In his interview feature, we get to know the most radicalist up and coming stars on the planet.    This time, we had a chat with the up and coming indie singer-songwriter Lewis Cromby.    The Liverpool musician’s unique voice channels inspiration from the likes of Oasis and Richard Ashcroft, while his music ranges from tender acoustic guitar ballads to bouncy full band affairs. The main consistency is his flair for catchy melodies. At TMR, we’ve covered every tune he’s released, and every single one is blessed with a mesmerising hook. This upcoming release is sure to pack the same punch, with hooks and perfectly chosen chord sequences allowing him to prove himself as one to watch.   Covering everything from lyrical inspirations to The Royle Family, we had a great chat about Lewis’ debut EP.    TMR: We’ve covered all of your singles so far over at TMR. How does it feel to finally be able to drop an EP rather than intermittent singles?    It feels good, most of the original demos I had released as singles where songs I’d written over the last ten years or so in between other projects I was doing at the time, so to finally record an EP with three new tunes is great. I hadn’t written any music for around 5 years so it’s great to get back into it and get an EP finished. I can’t wait to get it out there for people to listen to and hear their opinions.   TMR: How did you first get into music?    I started playing guitar when I was 16. I was really into the TV series The Royle Family and loved the theme tune which I didn’t know at the time was by Oasis. One day I downloaded the track to listen to it fully, and from there branched out to their other songs and other similar bands. After learning a few songs I thought I would have a go at writing myself and it just seemed to click and from there I fell in love with it   TMR: You’ve got quite a unique vocal style. Is that what comes out naturally, or do you have a specific singing voice you intentionally access?    I never used to be able to sing, I’m not saying I can now either I just mean I really couldn’t sing when I started playing the guitar. The first band I got into, I was the only one who could sing and play at the same time, and was the one was one writing the tunes so I never had a choice but to keep going and trying. I don’t really try to imitate anyone I just sing how it comes out thankfully people seem to like it and be into it.   TMR: Most of your tracks combine an indie-pop vibe with a distinctly folky element. Does anything in particular influence that approach?    Not really, I just write songs that I enjoy playing. I am not trying to be a certain genre or have a big plan of how I want the music to sound I just write with an open mind. I think that’s why some of the tracks are so different from acoustic songs to full band songs. I love the way Lennon and Springsteen do it, they have these amazing stripped back tunes that you fall in love with, yet others that have a full band behind and it’s impossible to be still whilst they are on, they are two definitely big inspirations when writing!   TMR: Have you ever written in (or released) anything in a completely different genre/style? Are you into any musical genres that we might not expect?   I wouldn’t really say the other stuff I had worked on for other projects was that different to what I am doing now because I’ve always followed the process of writing what I like to play. I was big on Britpop for a number of years so that definitely used to feature in the music I was writing and probably still does now creep in at times, but I love all types of music from dance to acoustic and everything in between. I honestly will listen to pretty much anything.   TMR: What was the recording process like for the EP?    It’s all recorded at my home. Everything that is on that record was recorded in the spare room of my house. I love recording there, it’s something I have only started doing since I started releasing music again last year. I love having the availability to tweak and add to records on the fly, I’m still very new to producing so their rough around the edges but I hope that adds to the sound and feeling of the record.   TMR: Where do your lyrics come from?    Everyday life and other people’s stories. Some of the records are in relation to me personally, others are based on other people I know, and some are about people who may not even exist. I had a mate once tell me that songwriting is storytelling and I love that because there’s no restrictions with it.   TMR: Some of your tunes are full band affairs- do you ever perform with a full band?   None of these songs have even been played by a full band, at the moment when I do the occasional show it’s just stripped back versions of the tracks because that’s how they are originally written. However, I would love to play them in the format they are in now. I’ve had some very amazing people throw their name in the hat saying they would love to get involved with them so who knows, it’s definitely something I hope happens.   TMR: Have any other emerging artists grabbed your attention recently?   I haven’t really been listening to any new music recently to be truthful and have been off the scene for so long so haven’t really come across anyone new, but knowing Liverpool there will be so many amazing musicians doing big things out there at the moment, hopefully I can become a part of that with this release.   TMR: If you had to choose one track from the EP to introduce others to your music which would it be?   I love them all, however, ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over Now’ holds a special place for me on the EP, musically, lyrically and from a production perspective for me it’s the strongest. It’s the opener on purpose because it’s set the scene of how the record is set. It was also the last song I wrote for the record so at the point of writing it I had a few new songs under my belt and well and truly had the bug again for writing music. I feel some people would however have an argument that ‘A Song About You’ should be the main track, but people can have their own opinions when they listen to it when it’s finally out.   by Dan Peeke