Welsh singer and songwriter Gareth Lewis releases a new single ‘While The Devil Plays The Tune’ on Saturday 14th May, the first song from his second EP which will be out later this year.
Following the success from his debut EP ‘Start The Hurricane’ in Autumn 2021 which featured hit singles including ‘Vultures’ and ‘Let It Breathe’, Gareth is now focusing on story based songs. Inspired by the songwriting and storytelling of Bruce Springsteen, the new wave of music will focus on the songs with a strong narrative.
‘While The Devil Plays The Tune’ is inspired by modern Wild West films such as Young Guns and Lawless, and has a country and blues rhythm. On the songwriting process, Gareth says;
“This song was written in early 2021 whilst writing songs for my EP Start The Hurricane. It was a song I instantly loved as soon as I wrote it, but it didn’t fit with the songs I had written for the EP so I decided to hold off on recording it.
At the time I was experimenting with story-based songs. I’ve always been a fan of underdog movies and stories and had the bones of an idea of a wild west inspired plot of a man who had been accused of crimes he didn’t commit and framed by the Sheriff of the town. The story is told from the perspective of the man’s friend who has to take the stand in the courtroom to help clear his friend”.
The song was recorded at James Weaver Music studio in the Mumbles, Swansea and features US based musician and instrumentalist Hamilton Belk on pedal steel who recorded his part directly from his studio in Maine. All other instruments and vocals were performed by Gareth and James.
Gareth has an eclectic catalogue of songs that’s he’s written for himself and other artists. Last year, a song he co-wrote called ‘Something New’ with songwriting team Delta Kills was used in an online advert by Porsche featuring Bill and Ted stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter.
‘While The Devil Plays The Tune’ is out on all streaming platforms on 14th May.
Live dates: Gareth plays at Swansea’s inaugural SWINDFEST on Sunday 19th June.