Lewis (musician)

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Lewis
Birth nameRandall A. Wulff
Also known asLewis Baloue, Randy Duke
OriginCanada
Instrument(s)Guitar, vocals
Years active1980s–present
LabelsLight in the Attic

Randall A. Wulff, better known by his stage name Lewis, and also known as Lewis Baloue and Randy Duke, is a Canadian singer and musician. He released a number of albums in the 1980s, but did not become widely known until they were re-released in 2014.

Early and personal life[edit]

Lewis' family live in British Columbia but he is estranged from them; in August 2014 his brother stated that he had not seen Lewis since 2007.[1] His father and uncle had lost touch with him some years previously.[2]

During the recording process of his 1980s albums Lewis worked as a stockbroker,[3] and lived in Calgary.[2] He lived with his girlfriend in an apartment with all-white furniture.[2][3]

Career[edit]

Lewis recorded two albums in 1983 and 1985 (L'Amour and Romantic Times) that were mostly forgotten until a record collector discovered L'Amour in an Edmonton flea market. They were both re-released by Seattle-based record label Light in the Attic in 2014.[1]

L'Amour was recorded in Los Angeles in 1983.[2][4] Lewis disappeared soon after the photoshoot by Edward Colver for the album cover, after his cheque to Colver bounced.[1][3]

Romantic Times was originally released in 1985 under the 'Lewis Baloue' pseudonym.[5] An original copy of the album sold on eBay in 2014 for $2,000.[6]

Two further albums - Love Ain't No Mystery (recorded under the 'Randy Duke' pseudonym) and Hawaiian Breeze were also released by different record labels in 2014 and 2015 respectively.[7][8]

Under a different pseudonym, Lewis is also believed to have recorded a number of "very soft, religious music" albums in Vancouver in the mid-2000s which were never released.[1][3]

In 2014 Lewis stated that he was continuing to perform music, but that he was not interested in his earlier releases.[9]

Recent activity[edit]

In 2022, a short film concerning Lewis, entitled I Thought the World of You directed by Canadian filmmaker Kurt Walker, toured the film festival circuit and garnered praise: ″Walker’s film perfectly captures the hauntology of dollar-bin, vanity-pressing gold. He recreates the edges of Lewis’s life with a lush romanticism, following his white convertible down tree-lined highways, spying him through the window of his recording booth. All the while, Walker keeps Lewis turned away from the camera, reserving him a certain privacy.″ [10]

Discography[edit]

Original release Re-release Title
1983 2014 L'Amour
1985 2014 Romantic Times
Unknown 2014 Love Ain't No Mystery
Unknown 2015 Hawaiian Breeze

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "The mystery of Canadian musician 'Lewis'". CBC. August 1, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Charles Taylor (July 6, 2014). "Let Me Whisper in Your Ear: On the mysterious Lewis". LA Review of Books. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Rob Fitzpatrick (June 25, 2014). "The 101 strangest records on Spotify: Lewis – L'Amour". The Guardian. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  4. ^ Stephen M. Deusner (May 20, 2014). "Album review - L'Amour". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  5. ^ Stephen M. Deusner (August 1, 2014). "Album review - Romantic Times". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  6. ^ Sarah Geffen (August 6, 2014). "Lewis and Mystery in the Age of Information". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  7. ^ Marc Marsters (October 21, 2014). "Album review - Love Ain't No Mystery". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  8. ^ Jeremy Gordon (January 8, 2015). "Another Lewis Album, Hawaiian Breeze, Surfaces". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  9. ^ Molly Beauchemin (August 8, 2014). "The Synth-Pop Folk Artist Known As Lewis, Previously Thought Missing or Dead, Is Alive". Pitchfork. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  10. ^ Chloe Lizotte (September 13th, 2022). "Toronto Dispatch: Future Days". MUBI. Retrieved August 6th, 2023.
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