VIDEO: Joshua Thew Releases 'Lose Myself' Music Video

Joshua Thew - Lose Myself (Official Video) from Joshua Thew on Vimeo.

About five years ago, from an outside perspective, it looked like Joshua Thew was living the dream. The London-born, Brooklyn-based singer, songwriter, and dancer was in the prestigious New York City Ballet, performing alongside top-tier talent for audiences from around the globe. It was something he'd worked his entire life for. Still, Thew couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something. Hadn't he loved singing as a child? Music, after all, was his first passion - the reason he became a dancer in the first place. So in 2017, after nearly a decade in the Company, Thew left the professional dancing space behind to pursue another dream.

Today, that dream is a reality. Thew is readying his second EP, which follows 2019's Quiet Words. Leading off the project is the delicate, jazzy "Lose Myself," which places Thew's soulful vocals front and center. Accompanying "Lose Myself" is a cinematic music video directed by Jake Kolton, where Thew recalls a brief yet transformative relationship. "I like to make things feel really intimate and small," Thew says of his creative vision. "I'm not trying to shock. I like to draw people into the quiet, slow, more human things that go on."

Growing up in Hertfordshire, Thew always imagined that he'd become a singer. His love of classical music is what led him to study at a performing arts school, where instructors encouraged him to pursue dance, noting Thew's sinewy frame. Eventually, Thew moved to New York City in 2005 to study at The School of American Ballet, which led to a spot in New York City Ballet. "As I got into my mid to late 20s, I started to feel like I wanted to be in the real world," he says. "You live and breathe [ballet], and it's such a small niche world. I just wanted to get out and make original music."

Working with producer and multi-instrumentalist Cale Hawkins at Greylock Studios in Brooklyn, Thew began composing songs in earnest, drawing on classic influences like Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone, and Lee Hazlewood as sources of inspiration. Thew added a contemporary spin, invoking modern icons such as Amy Winehouse and Frank Ocean. As a singer, Thew creates highly stylized yet unpretentious ballads about love, loss, and starting over. The lush, aching "Lose Myself" chronicles a two-year relationship that ultimately had to end but gave Thew renewed hope around romance itself.

Elsewhere, on the silky, undulating "Changes," Thew remembers an even longer relationship, one he was in for the better part of a decade. Singing with tender precision, Thew explains that "Changes" is meant to reflect on the way "nothing is fixed, nothing is permanent."

Another standout, "Where Do Feelings Go?," considers the cognitive dissonance that sets in when a relationship comes to an end. "Breakups are abrupt and strange. Suddenly you don't see this person anymore. That person's suddenly out of your life and you're moving on, but the feelings and emotions - they don't go anywhere." Adding to the track's visceral quality is a beautifully produced music video conceptualized and directed by Sean Suozzi and featuring choreography by former New York City Ballet principal dancer Janie Taylor.

Though he was initially hesitant to incorporate his dance background into music, Thew has grown to appreciate how one medium can inform the other. "It became a dance film, really," he says of "Where Do The Feelings Go?." "We wanted to nod to [films] of the past, like that Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers natural, loose, old Hollywood slinky vibe, but then bring it up to date."

Ultimately, Thew is eager to ingratiate himself with listeners, who will no doubt feel an instant connection to his gentle, meditative ballads. Though he'd been considering a career change for some time, watching a fellow dancer - Tony-winning choreographer Justin Peck - doggedly pursue his goals nudged Thew to take a crucial leap. "I just remember always watching him; we were in class together," Thew says. "Dancing was a thing for him, but choreography was always his thing. I remember watching him and part of me would be like, 'he's really doing what he really wants to do.' And that's how I felt about singing."

Watch the new music video here:

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