There is something wicked about creating soundscapes that evoke so many things – be it from the past or the present, from pop, indie or ambient – yet still sound fresh, but fresh in the sense of being a meaningful experience. This has been the story of Mark William Lewis, a story that came to public attention a few years ago, as he made a name for himself on the streets of London and, across the world, racked up millions of streams of his music. There is something relatable about the atmosphere he creates; perhaps it is because his songs – short, simple and exemplary in their directness – tell us something specific about our emotions.
For songs shrouded in such a cloudy veil, it is fascinating how Mark William Lewis manages to create such an open dialogue with the listener. His demons are ours; his journey towards a supposed redemption is relatable to what one feels when listening to his music. It helps to have the ease of soft jazz, the sophistication of a DIY Steely Dan, or the lost romance of a Lewis Baloue. Place this alongside the pop ramblings of Dean Blunt, Mica Levi and Coby Sey, and there is something assertive about Mark William Lewis’s very existence at this moment in time.
Returning to the wicked side of things, if this is something we’re already familiar with, why do we fall in love so easily with his songs? Why is it that, whilst laying all their cards on the table, they manage to exist in a state of limbo, as if they were making us believe that a deeply personal journey – or so we think, or so we perceive when listening to what he sings to us – could be something universal? At a time when there are no longer any well-kept secrets, Mark William Lewis, despite his millions of streams, still sounds like a well-kept secret. He shouldn’t be; his songs deserve to be out there on the streets, haunting and comforting us in our troubles. Because they serve both purposes. They are songs that make us believe that, one day, the world will still be too small for them, even if they retain – or reveal – that air of a well-kept secret. Come what may, it’s just as well that Mark William Lewis fits into our little world. Believe it or not, that leaves more room for his music to find its way into our hearts.
AS
