al lewis
Hometown:
London, United Kingdom
Al is a singer/songwriter originally from North Wales but now based in London. His songs are a mixture of pop/rock and acoustic folk. ?If Johnny Borrell, Chris Martin and Damien Rice ever met in a bar one day, decided to write a bunch of songs and then asked Jack Johnson to play them, then you?d probably get something close to what you might expect to hear from Al Lewis.? Epigram (Bristol University Student Paper) The Story so Far.............. Although still only 22, Al has been performing and composing for over 7 years. He started at 15 as the lead singer of a band he formed with his school friends in North Wales, and he quickly developed a passion for music and in particular song writing. Between 2000 and 2002 he played gigs all over Wales selling out venues such as the Swallow Falls, Betws-y-Coed, following on from the likes of the Super Furry Animals. In Sept 2002 Al began the first of his four years at the University of Bristol where he soon assimilated himself into the live music scene there. After several performances at ?Open Mic? events around Bristol, Al decided to set up his second band Sexy Russian with three other university students. In 2004 they enjoyed great success playing to large crowds across Bristol, this culminated in a slot alongside Radio 1 DJs The Dreem Teem during the summer. In Sept 2004 Al moved to Toulouse, France. This experience allowed him to develop his song writing skills. Al was constantly writing more material, drawing his inspiration from life in a foreign country. During his time there he was also able to do several acoustic concerts that were all very well supported. Having returned from France, Al?s first proper recording was to be an EP released in July 2005 containing three original tracks: My Muse, Bonnie and Clyde and The Painter. The track My Muse was first played by BBC Radio Wales DJ Jamie Dunbar on his show Studio X in August 2005, he noted afterwards how he was ?very impressed? by the track. The E.P continued to receive airplay on many stations including BBC Radio Wales and BBC Radio Bristol. Following the release of the EP, Al performed live acoustic gigs all over Bristol and Cardiff culminating in a headline set at the renowned Fleece and Firkin. In October 2006 his debut album More Ways than One was released. The album was recorded at Briar Bank Studios in Penarth, South Wales. It took around a month to record and contains 12 original tracks (including one in French and one in Welsh). Now a regular on the London acoustic-scene; Al can be seen performing at well known venues such as The Bedford, The Troubadour, The Slaughtered Lamb and Ginglik. In March this year at the live televised ?Song for Wales? competition Al performed and co-wrote the song ?Llosgi? (Burning) which won the professional songwriters category and came second overall. This summer Al can be seen at the ?Sesiwn Fawr? festival in Dolgellau, where he will be promoting the twin release of the single ?Waiting for You? and the Welsh Language EP ?Byw mewn Breuddwyd?.