Lewis Watson On Album ‘Midnight,’ Favorite Track & Music As Therapy [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Lewis Watson released his most recent album, Midnight, on March 24 of this year. On what his fans can expect from it, Watson says hopefully more mature lyrics and songwriting, as well as a new slew of instruments. “I spent some time with my band, with a good friend of mine Anthony West, in a studio and we recorded the record in two and a half weeks and just really had such a great time, and I think that comes across in the album,” Watson told uInterview in an exclusive video. “I feel like there’s a real evolution from my last record to Midnight, not only in the sound – we’ve introduced more instruments that are strings throughout this album – but really in my musicianship and the lyrics and my songwriting, I just think I’ve matured a lot because I have, I’ve grown up a lot since the first record, and it was fun to really get that across with Midnight.”

Watson finds it difficult to pick a favorite song. “My favorite changes often. I’ve spent most of this year touring with the band and in that kind of set up, my favorite song is definitely track two from the album, it’s a song called ‘Little Light,’ ” he said. “It’s a slightly more optimistic sounding song, and it’s just a ton of fun to play live with the full band. I like to announce before the song that I’m about to dance like I’m at a wedding, and it certainly happens, and I apologize for that shortly after, nobody has to see that,” he laughed.

“But that’s a ton of fun, it’s written about being lost and being down in the dumps and then meeting somebody who provides meaning and that little light that helps you understand happiness again. And for me that was nice because I tend to be labeled as a sad boy who writes sad songs, which I think is important,” he adds. “I think as humans, we need to be sad. I try to cry at least once every day. And today is actually my birthday and I’ve spent the majority of it on a Greyhound bus and then I’m gonna go home and cry into a pizza in bed. So I think it’s important to cry, but it’s nice to be able to provide some relief and shed some happiness within the music as well,” he finished.

While Watson has found himself solidly in the category of melancholy music, he finds that odd because he is such a happy person. “I struggle to be angry or sad just because it’s a lot of wasted energy for me, so I try to be as happy as possible,” he explains. “But the music for me is a great release and it’s a great time to allow myself to be sad. I’ve had a few pretty bad breakups and I’ve had a great life but it hasn’t always been absolutely wonderful, and there are moments that do bring sadness, but I think that it’s important for me to separate the sadness from the happiness and realize that if I sing about this stuff, it’s kind of a therapy for me. It allows me to allow myself to be sad but also not spend too much energy and time being in that place.”

Full interview transcript below:

Lewis Watson On Album ‘Midnight,’ Favorite Track & Music As Therapy

Q: What can fans expect from your new album?

A: “But yeah I just spent some time with my band, with a good friend of mine, Anthony West, in a, in a studio and we recorded the record in two and a half weeks and just really had such a great time- I think that comes across in the album you know, I feel like there’s a real evolution from my first record to Midnight. Um you know, not only in the sound- you know we’ve introduced more instruments that are strings in, throughout this album. Uh but really in my musicianship and lyrics and the song writing, I-I just think that I’ve matured a lot um you know because I have, I’ve grown up since the first record and so it was fun to really get that across with Midnight.”

Q: What’s your favorite song on the album?

A: “My favorite changes, often. Um you know I’ve spent most of this year touring with the band and it- that kind of set up my, my favorite song is definitely track two from the album. It’s a song called ‘Little Light,’ it’s a slightly more optimistic sounding song and um it’s just a ton of fun to play live with the full band. You know I like to announce before the song that I’m about to dance like I’m at a wedding and, and uh that certainly happens you know and I, I apologize for that shortly after- nobody has to see that. But that’s a ton of fun you know, it’s written about being lost and, and being down in the dumps and meeting somebody that provides you know, meaning and and that little light that really helps you understand happiness again. And, and so for me that was nice you know I tend to be labeled as a kind of a sad boy and write sad songs, which I think is important- you know I think as humans we need to be. I try to cry at least once every day and today is actually my birthday and I’m spending uh well I’ve spent the majority of it on a greyhound bus and, and then I’m gunna go home and cry into a pizza in bed I think. So I think it’s important to cry definitely um but it’s, it’s nice to be able to provide some relief you know and, and shed some happiness within the music as well. So ‘Little Light’ for me is a song that I, I love to play you know- by myself as well as with the band but that’s something that really sticks out for me with the band.”

Q: Where does the sadness come from in your songs? 

A: “It’s tough because I’m a happy guy you know, I struggle to really uh be angry or sad uh just because I feel like it’s a lot of wasted energy um for me you know. And so I try to be as happy as possible but the music for me is a great uh you know release and it’s a great time to allow myself to be sad. You know I’ve had a few pretty bad breakups and you know I’ve had a great life but it hasn’t always been absolutely wonderful and there are moments that you know, do bring sadness but I think it’s important for me to, to separate um you know the sadness from the happiness and realize that if I sing about this stuff and it’s kind of a therapy for me and it allows me to, to allow myself- it allows me to allow myself to to be sad but also you know not kind of spend too much energy and, and time uh being in that place so I think that it’s a- the music for me has certainly helped you know, as a therapy for myself and it makes me a happier person which I think is a win at the end of the day.