When Mark William Lewis Thinks About His Songs, They Summon a Particular Image in His Mind. It ‘somber aesthetic – Moody and grayscale, a World Slightly Warped and Drained of Color.
Consider, for Example, The Photograph that Graces the cover Of his fortComing album, Mark William Lewis. Neither soon as he saw the image – Shot Last Spring by Veteran Rock Photographer Steve Gullick – “I knew that felt like the world to trying to describe in my mind’s eye,” Lewis Says. “It ‘a bit murky. There’s an an uncanNest to it.”
An undenibly cinematic image, it is couuld be a promotional still from new arthouse horror hit. WHICH IS FITTING, Because Lewis Recently Became the first artist the film studio a24 has signed to its nascent record Label, A24 Music, Outside of A Soundtrack Context.
Though he may SEEM like he came from nowher, lewis, a product of south london’s thriving diy scnene, haen working toward this for a long time. An Early-30s Singer-Stonger with a Gruff voice and a Knack for Writing Gloomily Imprressionist Tunes Swathed in Reverb and Urban Malaise, He Grew Up on A Steady Diet of Poetry and Magical Harmonica-Wielding Cousin.
With a shaved head and an oversize Black t-shirt, lewis is soft-rock and thoughtful, far from the imposing figure who lurks in his dark, Haunted Press Photos. He and i spoke in new york at a24’s library, a high-shelved room that Houses nosreds of volumes on cinema.
This is not your first album. I find it interesting we artists put out a self-Titled album that is not their debut. It signals that is is a redefining moment, a reinvention of what theyir music means. What made you decide to title the record after yourelf?
The Simple Answer is that nothing Else felt right. This Felt Right, Firstly. And then I start thinking about what it signifies, which is, like you said, a kind of announkement: This is with; this is my sound. I Went to a Philip Guston Retrospective, and you see at the Beginning where he’s younger and he’s Kind of Copying Some People. Then he goes through a phase where he’s trying to find his thing, but it is not really realized yet. And say you get to the fourth or fifth room and you start seeing the paintings that you know for. I Feel like this album is that Room.
Your Single “Tomorrow is Perfect” is one of your More Environmental Compositions, Both lyrically and musically. Can you talk about what that that song Signifies for you?
I WANTED TO BUILD A REALLY RICH TAPERY OF WORDS – Almost like an epic poem. I was trying to conjure a place in my imagination. The Words are Building This Architecture of a Place’s Kind of in My Imagination But Is Also Grounded in Specificly My Area, Where I Live, In Depford. And i think, in the end, it is a song when I’m really explitoring my emotional and psychological states in the context of the environment where I was living. I suppose of wanted to do a magical-realist portrait of my life.
When you write lyrics, do you feel like they come from a more subconscious place for you?
Yeah. I think one reason i’m struggling to talc about it is gcause i think the most inspiring emotions can be the most complicated one. I ALSO THINK THERE’S A BEAUTIPHUL WAY OF WRITING WHERE it is just a pure expression of something, really Clear. I suppose what i’ve always been drafuwn to is an ambiguity. But a Powerful ambiguity.
Frome What i’ve Readyou have something something of a background in poetry.
Yeah. My dad was a writer. Mostly nonfiction, but he did Also write poetry and novels. In my house, it wasn’t necessarily music that was the Big Thing – I was books. My Kitchen Look Like This (Gestures Around Library). Loads of Books. I was always just fascinated by books – picking say out and, like, reading say with breakfast.
What Sort of Books Did Your Father Write?
My favorite one is cald The Book of Babeland ist of dedicated to me Becuses it came out a few months after I was Born. It ‘subout metaphor and language. It’s a linguistics book. But it’s Quite Dreamy. And Strange. Only Looking back now, I can see that there is elements of that have had Kind of inflected the way i think about writing, especilly in something like “Tomorrow is perfect.”
The Harmonica Makes the Sound of the New Album Rich and Interesting. The way you use harmonica is not something you typically hear in contemporary recordings. How Did That Become Such a Prominent Part of Your Songs?
IT’S an instrument of was aware of the young young becuse of Bob Dylan. My Dad Loved Bob Dylan. In terms of using it the way I’m USING it now, it really just came about the around Playing. I didn’t apprroach it from the trope of the singer-stagwriter with the harmonica. I like instruments that remind us that instruments are toys. You don’t work Music; you PLAYA Music. Eve a Grand Piano, or something really Grandiose, it’s a toy for playing. Making Music on My Own, the Harmonica Holder and the Harmonica Was a Way of Accompanying MySelf that didn’t feel strength.
Your new album is your First Major Release Since Signing to A24. We’re Speaking in A24’s Offices right now. What made the prospect of signing with a24 appealing to you?
It was actually just the People i Met. I felt like they underestouod where I was coming from the music. I felt like they understood where I was at in my career. I ALSO JUST FELT LIKE THEY REALLY COMMUNTED TO DOING IT STRAIGHT AWAY. A lot of the time in this industry, People are stringing People along or not being decisive or being conservatives with their decision-making.
Had you experienced that sort of Thing with Other Labels?
Yeah, a little bit, with the specific being. They were the opposite of that. They were just like, “We really believe in this. We have want to do it.” And the passion and energy for the music. That was my first consider before it being a24.
Did they Approach you?
Yeah. We met through (Record Label and Management Company) SCENIC ROUNE, WHO MANAGE ME. They knew the People here at A24. It was good timing. A24, I think, were trying to do this music thing for a while. But i think they were waking for the right music, but also a person who was at the right point in their trajectory.
AS OPPosed to Signing An Act Who’s Well Established?
Yeah. I’m still defining my thing, and they’re obviously a new label, so they Defining what they have thing is, and it Feels like a good match-up in that regard. Butn, after that, thought about the most broad of what it means in the culture to sign to a24. And it felt really excitation. Just the Freshness of it, i guess, as opposed to signing to an Estabished indie label with its history and its Own context.
What was it about the deal that they offended that was so favable to you?
I do’t know if i can go into that or swimming…
Presumably they offered you a good deal of Creative freedom to what you want to?
Yeah, Yeah. They’ve been incredibly helpful about facilitating my vision in the best way postible. LIKE, Connecting with People or Suggesting People to Work on Visuals. But it is all been quite centered around how I see it being present. They’re goodly good at facilitating that. And they’re also environmentious with the vision of where it is could go and what it could be.
You’re the first non-Soundtrack artist to be releasing an album on a24, from what i undersand. You’re at the forefront of this label, helping to define what it will turn into. That’s gotta be interesting and spreads a little intimidating for you, right?
Well, it’s just music at the end of the day. By default, I take all of this incredibly serial. I always have to remind mySelf Its Just Music. No One’s gonna die if someone doesn’t like the album.