Meet 21-year-old Violet Lewis, the LA-born, razor sharp indie rock and roller who’s taking our predisposed idea of a young female artist and turning it all the way upside down. From her raw lyricism to her angelic vocals, Lewis is the one to watch.
“Growing up, my parents had the house stacked with CDs. We had Elton John, and we got Neil Young, the whole gang. But the album that stood out to me the most was always Joan Jett. Her cold glare, and her jet black hair, just absolutely rocking her entire being out on the guitar. By age 7, I was begging for a guitar of my own to live out my Joan Jett guitar fantasy. Once my guitar was secured, songwriting naturally followed. As a kid, the world is overwhelming, overbearing and confusing. You never know what or who to believe. Songwriting makes the most sense to me. I can get all the confusion out of my head and right into the form of a song. I always had something to say, and then I finally discovered a way to say it.”
Lewis describes her music as something to be defined as bittersweet. “To be honest, my writing usually comes from a place of darkness and negativity. I like to find the light and the beauty within that and just really draw it out.” For Lewis, ideally, songwriting begins by creating the perfect vibe. A couple lit candles, some dim lighting and a glass of wine set the scene. “I like to think of it as a date with myself,” laughs Lewis. But obviously, ambiance is a luxury that’s not always available. You can also find Lewis writing anywhere and everywhere else. “Planes, trains, buses, you name it. It’s almost like a way to clean out and detox all my thoughts,” says Lewis. “My songs typically are a one shot type thing.” Lewis likes to spill everything in her head onto pen and paper and deal with the editing afterwards once the foundation is there.
Within her music, Lewis always aims for a sense of rawness, or to lean into the cliché of it all, she wants just to keep it real. “Pop music these days is very produced and very perfect. During some of my first in-studio recordings for my EP Loose Lips, I got back the first rough mixes and it didn’t sound like my voice at all. I expressed that this wasn’t me, all I want is a little bit of reverb, I like to capture all the imperfections in my voice.” It’s this sort of undeniable honesty and authenticity that sets apart Lewis and her music. More specifically, her very first EP entitled Loose Lips.
“Loose Lips was the first time I had worked with a producer,” says Lewis. I had never been in that sort of environment and really loved how it kinda gave me a chance to separate myself from the songs and have a more objective editing and creative process. For example, when I was recording the first song off the EP, a track called “Augustine,” the arrangement was completely unplanned. I hummed the harmonies and had a friend playing cello in the back. I began drumming in my lap. Suddenly the whole arrangement started to come together. The studio environment was such a safe and fun place to explore and create.”
The Loose Lips EP project contains a cohesive total of four of Lewis’ favourites of her hundreds of songs. “I chose these four songs because I felt they were all tied together with a theme of honesty. They contain all my deepest secrets. That’s where the idea for the title ‘loose lips’ came into the picture. Like a play on the saying ‘my lips are sealed.'” Now what’s Lewis’s favourite track, you ask? George Orwell. “It never fails to catch me in my feelings,” she says. The EP, in general, is based on soft folk but has elements of rock peeking through. “One day, I would love to record an EP dedicated to rock where I can thoroughly dive into it as a genre.”
In terms of working within the magical yet messy music industry, Lewis says it’s definitely easy to get caught up in it all. “The lane for emerging female artists right now is crowded with talent, and I’m not going to lie, sometimes that makes comparison and negativity come really easily. I have many thoughts like, ‘maybe I should just do what they do,’ but I try really hard not to get lost in that. It’s important to just trust your gut. As much as I love Indigo DeSouza and as much as I admire Lucy Dacus, I don’t want to aim to be just like them. I just wanna be me!”
Over at Sheesh Mag, we completely agree (I mean, Violet is a great person to be). What’s next for this rising musician, you ask? Everything and more. “I’m just trying to learn as much as I can,” says Violet. “Whether that be from my teachers or my peers, there’s always a lesson to be taught.” Finally, we took the time to chat with Violet about any words of wisdom she has to share with other writers and musicians. “Write what you wanna write… not what you think they wanna hear. It’s toxic, and it’s tacky. Stay truthful,” says Violet. We couldn’t agree more.
To see what Violet’s up to or jam out to her new EP, find @whoisvioletlewis on Instagram and search “Violet Lewis” on Apple Music, Spotify or Soundcloud.
