WATCH: Rhys Lewis - 'When Was The Last Time?'

"I can't sleep at night, knowing you're by my side, but so far away." 

If you're ever in need of a sad song, Rhys Lewis is usually a pretty safe pair of hands. He's just released his first track of the year, and it's yet another heartbreaker - tissues at the ready. In When Was The Last Time? Rhys' trademark vocals are on show as the track opens with piano chords, building throughout, adding different sounds to the fabric of the track, reflecting the content of the lyrics, with rising tension. The track charts the period directly before a break-up, as Rhys explains "you know, when she's leaving kisses off her texts or not saying goodnight when she goes to bed. Slowly you start to put those things together, and evidence arrives of a fatal prognosis." The track arrives with a video directed by Mike Baldwin (Anna Calvi, Frank Turner) which follows four couples in this scenario. Like his music, the video is heartwarming but heart-wrenching.

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'Be Your Man'

While we've technically heard a stripped back version of this one before, Rhys Lewis has shared new (ish) track Be Your Man recently. I love it. It's got all the soulful vibes you'd expect from one of his tracks, with those gorgeously strong and raw vocals carrying an emotional story of unrequited love, and the feeling of being in a relationship with somebody who still carries feelings for an ex. Rhys is here to tug at your heartstrings again, and I wouldn't expect anything less.

Talking about the track, Rhys explains that it is "one of those songs that I'm still very much connected to emotionally, whenever I sing it live I get taken right back to the way I felt in the relationship at that time. It's horrible to feel like you're not enough for someone, that you're being compared to the person they were with before. I think if she'd wanted something new then we might have had something, but deep down she was looking for what she'd had with someone else. It's been great revising this song in the studio, the original acoustic version is quite tender and soft, so it's been really interesting discovering a darker tone within the song." 

Currently in the midst of a US support tour with Julia Michaels, Rhys embarks on his biggest UK tour later this month. Tickets available here.

20th: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
21st: Deaf Institute, Manchester
22nd: Thekla, Bristol
23rd: O2 Institute 3, Birmingham
25th: EartH, London
26th: Komedia, Brighton
28th: O2 Academy 2, Oxford
30th: King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
1st Dec: Button Factory, Dublin

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WATCH: Rhys Lewis - 'What If' (Live at RAK)

I've got a midweek treat to share today - a gorgeous new session video from Rhys Lewis. After releasing his In Between Minds EP and a couple of singles this year he's been busy playing shows around the UK and further afield in recent months. He found a moment to head to London's famous RAK Studios to record a live session of his recent single What If - with strings and a trio of backing singers to support, elevating the track to something even more special than the recorded version. I'm loving this!

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'What If'

I haven't yet found time to do a write-up of the incredible time I had volunteering for the second year in a row at Bushstock Festival about a month ago - it was a total joy to look after headliners Novo Amor and the rest of the gorgeous line-up we had playing at St Stephen's Church. One of those acts was Rhys Lewis - I've been a fan of his music for years and it was a dream to finally see him live. His powerful and unique vocals carried poignant, emotional lyrics around the church beautifully, performing to a packed out crowd. With the announcement of an Asian headline tour for August and his first ever UK headline tour in November, Rhys is back with brand new single What If. As always, it's a little bit of a heartbreaker.

Rhys explains that the track "came from the regret I felt from letting go of something good too soon. My mind was a mess at the time and I rushed into a decision to end things. Now thinking about her has become a bad habit, a kind of accepted addiction, like checking my phone. She changed me, and breaking up with her changed me, all in ways I'm forever grateful for. So it's hard to keep my mind away from the idea of going back to her, especially when the ways in which I've changed make me feel closer to her. I understand her more, I understand myself more. I never understood either when we were together which is why it didn't work at the time."

Rhys is currently working on his debut album, which is expected for release around the start of 2020 - his UK dates for November are below. Grab tickets for those here.

15th Nov: Roisin Dubh, Galway
16th: Glassworks, Derry
17th: Button Factory, Dublin
18th: King Tuts Wah Wah Hut, Glasgow
20th: Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
21st: Deaf Institute, Manchester
22nd: Thekla, Bristol
23rd: O2 Institute 3, Birmingham
25th: EartH, London
26th: Komedia, Brighton
28th: O2 Academy 2, Oxford

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'In Between Minds'

For a couple of years now I've been in a near constant state of admiration for singer-songwriter Rhys Lewis. Shortly after discovering his music I passed up the opportunity to see him playing a hometown show in Oxford in favour of being sensible and writing an essay - a foolish mistake! With a gift for storytelling he consistently bares all in his tracks, which are often explorations of his own experiences (usually those of the romantic kind) - they're relatable and mirror thoughts and experiences that a lot of us have. His honesty is endearing and has earned him a really faithful group of fans consistently selling out his shows, as well as support from the likes of BBC Introducing. 

Almost a year after he released the Bad Timing EP Rhys is back with In Between Minds. It's a gorgeous collection of tracks, featuring recent singles Hold on to Happiness, Better Than Today and End Like This alongside new tracks Lonely As Love and Things You Can't Change. You can and most definitely should check it out here - the closing track is above, it's a really heartwarming number centring around the premise that "I love you for you babe, for all the things you can't change." 

Talking about the EP, Rhys explains "We're living in a weird time where we're all anxious. Everyone has their own thought and fears, but it's probably the same thing unifying them, and even though that divides us it should unite us and bring us together. Each track on the EP has helped me distill and better understand some of the heavier emotions and anxieties that had been sitting at the back of my mind for the best part of a year [...] writing songs has become a way for me to draw a line in the sand and be at peace with things whenever things get confused in my own head."

If you missed Rhys' London headline show last night, you can catch him at Bushstock Festival in June alongside a wonderful line-up!

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'End Like This'

One of my favourite discoveries of recent years, Rhys Lewis has consistently shared some of the most simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking music I've heard recently. Writing in an incredibly honest way about his experience of relationships, the listener is presented with lyrics which are incredibly personal but usually relatable too. His soulful vocals and production which gives them the forefront offers a fairly emotional listen (if you're a fan of sad songs - you'll probably love Rhys as much as I do.) He's back with new single End Like This, the third single to be taken from his upcoming 5-track In Between Minds EP alongside Hold On To Happiness and Better Than Today.

Speaking about the new track, Rhys shares:“Putting too much faith in love is the only way to feel it in its strongest incarnation. When you do feel it powerfully for someone you put all your trust in it, you start thinking 10 years ahead and picture what your lives might look like together. When a relationship breaks down, you not only have to let go of the person you were with, but every single one of those visions too. So, for a while at least, you have to live with a different image of the future.”

Check out this exclusive live version of the track for VEVO!

Rhys heads out on a headline tour this May with a sold out show at London's Omeara on 1st May - if you missed out on tickets he is also playing at Bushstock Festival on 15th June alongside a brilliant line-up! Full tour dates here.

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'Hold On To Happiness'

I'm loving this gorgeous new offering from Rhys Lewis, which also comes alongside news of a tour! I'm a big fan of Rhys' music - often stripped back and emotionally charged, he's released eight songs and an EP to date, and demand for his debut album is fairly high! Originally from Oxford, Rhys has gained live experience through support tours with the likes of Sigrid, Freya Ridings and JP Cooper over the past couple of years, as well as having heavy support from BBC Introducing.

Writing of the ideas behind the new track, Rhys explains that "I don't believe we need a lot to be happy, but we live in a complicated world now that seems to make us focus more on the things we don't have than the things we do. Social media makes people fall into that trap, and I've realised how damaging it is. Life just happens, and it'll pass you by if you let it. So, I'm trying to stay more in the present, to be truly there when the moment's golden, to make memories I'll reminisce not regret."

Rhys plays a European tour in May, which kicks off with a show at London's Omeara on May 1st. Check out the rest of the dates and grab tickets here.

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'Better Than Today'

I added the first tracks to my 2019 playlist a few days ago - be sure to follow for my favourite songs throughout the year! I've also started a secondary 'acoustic/folk/chilled' playlist where I'll be sharing all my fave sad/slow songs through the year. Kicking off that one is this beautifully sad but hopeful new tune from Rhys Lewis, Better Than Today. In a post online, Rhys describes the track as being written "to help ease my anxiety about the future and remind myself that despite what the headlines can lead you to believe sometimes, I know there are more good people in the world than bad. I've put my heart and soul into this song, I hope it can be some kind of comfort if you ever feel hopeless or helpless with the way the world turns at the minute." If you like what you're hearing, Rhys' Bad Timing EP is certainly worth a listen while we eagerly await news of his debut album!

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WATCH: Rhys Lewis - 'No Right To Love You'

Rhys Lewis has shared a new acoustic tune, entitled No Right To Love You, and it's pretty darn flawless. A quick listen makes it pretty clear just how personal this track is to Rhys - an extension of his recent (and beautiful) Bad Timing EP, the lyrics across all of these tunes show him to be an artist who isn't afraid of wearing his heart on his sleeve musically. His voice is just as captivating as the lyrics, and the acoustic performance below is completely flawless.

Writing of the tune, Rhys explains that "this song is about a really difficult break-up and I would say it's definitely the most personal song I've ever written [...] I knew that it was for the best, but you can't just turn off your feelings for someone overnight. It was so difficult for me I had to actually leave London because everything around me reminded me of her. I went to stay with a friend and that's when I wrong the song. I hope the song does justice to how I felt waking up and living that first day apart from her, it's a painful process whatever side of the break-up you're on." 

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LISTEN: Rhys Lewis - 'Bloodstains'

Scrolling my release radar playlist on Spotify last week I stumbled across this brand new Rhys Lewis tune, and was instantly drawn in by the stunning vocals. It's been in my headphones (in between the new MGMT and The Wombats records, of course) pretty much constantly since. Bloodstains follows a number of moving, powerful and lyrically impressive singles from the last year or so, and is taken from the upcoming Bad Timing EP, due for release on 23rd Feb. Rhys wrote online that the track was written "about someone who had me in the palm of their hand" - it's angry, heartfelt and heartbreaking in equal measure and I'm really digging it.

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