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The Lowdown: Interview with Lewis Fieldhouse

"I used to do introspective, singer-songwriter type stuff, but I wanted it to be happier."

by SamByrd, October 26th, 2012 and has been Read 504 times.
Last Edited by: Chris MUG5 Maguire October 27th, 2012.

Yorkshire-born singer-songwriter Lewis Fieldhouse started burning up the underground music scene as soon as he left the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts last year. In that time, he has received the Songlink award for ‘Best Contemporary Song’ for his single ‘Snow,’ his music’s been played by Radio 2’s Janice Long, and the string of singles he’s been releasing have been eaten up by a growing online fan base. He has since left his band Fieldhouse for a solo career.

We caught him for an interview after his live show at the Oxjam Chiswick Music Festival this past Saturday.

AltSounds: When did you start writing songs? Why?

Lewis Fieldhouse: I started writing songs at age 15 to pass my GCSE music. I’d tried to write orchestral pieces but it just wasn’t working; I tried songwriting instead and turned out to be pretty good at it!

AltSounds: How was writing with Sir Paul McCartney?

Lewis Fieldhouse: Amazing. He’s such a nice man. Just this kind of calm…calm geezer. He’s got such an absolute aura about him. He just kind of exudes confidence and happiness. He’s incredibly creative – once we started writing it just kept rolling on.

AltSounds: Do you have a favorite/least favorite part of doing a live show?

Lewis Fieldhouse: Least is trying to get an audience on-side. Favorite is when you play a song to a new crowd and they hum along to the last chorus. Then you know you’re doing your job right.



AltSounds: Of which of your songs are you proudest?

Lewis Fieldhouse: ‘Don’t Be A Stranger’. I feel like it encapsulates everything I am at the moment, as an artist. It’s got that nice happiness I want to incorporate. I used to do introspective, singer-songwriter type stuff, but I wanted it to be happier. Happier in songs, just happier as a person.

AltSounds: What do you want to achieve with your music?

Lewis Fieldhouse: I want to be a respected songwriter, a well-known artist. Love to go on tours, etc. We’ll see!



AltSounds: Have you always wanted to be a musician?

Lewis Fieldhouse: No. At first I wanted to be a philosopher – I wanted to do a philosophy degree. Before that I wanted to be a psychologist. It’s good I didn’t; I would’ve been a terrible psychologist! I spent some time training to be an actor in London on a split course between music and drama, but found that I hated acting and loved music.

AltSounds: With whom would you most like to gig?

Lewis Fieldhouse: Coldplay. I’d love to gig with Coldplay.

AltSounds: How have your travels influenced your music?

Lewis Fieldhouse: An awful lot, actually. Traveling gives a fresh perspective on life. You meet new people and you become much more laid back on where you want to go in life. I’m less bothered about the destination, more worried about the journey now.

AltSounds: Have you been compared to any other artists?

Lewis Fieldhouse: Coldplay, Jeff Buckley…I don’t know!



AltSounds: You have a degree in Music with a focus in Songwriting. Did you find that study helpful?

Lewis Fieldhouse: It really helped. It was amazing to spend three years kind of focusing solely on songwriting. It gives you the time and the space to focus on writing songs. You can pretty much get away with just working on songs if you want to. It’s amazing to just focus completely on the craft – it can be a bit of a headfuck at times, just because you’ll be like, “I’ve worked on this song all week, I’ve only talked to three or four people in a week…I need to get out.” I’m strapped for time now, so that’s mainly how I write – just, in really intense periods.

AltSounds: Any advice for aspiring songwriters?

Lewis Fieldhouse: Write all the time. Write all the time. Even if you think it’s shit. Just keep going. (And listen to the best music!)