Jayce Lewis

Jayce Lewis
Jayce Lewis in Moscow 2013
Background information
Birth name Jason Charles Lewis
Born (1984-09-29) September 29, 1984
Bridgend, Wales
Genres Rock/electronica/other
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Drums/guitar/keyboards/vocals
Years active 2004 – Present
Labels

EMI Music/Virgin Records

Universal Music Group
Associated acts David Prowse, Gary Numan, Joe Calzaghe, Steve Strange, Joe Frazier, Roger Taylor
Website jaycelewis.com

Jason Charles Lewis know professionally as Jayce Lewis (born 29 September 1984)[1] is a Welsh musician from Bridgend, South Wales who entered the industry as a percussionist. In late 2009 Lewis released a self-produced single titled "Icon" on EMI Records' Smash Hits 2009 achieving a top 10 chart position alongside VH1/MTV Asia Viacom18 features. [2]

Musicianship

Previously employed as a fabricator/welder, Lewis forged a music career following the launch, hit single – Icon. Lewis formed a live touring band from a group of friends, and designs/manufactures his own live set production.[3]

The Début album content touched on several subjects matters within his lyrics and was inspired by life experiences.[4] Lewis' music has been described as alternative rock, fused with dance electronica and tribal percussion.[5]

Biography

Formation

Lewis began by learning to play guitar at the age of six. He is influenced by Brian May of Queen and Igor Cavalera of Sepultura.[6] Hailing from Bridgend in Wales,[7] He was promoted by David Prowse who played the Super Villain: Darth Vader in the Original Star Wars trilogy.[8] Lewis is a keen follower of dance and tribal music and incorporates this into his solo work[6] He signed a five-year deal to EMI Records Europe and Asia on 4 September 2009.[7]

Jayce Lewis VH1 Tour 2009

Icon

His self-produced solo single "Icon" was released in summer 2009, on EMI Records. It was heavily featured on VH1 and MTV Asia resulting in him being artist of the month. the single was played up to 14 times per day and lead to Jayce headlining the VH1 India 'Global Express Tour' covering 4 cities across India. "Icon" had a European release in 2010 and was also featured on Kerrang TV with high rotations spots on Scuzz's playlist which included a 2-hour take over.[9][10]

Jayce Lewis is considered as a progressing global star following his successes in Asian territories and relentless tour schedules.[5] In February 2010, he headlined the Rock 'N India festival which hosted events in New Delhi and Bangalore alongside popular artists such as the Backstreet Boys and Richard Marx. Jayce was presented artist of the festival by the festival's founder, Venkat Vardhan, awarding him their DNA Festival Plaque.[5]

BBC 1 documentary

A BBC documentary covering Jayce Lewis's journey to fame was shown on BBC One Wales on 10 March 2010 as part of a series called Planet Wales. The 40-minute documentary, titled "Big in India" was the first of the series and included live performances in Dubai, India and Germany. The documentary was repeated three months later on BBC One Wales and North.[11] The documentary covered Lewis and EMI working towards the release of his second single and album.[12] A DVD released was planned and a few promo copies produced, but never came to fruition.

Début album 2010

After writing and recording since early 2009 under the working title "Chapter", Lewis released his self-titled Jayce Lewis album on 11 October 2010. Although only releasing two singles in 2010, the album's début astonished the industry[13] with its top-10 Chart position; ranked at number 7 in the M-Music Asian charts, Jayce's album charted higher than Eminem and Bon Jovi but was pipped at the number 6 spot by Linkin Park.[14] It's claimed; the wide diversity in the album attracted the broad interest in media and public.[8][15]

The album was recorded in three separate studios, one of which is the famous Nott-In-Pill Studios in Newport, with ex-Skindred duo Jeff and Ginge.[8] The album's release was promoted by a succession of Video/Singles: Icon, Solitaire, Passes II and Electric Medicine, all of which were directed and edited by Jayce with chosen production teams, Electric Medicine has been noted as being his proudest achievement both on and off the screen.[16]

Gary Numan

In September and December 2011, Gary Numan confirmed Jayce as main support on his Dead Son Rising U.K tour covering 12 shows across the country, in an online interview; Numan hailed Jayce to being one of the best supporting acts to ever tour with him.[17]

Numan documented the DSR tour in a diary, praising Jayce further and publicly inviting Jayce to tour America together in 2012. Later in 2014 both Jayce and Numan collaborated on "Redesign", which featured on Jayce's Protafield-Nemesis album [18][19][20][21][22]

Both Gary and Jayce toured once again later in 2017, confirming Lewis as main support for Gary Numan's UK & European leg of the Savage (Songs from a Broken World) tour [23][24] promoting his 18th studio solo album. To date, Jayce Lewis is the only live act to have ever successfully support Gary Numan twice.[25]

Protafield 'Nemesis' 2014

Jayce Lewis as Protafield

Appearing in an interview on Sky TV's The Moore Show, Jayce discussed working on second album, although not naming the title; Jayce described it to be A huge Step forwards from the first release.[26] Early in 2014 Lewis announced his new project Protafield after agreeing a record contract with Caroline International (Universal Music Group) with his new album 'Nemesis'. It's reported that the Protafield name was created between Jayce Lewis and Fear Factory front man Burton C. Bell [27][28][29][30][31][32][33]

Special guest appearances

The Nemesis album had a special guest involvement including Roger Taylor of Queen (providing the drum track for "Wrath"), Gary Numan(guest vocals on "Redesign"), and Lance Henriksen [32][34][35]

Third Studio Album 2017 - Million

In 2017 Jayce released his 3rd solo album titled; 'Million' unlike previous release 'Million' would be released in a series of two parts, both releases with Universal. The album consisted of seven tracks and featured a collaboration with Queen guitarist Brian May [36][37][38]

Steve Strange (Visage)

Steve Strange's admiration for Jayce was commonly known following the "Big In India" star BBC 1 Documentary, Strange gave relentless support as the 1980s New romantic star proudly promoted their live collaboration of the 1980s hit "Fade To Grey", Strange later recorded his final ever recordings with Jayce shortly before his death on 12 February 2015 at his studio in Bridgend, South Wales.[39]

Lewis dealt with Strange's funeral arrangements and was a pallbearer, alongside other 1980s stars such as Boy George, Martin Kemp, Gary Kemp and Steve Norman. For a short time Lewis was also the live drummer in Visage on their 'Hearts and Knives' tour in 2013, the Welshman's been quoted in describing pallbearer duties for Strange were the most overwhelming day of his life.[40][41][42]

Darth Vader/David Prowse

Dave Prowse & Jayce Lewis 2015

David Prowse was an active manager of Jayce from 2007 to 2010.[43][44][45] In 2009, Prowse agreed to handle all PR for Lewis following a long term friendship since 2001, Prowse became a personal manager of Jayce mentioning his career.

On 1 October 2015, the two filmed a mini documentary, The Force's Mouth, a short studio tutorial video demonstrating a recording process with Prowse and effecting his voice as the famous super villain Darth Vader, a welcomed piece of film by the Star Wars community after it remaining myth for over 37 years, Both are famously paired as close friends and have worked with each other for over 15 years.[46] [47][48][49]

Northstone Studios

In October 2016 Jayce announced the opening of his newly built recording studio; Northstone Studios. The studio was renovated from a disused outbuilding connected to the Court Colman Manor in Bridgend, South Wales. It took Jayce a total of 9 months to build at a cost of £60,000 with an undisclosed investment from local government; Creative Industry Wales. In several interviews Jayce mentions the workings of his new album along with a collaboration with Queen guitarist; Brian May.[50]

Discography

Studio Albums

Year Project Title Label
2009 Jayce Lewis Smash Hits 2009 Virgin Records
Year Project Title Label
2010 Jayce Lewis Jayce Lewis EMI Records
Year Project Title Label
2014 Protafield Nemesis Universal Music
Year Project Title Label
2017 Jayce Lewis Nemesis (special edition) Universal Music
Year Project Title Label
2017 Jayce Lewis Million (Part 1) Universal Music
Year Project Title Label
2018 Jayce Lewis Million (Part 2) Universal Music

References

  1. ↑ "Continental drift; Jayce Lewis may be big in Asia, but there was only one place the Welsh musician wanted to launch his debut album – back home in Wales. David Owens meets the man who is rocking the sub-continent". Thefreelibrary.com. 29 October 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  2. ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/8260597.stm
  3. ↑ "Musician's surprise at Asia hit". BBC News. 17 September 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "Metro Plus Mangalore/People: Tune in to the soloist". The Hindu. 7 November 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 3 "Musician Jayce Lewis headlines Rock 'N India festival". BBC News. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  6. 1 2 "Artists-> Jayce Lewis bio". Paiste. 8 February 2007. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  7. 1 2 Mainwaring, Rachel (20 September 2009). "Bridgend musician Jayce Lewis cracks Asian market". WalesOnline. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  8. 1 2 3 "Darth Vader backs Welsh drum talent". Rhythmmag.co.uk. 7 July 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  9. ↑ "Shakenstir » Jayce Lewis A New 'Chapter'". shakenstir.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 November 2015. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  10. ↑ "Markets around the world are flooded with bands". Radioandmusic.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  11. ↑ Owen, Cathy (3 July 2012). "The unknown Welsh singer who's a star in India". WalesOnline. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  12. ↑ "Musician managed by Darth Vader headlines festival". BBC News. 18 February 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  13. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/authors/bb7891a7-d3a2-3e77-bd4c-2d76f127c17b
  14. ↑ Evans, Gareth (8 January 2011). "Musician makes waves in Asia". WalesOnline. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Rock star Jayce Lewis' passage to India paves way for Welsh return". WalesOnline. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 31 August 2012.
  17. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20120426081745/http://www.new-reviews.co.uk/?p=5093
  18. ↑ "Gary Numan on Twitter: "I did a guest vocal on a track called Redesign for Jayce Lewis's Protafield project recently. You can see it here."". Twitter. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  19. ↑ "Tour Diary: Gary Numan". The Stool Pigeon. 5 January 2012. Archived from the original on 3 October 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "Interview: Part One: Gary Numan". New Reviews. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  21. ↑ Owens, David (3 July 2012). "Welsh pop star Jayce Lewis bonds with Gary Numan over planes". WalesOnline. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  22. ↑ "Gary Numan". The List. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  23. ↑ http://garynuman.com/uk-tour-support-band-jayce-lewis/
  24. ↑ https://www.theindependentvoice.org/2017/10/26/gary-numan-jayce-lewis-brixton-academy-london/
  25. ↑ http://louderthanwar.com/gary-numan-o2-academy-brixton-london-live-review/
  26. ↑ "Past Guests". The Moore Show. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  27. ↑ "Nemesis". EMP Mail order UK Ltd.
  28. ↑ "Jayce Lewis". Image-line.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  29. ↑ "Protafield – Nemesis - PlanetMosh". Planetmosh.com. 13 June 2014.
  30. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2014.
  31. ↑ MyRevelations.de. "PROTAFIELD - Nemesis". myrevelations.de.
  32. 1 2 "Protafield announce debut album, 'Nemesis'". Soundspheremag.com.
  33. ↑ "Interview with Protafield at Sonisphere 2014". rocksins.com. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  34. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2014.
  35. ↑ "Welsh pop star Jayce Lewis bonds with Gary Numan over planes". WalesOnline.co.uk. 20 August 2011.
  36. ↑ http://www.damnedindustrial.com/2017/10/jayce-lewis-million-part-1-2017/
  37. ↑ http://www.crossfire-metal.de/17536-0-JAYCE-LEWIS-MILLION-PART-1.html
  38. ↑ http://kainklangmusikmagazin.com/jayce-lewis-million-2/
  39. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp2PsjrHmb4
  40. ↑ "St Pauls Lifestyle: Visage with Steve Strange dare to bare in "Hearts and Knives" – releasing now. Review, films and photos". Stpaulslifestyle.com. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  41. ↑ David Owens (2015-02-13). "Steve Strange death: My debt to a great man for love, support... and David Bowie's suit". Wales Online. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  42. ↑ "Steve Strange/Visage BBC Wales Tribute ft Jayce Lewis & Martin Ware". YouTube. 14 February 2015.
  43. ↑ "Darth Vader Manages Rock Band!". dolphinmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  44. ↑ "Interview with Dave Prowse". the-void.co.uk. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  45. ↑ "Jayce Lewis profile". kitmonsters.com. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  46. ↑ https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/darth-vader-actor-dave-prowse-13625362
  47. ↑ David Owens (2015-10-01). "This is what Darth Vader would have sounded like if Dave Prowse actually voiced him". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  48. ↑ David Owens (2015-10-01). "How Dave Prowse would have sounded as Star Wars' Darth Vader". Wales Online. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
  49. ↑ "Darth Vader Voice Documentary - The Force's Mouth (Featuring - Dave Prowse & Jayce Lewis)". YouTube. 1 October 2015.
  50. ↑ Abby Bolter (2016-10-23). "Welsh rocker Jayce Lewis built his new studio himself on the site of an old monastery". Wales Online. Retrieved 2017-06-13.
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