ON OUR RADAR: LEWIS KNAGGS
Lewis shares the importance of his single ‘I’ll Survive’ and helping the homeless. Read on to find out why he’s on our radar!
Introduce yourself!
I’m Lewis Knaggs…I’m from North London and I make music and films.
How would you describe your music to a potential listener?
I’d say it’s Indie with a bit of Rock in there, some Americana too…
Since being an artist, do you feel it has grown in the direction you hoped for, or has there been any setbacks?
Yeah It really has grown in an organic way. I make music because I love to do it. It’s a therapy for me and I’d never not do it. I guess covid has been a setback in terms of not being able to play shows, but it’s given me more time to make music. As well as make videos for all of the music I have coming out in 2021. So it’s been a bit of blessing in that sense.
Which tracks are you most proud of to date and why?
From what I have released so far it has to be “I’ll Survive”. It took on a new meaning after my good friend passed away tragically this year. The lyrics and melodies made more sense and really helped me to deal with his passing. Before he passed away we happened to filmed the video for it where he grew up and he was helping out on the shoot. So it just feels more poignant.
The final track from the EP “Shoulder to Shoulder” is also one I am really proud of, that will be coming out soon - it’s a bit of a Killers style piano ballad.
Where do you feel you fit in in an ever changing and demanding music scene?
It’s hard to say where I fit in really, as I don’t tend to write music to sound like what is around right now. I listen to a lot of older stuff, like the Stones, Springsteen, White Stripes etc. I think Jack White once said with writing music you have to go back to go forwards. I definitely try to live to that to some degree.
Having said that I am a big fan of Gang of Youths, and Sam Fender. So if my name is ever mentioned in the same sentence I will leave this earth a happy man :)
Do you have any tips for keeping your mental health in check throughout this period of time?
Exercising, daylight, good food and sleep. Good music helps too of course ;P
What issues are important to you? How do you use your music and platform to communicate these?
Homelessness in the UK is at an all time high right now. The government housed the majority of London’s homeless community during lockdown in empty hotels, then threw most of them back onto the streets after things opened up again. The fact that huge mansions, hotels and monarch buildings remain empty whilst people freeze to death on the streets just blows my mind. People need to be thinking about these things, but we live in a very self centred world.
I made a series of films for St Mungo’s, which I’ve been shouting about recently, in an attempt to get people to donate, as the work they do is great. You can check out one of the films here. Music and film is so interlinked, making something that can help people connect to a story that would otherwise go unnoticed is important to me.
What are your top three albums at the moment?
Gang of Youths - Go Farther In Lightness
Sam Fender - Hypersonic Missiles
Bruce Springsteen - Letter To You
What’s one song you wish you could have written?
‘Tear’ - Red Hot Chili Peppers
If you could tour with anyone, who would it be?
It would have to be Bruce Springsteen I think…or Gang of Youths.
What should your fans be expecting from your band in the near future?
EP 1 is dropping early this year, which is exciting. Then another EP will be dropping a few months later, leading us into 2022. Hoping for an album in 2022 but we’ll see!
Stream Lewis Knaggs’ latest single and accompanying lyric video for ‘Runaway’ now.