With a brand new album, Times, SG Lewis is ready to conquer the world

If there&#39;s one thing I&#39;m pretty sure about is that music will always come to our rescue. Our life is filled with moments that wouldn&#39;t be the same without the song that get along with them: when you are sad a song is the only medicine that can heal your (spiritual) scars, when you&#39;re jumping of excitement, there&#39;s nothing like a good party song to celebrate to. Music is everyone&#39;s best friend. With that saying, I&#39;m always elated to discover new artists,&nbsp;getting to know their stories, their world made of unique melodies and enchanting lullabies. Imagine my excitement when the chance to talk with SG Lewis (the English singer but also songwriter, musician and record producer, who made everyone dance this summer on the notes of Chemicals ) became reality. Talking to Samuel, it felt&nbsp;like standing on the edge of a musical world and&nbsp;the only reasonable option I had was to travel further into the forest of his music, wander deeper in. His new album Times welcomes people in a world made of imaginary tales, dreamscapes, tragedies, epic tales and lost love, where the singer has poured all of his whims, dreams and fears.&nbsp;10 songs that make you appreciate what a whimsical, effervescent, chaotic, unique experience life is.

Discover the exclusive interview below

Photographer Harvey Pearson

I strongly believe music is more than a passion. It&rsquo;s a calling. When did you realize that this was what you were meant to do? That this was the right path to follow?

As long as I can remember, I knew that I wanted to pursue Music in one shape or another. It wasn&#39;t until I saw some footage of MTV of The Neptunes in the studio when I was a kid that I knew I wanted to be a producer. Being in the studio always appealed to me far more than being on stage, as I was fairly shy as a kid. 
 
Your new album Times is out now, how are you feeling? How are you living this moment?

It&#39;s just very surreal. You spend the best part of 18 months working on an album, but the release feels lightyears away when you&#39;re in the midst of the creation. I&#39;m so proud of what I&#39;ve made, and really excited for people to hear it! I&#39;m trying to stay present and appreciate all the amazing things that are happening at the moment.

Your first EP Shivers, went out in 2014.&nbsp;Has your music changed over the years? Has your creative progress changed?

Back then I was throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what stuck. I wouldn&#39;t say I really knew what the end goal was, or that I had a specific vision. I feel a lot more focused artistically these days, and try to create with intention. You also just learn a lot along the way and get better technically at making music! But a lot stays the same too.

 
Are you a risk taker when it comes to music? Did you experience more with sounds with this album?

Definitely! I&#39;ve always tried to never repeat myself musically. As much as the music I make is for everyone else, the process is inherently selfish - if it doesn&#39;t excite me and give me a rush, then I&#39;m not going to finish a song. For that reason it would never make sense to play it safe! This album was a long process of studying and ingesting disco music, and reinterpreting it through my own eyes. 
 
The debut single from Times, Chemicals, went out this summer and became our jam. Now I&rsquo;m sure Times will keep us the company we need to face 2021. Is there a song that you are more excited for people to hear?

I&#39;m excited for people to hear &#39;Fall&#39; because I think it&#39;s unexpected. It&#39;s certainly outside of my comfort zone, and will surprise a lot of people.

Your music makes people dance, laugh and feel less alone. Where do you find the right inspiration for your songs? What is your goal when releasing a song?

The main inspiration for a lot of these songs are the memories I&#39;ve created through the years experiencing music in live environments - Festivals, Shows and clubs. So many of my favourite memories are moments I&#39;ve experienced with loved ones hearing a song played at the perfect moment - there&#39;s a euphoria in that which can&#39;t be replicated. The goal is to create music that will soundtrack those memories and moments for other people.

 
There a many super interesting feats, like Rhya Lucky Daye, Nile Rodgers, Frances, Robyn &amp; Channel Tres, Lastlings, how was working with them?

I&#39;m fortunate enough to be in a position to collaborate with Artists that I am a huge fan of. There are legends on the album that have influenced my entire musical identity, alongside new artists whose music I&#39;ve had on repeat for the last few years. They&#39;re all incredible in their own ways, and it&#39;s humbling to get to see how their artistry differs. 
 
I have to admit it, I&rsquo;m a huge fan of sad songs and I completely lost it for the song Fall (and as I understood, you are too). Can you tell us more about it? What&rsquo;s the story behind this song?

Thank you! I&#39;m super proud of it. It&#39;s about looking back at a past relationship and realising that whilst you were chasing the idea of something perfect, you missed something amazing that was right in front of you all along. I think in the modern world, we are conditioned to believe that there&#39;s a perfect person out there for us, but perfection isn&#39;t real life. 
 
&nbsp;Who are your &ldquo;teachers&rdquo;? Your inspirations in the music industry? Is there someone in particular that have inspired this album?

I&#39;ve always looked up to Pharrell in all senses - as a person, an artist, and as a producer. The impact he has had across popular culture is so huge, both as an artist releasing his own music, and as a songwriter and producer for others. I hope to one day have a similar impact across popular music. 
 
2020 has been a tough year for everyone, still, you managed to work on this incredible project and now it&rsquo;s ready to be released. Was it hard to work during covid and quarantine ?

I was fortunate to have most of the songs written before the first lockdown. The lockdown actually provided an opportunity to lock myself away and finish all the production. Finishing music is always the hardest part, so the time was so valuable. 
 
And finally, what 2021 has in store for you?

I don&#39;t have any tours to go, so it&#39;s lots more studio time. And that means lots more music! This album isn&#39;t the last people will hear from me in 2021!

Now it's SG Lewis's Time(s)

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