was founded in 1957 by Francis Brown. It is a member of HMC, IAPS, and The Society of Heads (formerly known as SHMIS). The school has ap ...

. At 19, Lewis moved to London to attend the

London Centre of Contemporary Music London College of Creative Media (LCCM) is a private college of higher education in South London offering undergraduate degrees in music, writing, and music management; a postgraduate degree in creative entrepreneurship; and shorter courses in mu ...

Artistry

Influences

Lewis cites

Alex Turner Alexander David Turner (born 6 January 1986) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is well known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the rock band Arctic Monkeys, with whom he has released seven albums. He ...

Arctic Monkeys Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), Jamie Cook (guitar, keyboards), Nick O'Malley (bass guitar, backing vocals), and Matt Helders (drums, back ...

as his songwriting inspiration, commenting that "

urner Urner is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Catherine Murphy Urner (1891–1942), American composer *Joseph Urner (1898–1987), American sculptor, painter, and etcher *Milton Urner (1839–1926), American politician See also * ...

was the first songwriter of my generation to make the lyrics of a song jump out at me." Other influences include

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...

and

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972) ...

, in particular, the latter's song " Lean On Me".

Musical style and songwriting

Lewis' debut album, ''Things I Chose to Remember'', is distinctive in that it was made on analogue tape. Lewis stated his reasons for this as “ nalogue tapeforces you to think clearly and in detail about every single part that goes down, and how you can make each part do the most it can”. Numerous critics have commented on the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

influences in his music. Lewis writes songs about a variety of aspects of his life. In ''Things I Chose to Remember'', topics include the portrayal of men in the media, mental health and his own relationships. Many of his songs are about heartbreak, including "When Was The Last Time", "Be Your Man" and "Hurting". He says he finds his song "No Right To Love You" difficult to perform because it also deals with a personal heartbreak. "I suppose the song is a bit of a trigger for lots of memories and emotions of the breakup … every so often it really hits me again, and the emotion of the song comes flooding back."

Discography

Studio albums

EP

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Rhys British male singers Living people 1993 births Sportspeople from Oxford British multi-instrumentalists British soul singers English singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters British male singer-songwriters British pop singers