Ahead of his upcoming debut album Things I Chose To Remember, Oxfordshire-born singer-songwriter Rhys Lewis has released the studio version of his heart-wrenching breakup track, ‘No Right To Love You’.
The song is already a massive hit online with an acoustic version amassing 100 million streams and counting.
The music artist was in Singapore last July for an intimate gig at a space in Aljunied.
Also read: Rhys Lewisβ textures and tones felt like a shining light of hope and incandescence
Lewis has become synonymous with songs of heartbreak, ‘When Was The Last Time’, ‘Be Your Man’ plus recent single ‘Hurting’ with Kygo are just a few of his incandescent offerings about failed love.
‘No Right To Love You’ is a tender, taut gem of a song that will make you reconsider love and loss.
Says Lewis on the single,
βThis song came out of the conflicting emotions I felt during a breakup that I went through a few years ago. Ending a relationship with someone you still love is a strange thing to go through. As the person doing the breaking up, itβs confusing to feel both regretful and relieved at the same time. I wanted to articulate that tension and express how heavy the absence of someone can feel when you havenβt yet broken the habit of loving themβ
After graduating from London Centre Of Contemporary Music, Lewis was quickly picked up by Decca Records who signed him after hearing ‘No Right To Love You’. Lewis spent the next six months working on his debut album. However, what he made just didnβt feel authentic.
Β βI recorded an album that was very much in a soulful, jazzy vein, but I stepped away from it as I felt like it wasn’t who I am.βΒ
Rhys was given the space to scrap the album and start again. The only song to survive the βMarie Kondo-ingβ was ‘No Right To Love You’, and is a fitting single for Lewis to lead into the release of Things I Chose To Remember – out this Friday (July 10, 2020).
Things I Chose To Remember is a testament to an artistβs unleashed creativity, and stands as Lewis’s most inventive and exploratory music to date.Β
The album was recorded on analogue tape, a rare and expensive process thatβs barely been used since the early β80s. In a throwaway world where anyone can make a pop song, it takes a rare and brave talent not to hide behind computers and modern production, holding both his songwriting and performance skills to the same rigorous standards of the greats from the past. In this, and so much more, Lewis’s fierce self-belief is both apparent and addictive.
Lewis is currently exploring new ways to create links with his fans, helping build fresh analogue connections in a digital world, and innovative methods of engaging with his fanbase despite the current circumstances.Β
In a series of Instagram live-streams and fun quizzes, Lewis has been sending out personalised postcards and will expand on this in the weeks to come, showcasing new ways to help his followers explore their creativity and alleviate modern-day anxieties through art.
His previous two releases ‘Good People’ and ‘The Sun Will Rise’ were also of a much happier note, glowing in positivity and exuding in its embraces and happy colours.
Also check out his caravan session videos, which have been great to watch! Hereβs a recent one of Lewis performing the song ‘Friday Iβm in Love‘ by the English rock band The Cure.
Things I Chose To Remember will be out on July 10, 2020. Pre-order or pre-save the album here.
