SG Lewis Releases Debut Album 'Times'

London-based singer, producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist SG Lewis today releases his highly anticipated debut album, times, out now via Republic Records. The release will be celebrated tonight by an exclusive live performance of the record, complete with special guests, exclusive VIP content and fan live chat - tickets are available now via Dice.fm.

For his debut album, SG Lewis (real name Sam Lewis) has enlisted a blockbuster collection of guests, continuing a long line of stellar collaborations that have singled him out as one of music's most sought after producers.

Joining Robyn and Channel Tres ("Impact") on times is Lucky Daye, who appears on "Feed the Fire" which Billboard lauded as "effervescent" and a "breezy amalgamation of house and nu-disco," with Entertainment Weekly bluntly labeling it "a disco-tinged banger," as well as collaborations with Rhye, Frances and Lastlings, whose contributions are destined-to-be future dancefloor staples. Also appearing on the album, the latest single, "One More" featuring the legendary Nile Rodgers which The New York Times calls "a dance party" with V Magazine hailing it as "slick and effortlessly cool."

Speaking about this iconic collaboration, Nile Rodgers reveals, "SG and I have been working together at my home away from home, Abbey Road, for a couple of years now. I love how effortless and cool this song is. The awesome Julian Bunetta and John Ryan wrote on this with us and killed it!"

Sam adds, "One More was the first song I wrote for this record in LA, and one that set me on the path to making this whole album. Working with Nile Rodgers was an experience which will stay with me for the rest of my life. To have someone who has influenced not only this album, but my entire career play on this song is mind blowing."

Listen to "One More" HERE.

While learning from, and working with others has always been key to Sam's music, the times era is, more than ever before, one defined by Sam's own voice. His Dusk, Dark, and Dawn Eps, released between 2018-2019, taught him "what I was proud of and what fulfilled me." It was on Dusk track "Coming Up" that he showed off his vocals for the first time, something he plans to do much more on the new project. "It has made me uncomfortable but in a really good way," he says of feeling major imposter syndrome throughout the process. "I knew it needed work and that excited me. I've always taken pleasure in working at something until I was good at it."

This has led to a much more personal period of creativity, with Sam's personality present in every sound, from production to vocals. "I never understood what people meant when they said writing is cathartic but now I totally get it," he says. "It's a great way to get things off your chest. Now, for the first time, I'm able to put my own experiences into lyrics and deliver them myself."

The album - markedly stylized in lowercase - arrives after a year when 'times' have been few and far between, especially in contrast to a huge 2019 which saw him sell out headline shows across the US, Asia, Australia and Europe as well as appearing at prime slots from Coachella to Glastonbury. It was a string of live experiences that cemented his status as not just one of London's hottest talents but also a formidable artist capable of making a splash on both sides of the Atlantic and beyond.

On the album, Sam says "times is an ode to the present moment. 2020 has shown us that the experiences we took for granted in the past, are never promised tomorrow, and that the opportunity to dance together may not always be there again. After reading about 70's New York and the birth of Disco, I became infatuated with the euphoria and escapism that the music from that period created, and the safe spaces the clubs at the time provided for people to express themselves. I aimed to create a world musically that captured those same feelings, and to imagine the music that would be playing in those rooms if they were to exist today."

Tonight's livestream times: The Live Experience will give fans a chance to hear the album live for the very first time and to carry on the party together into the night. The show will take inspiration from 1970s New York City nightlife, with SG Lewis transporting the best of Paradise Garage and The Loft straight to your living room.

Of the event, SG Lewis says "when I started to make this album, I envisioned the moments we would create together when playing it live. I hoped that the music would serve as the soundtrack to celebration, and help create memories that would last forever. We find ourselves in a very different situation in 2021, and the perspective of the album has changed greatly in my head. Whilst many of us look forward to the day that everything is back to normal, I saw an opportunity to create memories together regardless of the current circumstance. So I'm hugely excited to share this with you. This experience will deliver a live show to your homes in a way that would not be possible in any real world gig, and will fully immerse you into the times universe. I hope it can provide a little escapism and euphoria in the midst of all this. Let's have a party."

Tickets are currently on sale now via Dice.fm. See below for dates and times:

Join the party at the following times:
Stream #1: Australia, New Zealand & Japan (8pm AEST, 10pm NZST & 6pm JST)
Stream #2: Ireland, UK & Europe (8pm GMT / 9pm CET)
Stream #3: East Coast North America & South America (8pm EST / 7pm CST)
Stream #4: West Coast North America & Central America (8pm PST / 9pm MDT)

times is his first collection of songs since the three-chapter concept EP Dusk, Dark, Dawn, which featured Clairo, T.E.E.D., AlunaGeorge and Ruel and served as a tribute to club and youth culture, chronicling the trajectory of a night out through its different moods and genres.

Sam has recently collaborated with Aluna, Victoria Monet, Raye, Ray BLK, The Neptunes/N.E.R.D's Chad Hugo, Gerd Janson, Conducta and more as well as producing 'Hallucinate' on Dua Lipa's record-smashing album Future Nostalgia and Dave's '100M's', proving his worth as one of the most respected and prolific musicians in the world. Sam's ever-growing catalogue both as a collaborator and solo work showcases his abilities as an artist capable of working beyond the limits of genre and style with times ready to send his star into the stratosphere in 2021.

'times' is out everywhere right now. Listen to it HERE.

times Tracklist:
1. Time (ft. Rhye)
2. Feed The Fire (ft. Lucky Daye)
3. Back To Earth
4. One More (ft. Nile Rodgers)
5. Heartbreak On The Dancefloor (ft. Frances)
6. Rosner's Interlude
7. Chemicals
8. Impact (ft. Robyn & Channel Tres)
9. All We Have (ft. Lastlings)
10. Fall

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