Spotlight on: Al Lewis

Swiftly on his way to becoming one of our finest exports, Al Lewis has the knack of writing infectiously catchy songs which have a blurred hue of recognition, as though you already knew them. This is no accident. Drawing on the gentle yet forceful techniques of the traditional singer-songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s, most notably the deep melancholia of Nick Drake and keen warble of Paul Simon, he wanders a well-trodden path of folk-pop while bulking it out with a few modern advances.

Although it was his Welsh Music Prize nominated 2011 LP ‘In the Wake’ that propelled him to widespread critical acclaim, Lewis is fiercely proud of his bilingualism. Originally from Pwlheli on the coast of North Wales, Lewis first began to make his name on the scene after coming second in the Cân I Gymru (Song for Wales) contest in 2007. His first two EP’s ‘Byw Mewn Breuddwyd’ and ‘Dilyn Pob Cam’ both spent multiple weeks at number one in the Welsh language album charts and he has been awarded ‘Best Male Artist’ the last two years running at the BBC Radio Cymru Awards. Recording sessions at the infamous Abbey Road and Modern World studios gave birth to two more English language EP’s: ‘Live on the Wire’ and ‘Our Lives Remain’.

His latest release, ‘Battles’ continues in the same excellent form. Riddled with both internal and external conflicts, it is a realisation of the onslaught of age and certain truths becoming apparent. He flickers from fear and introspection at the end of his twenties to an attempt to impart some of the wisdom acquired from those years. In this respect it is a slightly more reclined piece of work than some of the sprightliness of ‘In the Wake’. The inclusion of long term collaborator Sarah Howells of Paper Aeroplanes lends extra credibility to the subject matter, as often morose lyrics are inverted by the added dimension of her soft, lingering voice.

Following his first UK wide tour in October on the back of the new album, including a welcome appearance at Swn festival, Lewis has surely cemented his status as a stalwart of the Welsh folk scene.