Arwen Lewis has been part of the creative cosmos all her life. So it’s no surprise that her new EP is called Under the Stars—or that a slice of sonic heaven is poised to enter your heart, mind and soul.
“I’ve always had a fascination for the universe—it just trips me out!” Arwen says. “Now, I’m drawn to songs that take those ideas about how vast and mysterious it all is and relate it to human experience.”
Under the Stars features pleasant covers of Jackson Browne (“Doctor My Eyes”) and Joni Mitchell (“I Think I Understand”). But it’s the Lewis originals that really shine. “Man on the Moon”, “Winter” and “Black Moon” (penned by her father, Moby Grape’s Peter Lewis) that really make this recording
“Black Moon” (premiering today) is the kind of song that begs to be played on repeat. The words float by like cumulus clouds on a summer day.
Aided by the wonderful Jonathan McEuen (son of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s John McEuen) and Peter Lewis, himself, “Black Moon” feels like an instant classic. “The songs I wrote as well as the ones I chose reflect the music I was raised on: Joni, Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, Nina Simone,” she says, noting that embracing the music of others, adding your unique twist, and the putting it out there is “basic to the communal tradition of folk, passing the songs from person to person, generation to generation.”
Lewis’ Under the Stars releases April 28th on Omad Records (Peter Lewis, The Sighs, John DeNicola).
