Singer-songwriter Lewis Watson is readying the release of his second record this March, an album which sees the artist with even more control this time round, as he evolves his acoustic-pop sound.
The Oxford-born musician is headed to Tabernacle on March 23 to showcase his ambitious and affective tracks, which are brimming with emotion, to an already captivated audience which is only going to grow in 2017.
On his upcoming second album "midnight" Lewis says: "I'm itching to get the record out, it's been a long time coming between getting it finished and showing people the music."
Lewis has already previewed five tracks off the album for his fans including "maybe we're home", the first of the bunch which was done with some hesitation.
As Lewis says: "I was scared I chose to release it first because it was quite a change to the first record and what people may have expected.
"I thought it would be better to showcase that earlier rather than the same acoustic track - but everybody has reacted positively."
The songs see Lewis moving away from his acoustic beginnings - a sound which found him an audience - to a heavier more ambitious sound using electric guitars and a backing band.
As Lewis puts it: "Everything about the creation has matured, it's been a dream."
However he reassures die hard fans that the acoustic sound is still on the record in some form: "I do tip my cap to how I started. I don't want to get so far away from that. My audience has matured as well and they appreciate it."
"Releasing it now is the difficult part," he adds.
He will support the record with a headline tour stopping off across the UK in March and April including a sold out show at Tabernacle, London on March 23.
As Lewis prepares for the tour and second album release he says: "If you'd have told me that at 15 I would have laughed you out the room."
His music career kicked off at eight when he learnt The Darkness' track on guitar: "I thought I was the Bee Gees or something.
"I ended up leaving that guitar and just decided I wasn't able to play. But when I was 15 and heard bands like City & Colour, and I remember thinking 'I want to create this kind of music'.
From there he spent a year learning to play the guitar and writing songs which he eventually uploaded to YouTube at a time when the platform wasn't what we know it as today.
There was no Vloggers or VEVO instead it was mostly home made videos with Lewis using it to watch himself back and improve his craft.
He says: "I started to see people watch and leave comments - I nearly deleted everything. I thought 'why would anybody watch my videos? I don't want anyone to hear'."
But thankfully the budding singer-songwriter left the videos online and with it came thousands of fans wanting more music and to catch him at a live show.
As Lewis puts it: "It gave me a drive. I started gigging every night around my hometown which really helped me grow and battle the nerves."
His eventual release of more EPs and debut album "the morning" in 2014 with major label Warner Bros. saw a worldwide tour and sold out shows.
However it was bittersweet for Lewis who says: "The major label was not for me, the whole process was not how I worked, it took two years to create [the morning] it became like Frankenstein.
"I'm not dissing them - they were relieved to get rid of me! But I wanted more creative control, I'd rather it took longer and be harder than take the easy route and hate myself for it.
After recording some new material it was picked up by Zane Lowe who played two songs on his show - and after that it exploded for Lewis.
"The day after labels were getting in touch again but I didn't want to do it like that, but to do it ourselves, because we must have been doing something right!"
Now, thankfully he is signed to Cooking Vinyl, an independent record label who represent, what Lewis says: "Career artists which is massive for me, they showed so much interest.
"They make my good ideas great and my bad ideas good, all of the writing so far has been a dream" he adds.
This 'difficult second album' has been a smoother process for Lewis, who recorded it in two weeks with his friends and producer Anthony West, living in a 'bubble' during the process.
The rest of 2017 sees the singer tour the US and Australia as well as a number of festival appearances - some of which he can't reveal yet.
He says: "I'm hoping this year will kick off the festival season for us I want a repeat of 2013. I'm extremely excited."
Lewis Watson's tour kicks off on March 21 with tickets on sale here and he plays a sold out show at London's Tabernacle on March 23.
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