"No Right To Love You" Rhys Lewis

Saturday 8th August 2020

Release date: Out now Label: Decca

In an intimate sanctuary of sound, Rhys Lewis found a new home. While his poignant songwriting has racked up legions of loyal fans — and close to 400 million plays to date — the Oxfordshire-born artist has pushed his creativity to unforeseen new heights for his bewitching debut album ‘Things I Chose To Remember’ (due July 10, Decca).

Today, Lewis releases the studio version of his heart-wrenching breakup track, “No Right To Love You”. The song is already a massive hit online with an acoustic version amassing 100 million streams and counting.

Lewis has become synonymous with songs of heartbreak, “When Was The Last Time”, “Be Your Man” plus recent single “Hurting” w/Kygo are just a few of his incandescent offerings about failed love. “No Right To Love You” is a tender, taut gem of a song that will make you reconsider love and loss.

 Lewis on the single: “This song came out of the conflicting emotions I felt during a breakup that I went through a few years ago. Ending a relationship with someone you still love is a strange thing to go through. As the person doing the breaking up, it’s confusing to feel both regretful and relieved at the same time. I wanted to articulate that tension and express how heavy the absence of someone can feel when you haven’t yet broken the habit of loving them”

After graduating from London Centre Of Contemporary Music, Lewis was quickly picked up by Decca Records who signed him after hearing “No Right To Love You”.  Lewis spent the next six months working on his debut album however what he made just didn’t feel authentic. “I recorded an album that was very much in a soulful, jazzy vein, but I stepped away from it as I felt like it wasn't who I am.”  Rhys was given the space to scrap the album and start again. The only song to survive the Marie Kondo-ing was “No Right To Love You” and so a fitting single for Lewis to lead into the release of Things I Chose To Remember.

Things I Chose To Remember is a testament to an artist’s unleashed creativity, and stands as Lewis's most inventive and exploratory music to date. Things I Chose To Remember was recorded on analogue tape, a rare and expensive process that’s barely been used since the early ‘80s. In a throwaway world where anyone can make a pop song, it takes a rare and brave talent not to hide behind computers and modern production, holding both his songwriting and performance skills to the same rigorous standards of the greats from the past. In this, and so much more, Lewis's fierce self-belief is both apparent and addictive.

 Rhys is currently exploring new ways to create links with his fans, helping build fresh analogue connections in a digital world, and innovative methods of engaging With his fanbase despite the current circumstances. Rhys has been sending out personalised postcards and will expand on this in the weeks to come, showcasing new ways to help his followers explore their creativity and alleviate modern-day anxieties through art.

Posted by Craig Jones