Roman Lewis

Can you share with our readers how you got into music?

I started out dancing but got a knee injury and was left with no creative outlet, so instead of dancing to music I decided to make it myself. I was originally just playing covers, but at 13 when I started playing gigs, I heard everyone playing their own songs and thought it would be a good idea to do the same. Writing’s now definitely become my favorite part. Around my 15th birthday I recorded some songs at my mate’s house, one of them being “Mindless Town,” and released them on Soundcloud. It all sort of escalated from there, really.

Tell us more about your latest EP Heartbreak (for now). What was the inspiration behind it?

Heartbreak (for now) is about my first encounter with love. I’m about to record the second EP, which is sort of just a continuation of that.

Your songs “Ways” and “I’m a Fool For You” are unlike any other song you currently have out. What made you want to create songs that stray away from your usual sound?

I didn’t really want to have a usual sound. I want to explore different sounds and this was one of them. Also, it’s nice to have some boppy songs in the live set. In “Ways,” I was trying to recreate party music because that’s what I’m talking about in the song and with “I’m a Fool for You.” I wanted to write a song you could dance to.

Does the music scene in London in your mind differ from that of the U.S. in any way?

I mean, I don’t know how much it really differs, apart from the accent. There are different trends I guess. I’m loving the whole post-punk movement that’s going on in the UK at the moment and artists like King Krule and Wolf Alice, and then the whole Car Seat Headrest/Snail Mail, Big Thief and Phoebe Bridgers with all her collabs thing in the U.S. scene. There’s great music coming from everywhere!

It’s a right of passage in almost every artist’s career to play a music festival. Which festival would you love to play?

Yeah, I love festivals! I’ve been to Reading Festival more than any other so to play there would be fun. Glastonbury is obviously a dream. I went to Dour Festival last year and it was loads of fun so it could be cool to play there.

BBC is a huge deal in the U.K. What was it like being chosen as the BBC Muc Introducing artists?

It felt amazing! I mean, all this sort of stuff feels a bit surreal, but then they happen and little by little this whole music thing becomes less of a dream and more of a beautiful reality.

Can you share with us your plans for the future? Can we expect an album or headline tour anytime soon?

I’m going into the studio to record the second EP and plan on releasing it later this year. As soon as there are enough people that want to see me, there will definitely be a headline tour. Probably gonna have to be the occasional show until that comes though.