Lewis spent his early life in Stamford Hill in Hackney, East London, where he was raised reading modernist and avant-garde writers like T. S. Eliot, Allen Ginsberg, and James Joyce. His dad, Nigel Lewis, was a writer who published a book dedicated to Lewis about metaphor and language which helped shaped Lewis's creativity when he studied arts at Goldsmiths University in London, starting in 2012.[5]
Musical career
2021–2022: Early EPs and singles
Mark William Lewis at Songbryd Music House in DC with his bandmates Jamie Neville, Billy Howard Price, and Harry Plomer (L-R)
Lewis started after the COVID-19 pandemic performing in DIY venues like M.O.T., Ormside Projects, and Avalon Cafe with artists like Nina Cristante, lead singer of the indie band Bar Italia. His debut EP, Pleasure is Everything, was produced in late 2021 in a 20-story apartment building in Deptford, South East London.[6] The EP's cover art features a skyline photograph taken from his flat. In January 2022, he released a single called "Thinner" with Nina Cristante.[7] In the spring of the same year, he released his second EP, God Complex, which would later be made into a compilation and a vinyl release along his first EP as Pleasure Is Everything / God Complex.[8] Mark William Lewis plays with Billy Howard Price on drums, Jamie Neville on lead guitar, and Harry Plomer on bass guitar.[9]
2023–present: Living and self-titled album
At the start of 2023, Lewis self-released his debut LP, Living. The LP centers around themes like the heaviness of life and death.[4][10] It was reviewed by Pitchfork receiving a 7.6/10, giving Lewis critical acclaim and coverage for the first time beyond his word-of-mouth popularity.[4] The same year he released a two single EP with Sokora Violetov[11]
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