A Chat with Shaun Lewis (07.08.24)
Influenced by life in its totality from the joy of love to the despair of tragedy, singer-songwriter Shaun Lewis captures life’s complexities in his music. We speak with the UK-based musician about his debut EP, SL EP1, superhero roommates, and much more.
OSR: What made you decide to pursue a musical career? What drew you to music?
Lewis: I grew up in a household full of music, a lot of Motown, Sly and The Family Stone, Funkadelic, Top of the Pops, before I found my own path thanks to The La’s, Cast, Oasis, then The Beatles and The Stooges. I taught myself some guitar chords and began writing pretty much straight away.
OSR: While we are speaking to you as a solo artist, you have experience with The Real Kicks and Motives. How does working as a solo artist compare to being in a band? What are some pros and cons?
Lewis: Working with The Real Kicks were the best times with my best mates, Motives came about a little later and are generally my go-to guys to play live with. Some pros and cons, pros – I play, sing, release what I like etc. Cons- not meeting up and playing loudly as often as I would like, I may consider playing live again.
OSR: You recently released your debut EP SL EP1. What can you tell us about the EP?
Lewis: SL EP1 is the first of three EP releases, I’ll do a trilogy of current recorded material, some dated years ago but never shared. I think it’s a good time to let the music be available after plenty of time thinking about it.
OSR: Producing as part of a band must differ from producing as a solo artist. How was the experience and did you face any challenges – also, how did you overcome any issues faced?
Lewis: There haven’t been any barriers as far as working on the music goes, I might be my own biggest critic and barrier to releasing the music, the songs, my vulnerability in them maybe. I don’t care if people don’t like what I do, I care a lot less about that now than I used to. It feels right.
OSR: If you could change one thing about SL EP1, what would it be and why?
Lewis: I wouldn’t change anything about SL EP1, it is what it is. SL EP2 might be better.
OSR: What do you hope people take from your EP, and what significance does it have for you?
Lewis: It would be nice if people receive the SL EPs positively but it won’t be significant for me if they don’t. I’ll do my thing.
OSR: If you had to recommend one single to our readers, which would it be and why?
Lewis: Good question – ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’ by the Beatles is the best song ever, ‘Marquee Moon’ by Television, anything by Bowie or Iggy Pop; but the correct answer for your readers is ‘Not Your Lover’ on SL EP1 followed by all my other tracks that follow. 😁
OSR: Which superhero do you think would be the worst roommate?
Lewis: Not an obvious choice but living with Homelander from The Boys and him nicking my milk would be a nightmare.
OSR: What is at the top of your bucket list?
Lewis: Getting beamed up by a rock ‘n’ roll-loving UFO and getting offered a recording contract is at the top of my bucket list.
OSR: Do you have a message for our readers?
Lewis: Stay tuned to my releases, save, follow, share, and look after each other, readers.
Many thanks to Shaun Lewis for speaking with us! Find out more about Shaun Lewis on his Spotify.
Discover exciting new indie-rock music on The Other Side Reviews Indie Rock playlist:
