SG LEWIS

SG Lewis sounds like slipping into a luminous hot tub built into the nose of a spaceship. Tinted windows turn each streaking star to peach and opal as you glide through the black to someplace tropical.

Colorful, kinetic and endlessly smooth, something new is rising from the head-on collision of genres taking place in the UK music scene. It sounds like R&B, but funkier. It glimmers with a heavy polish of modern production over the top of a retro skeleton that projects timeless nostalgia through huge drums and glamorous synths. It’s electronic music that dictates you to dance, but it’s not EDM. Intimately emotional and hypnotically catchy, SG Lewis’ music draws you into another space, transports you in style and luxury.

Samuel George Lewis, a native of Reading, England, started releasing music online in his teens. Remixes on Soundcloud turned into a DJ residency at a Liverpool nightclub, which turned into a deal with PMR Records in 2014. The 20-something multi instrumentalist and producer found himself booked to perform with EDM titans Disclosure at a 2,000 year old castle within the year, and over the next half-decade SG would gift the world with 5 EPs that ooze neon heat and display an ever-sharpening sense of design. 

Lewis immediately outed himself as a quintuple threat by singing, playing keys, bass, drums and guitar on his 2015 debut, Shiver. This release is cavernous and moody; affected vocals echo over driving, emotive piano movements like an aurora channeled in a hall of mirrors. Yours followed in 2016 - brighter, funkier and finely tuned to capture more dancefloors, the EP heavily features complex choral harmonies, effervescent synth lines and rhythm guitar playing for every disco and funk fan. In 2018, Lewis announced a new EP trilogy that would eventually take him touring across Europe, The UK, Asia, Canada, North America, and New Zealand. 

When the first installment arrived, Dusk became an instant classic in my household after just one play. The simple genius of the bass groove that forms the backbone of Aura hooked me without hesitation, the prismatic robo-vocals on Coming Up and the eponymous color palette of Sunsets Pt. 2 sealing the deal. The liquid gold instrumental Tides enlists the help of Roche Musique producer Kartell, scoring major funk points. For me, this EP marks the beginning of Lewis’ musical prime.

Near the end of the year, Dark brought with it a host of high-profile guest stars including Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs, Aluna George, and Bruno Major. This release pushed Lewis’ signature sound while also diversifiying it, lending ice cold trap production to bars spat by Drew Love and experimenting with instrumental house beats alongside Dot Major.

Dawn is tender, returning somewhat to the piano-driven melancholy and heavy reverb of Shiver, but SG’s production has continued to level up with every new track. There are some guests aboard as well - Clairo sings on the delicate Throwaway, HONNE harmonizes on Overdose, Ruel drips liquid seduction on Flames, the energetic peak of the EP, and Kamille finishes the record off with a silky smooth flow on Easy Loving You. I was only familiar with one of these vocalists going in, but left Dawn with a list of new names to keep eyes on. SG has an incredible knack for setting a perfect stage for rising talent to find their fame upon.

Tired of my relentless praise? Stop reading now. Things just get better when you see SG live.

Grinning from ear to ear, oozing innocent charisma and confident swagger, Sam throws himself fully into each performance like it’s his favorite thing in the world. Personally, I’m convinced it is. His eyes squeeze shut as he caresses lush vocoder harmony from one of many synths - he twirls drumsticks absent-mindedly between beats on a compact percussion rack - he trades bass duty with one of his supporting musicians and performs sonic acrobatics over the course of numerous guitar solos. As if this all wasn’t enough, he plays hype man to everyone sharing the stage with him (and the audience), exuding positivity that mingles with raw talent to produce pervasive awe amongst the crowd. 

It’s very clear that this combination of attitude and aptitude will take SG far, and I hope to be there for as much of his journey as I can. Already the world is waking up to the phenomenon of his music, slipping into the warm waters aboard his intergalactic cruise.

Sam, if you’re reading this - come back to Portland. We miss you and can’t wait to see what you’ll dazzle us with next.

Thanks for reading,

♥ Zach