ARWEN LEWIS

Under the Stars

Technically, Arwen Lewis inhabits our blue planet, but so much about her believes and belongs in the celestial realm. First and foremost, her earthily angelic voice (just listen and you’ll know that’s not a contradiction in terms). Then there’s her lineage: The granddaughter of Oscar-winning actress Loretta Young and the daughter of Peter Lewis, a founding member of ‘60s psychedelic cult heroes Moby Grape, she’s been part of the creative cosmos all her life. So it’s no surprise that Arwen’s new OMAD 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.”  

 While Arwen’s self-titled debut, released in 2015, featured her interpretations of her father’s songs, this time out she’s flying higher, as both producer and writer. Self-penned tunes include the layered, wistfully longing “Man on the Moon” and the beautiful heartbreak of “Winter,” showcased in two arrangements—once with gently growling guitar and again accompanied by piano and cello. 

 Not that Arwen could resist digging into her dad’s archive, with a lilting, countrified cover of his “Black Moon.” Plus, she brings her earnest, unaffected gift to a pair of iconic tunes: a trumpet-driven version of Jackson Browne’s “Doctor My Eyes” and a frankly folky take on Joni Mitchell’s “I Think I Understand.”

 The EP came together organically, at first just she and a friend—guitar impresario Jonathan McEuen—“scratching out ideas in my living room,” Arwen says. Jonathan mentored me,” Arwen candidly admits. “He also arranged everything perfectly—truly the musical director for this project.” A select few recruits from the deep end of the California talent pool came aboard next, including rock and roll “space traveler” Jason Achilles, Los Angeles film composer/all-around scene staple George Adrian, and trumpeter Jeff Elliott. Plus, yes, Peter Lewis is present as well, slinging a Strat on one track. The recording was finished at Surprise Studio with Graham Palmer as the engineer. “While I had complete creative control,” says Arwen, who also plays guitar on the record, “I was lucky enough to get together with amazing musicians who were in sync with the way I hoped to express these songs.” 

 To wit: A vintage vibe with unique personal spirit. “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.” That’s why, while she has no big tour plans, Arwen will play live, here and there, from South X Southwest this spring to the local West Coast venues she loves. Indeed, she might well be singing about the importance of performance on “Man on the Moon” when she promises: “Believing in the stars that I cannot see, I know there’s a way to where you are.”