Twin Shadow

George Lewis Jr. (born March 30, 1983), better known by his stage name Twin Shadow, is a Dominican American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor based out of Los Angeles, California and signed to Warner Bros. Records. He has written a novel and released three albums: Forget (2010), Confess (2012) and Eclipse (2015). Lewis appears as a DJ for a fictional radio station in the critically acclaimed 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V, on which his songs "Shooting Holes", "Forget", and "Old Love / New Love" were featured. His song "To the Top" appears in the trailer, soundtrack and end scene/credits of the film Paper Towns and in the intro for the fourth episode of the episodic video game Tales from the Borderlands.

History

Early life and career beginnings (1983–2009)

Lewis was born March 30, 1983^[4] in the Dominican Republic and raised in Florida. Lewis's first exposure to music started by singing in his church choir. While growing up, Lewis listened to punk music, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Boyz II Men, Keith Sweat, and Bobby Brown.

Around 2000, he moved to Boston and started the band Mad Man Films alongside Joseph Ciampini (drums) (of Hooray For Earth), and Zak Longo (bass) of Before Lazers. Mad Man Films released two records independently. In 2006, not satisfied with recording music for theatre and films, Lewis moved to Brooklyn, NY and started the Twin Shadow project.^[1]

Forget (2010–2011)

Forget has also been described as "steeped in 1980s new wave",^[2] "building from streaks of haunting synth textures",^[5] having "sophisticated melodies", "R&B intimacy", and "poetic lyrics",^[6] and "hazily new wave-tinged pop".^[7] Twin Shadow was the Rolling Stone Band of the Week on October 7, 2010.^[8]

Confess (2012–2013)

Twin Shadow at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, August 5, 2012

On July 10, 2012, the follow-up album, Confess, produced by Lewis himself, was released. Lewis gained inspiration for the album after being involved in a motorcycle accident in Boston.^[9] Two of the album's songs, "Five Seconds" and "Patient", were transformed into a music video saga which drew inspiration from Lewis's novel Night of the Silver Sun.^[10] The A.V. Club described the album as "filled with Morrissey-esque yelps and Human League-worthy choruses, [...] Twin Shadow manages to digest his influences rather than simply replicate them. Confess retains the humid fog that saturated Forget, but the instrumentation is brighter, louder, and sharper. Synthesizers punch through the atmosphere, and Lewis' exquisite croon floats above it all."^[11]

The album debuted on Billboard 200 at No. 54, and on the Top Rock Albums chart at No. 18. The album has sold 30,000 copies in the US as of March 2015.^[12]

In 2013, Lewis appeared in the video game Grand Theft Auto V as a DJ for the Radio Mirror Park radio station.^[13] His songs "Shooting Holes", "Forget", and "Old Love / New Love", a track he made especially for the video game, were featured on the station.^[14][15]

Eclipse and Night Rally (2014–present)

After criticising his own work for being too elitist,^[16] Lewis set out to create a more approachable album;^[17] his first with a major record label, Warner Music. Carl Wilson of Billboard Magazine notes that Twin Shadow has left behind much of his "foggy layers of synths and drum machines" reminiscent of the likes of Depeche Mode and Simple Minds in favor of a more contemporary sound.^[16]

Eclipse is also noted for Lewis' almost complete departure from guitar playing, a conscious decision according to a Pitchfork interview in January 2015.^[18]

In March 2015, NPR exclusively streamed the album and Twin Shadow was live in session at KCRW on their "Morning Becomes Eclectic" segment. In April 2015, Eclipse was made WFUV AAA radio album of the month, Lewis was featured in Interview Magazine as part of their Pop Craft feature and he was featured on the cover of Culture Collide's “Travel With Purpose” magazine. Eclipse also marks the first album of Twin Shadow’s to include creative direction by Milan Zrnic. Zrnic photographed all of the imagery associated with the album and consulted on all video content, tour staging, merchandise, and styling.^[19][20]

"To the Top", a song from Eclipse was featured in the trailer for the film Paper Towns, produced by the same team as The Fault in Our Stars and starring Cara Delevingne and Nat Wolff.^[21]

On April 17, 2015, Twin Shadow and his band and crew were involved in a tour bus crash.^[22] Both driver John Crawford and drummer Andy Bauer were hospitalized, and in serious condition. Twin Shadow underwent reconstructive hand surgery following the accident.

On July 28, 2015, Twin Shadow released the Night Rally mixtape for free online, in conjunction with the announcement of the Night Rally Tour. Due to Bauer's severe injuries from the April bus crash, the band retooled the songs in the live set, with samples and a drum machine to keep time. Twin Shadow departed on their Night Rally Tour in August 2015 in the United States and Canada, and opened a portion of the Fall 2015 Death Cab for Cutie United States tour. The collection consists of recordings from 2010-14. During his healing time in Los Angeles, following the bus crash, Twin Shadow began to rummage through old hard drives. He left a message under the mixtape on Soundcloud, expressing how his discovery gave him a glimpse into the past five years:

"The more I dug the more I realized how much music was made in the last 5 years. Being home I had the time and perspective to enjoy all the little impulses, embarrassing choices, and exciting moments that I couldn’t bottle. There were also some songs that I couldn’t understand why I never finished."

Personal life

Lewis has written a novel called The Night of the Silver Sun.^[23]

Fashion

Fashion is a notable outside interest, as chronicled by The New York Times, who stated that 'George Lewis Jr. is giving Kanye West a run for his money as the music world's leading fashion dilettante.'^[24] Twin Shadow was a featured musician in Levi’s “Live in Levi’s" ad campaign”. Since 2010, Twin Shadow has served as a muse and composer for Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osbourne, the designers of the CFDA-award-winning line “Public School" . In 2015, Twin Shadow composed the music for their Spring/Summer 2015 and Spring/Summer 2016 runway shows that took place during New York Fashion Week. In addition to composing music for Public School, George Lewis Jr. has modeled for the clothing brand, both on and off the runway.

Discography

Studio albums

• Forget (2010)
• Confess (2012)
• Eclipse (2015)

Mixtapes

• Night Rally (2015)

Singles and EPs

• "I'm Ready"
• "Changes"^[25]
• "Five Seconds"
• "The One" (Live on KCRW)^[26]
• "Old Love/New Love"^[27]
• "To the Top" (released April 15, 2014)
• "Turn Me Up"

Remixes

• Goldfrapp – Thea (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Surfer Blood - Floating Vibes (Twin Shadow Remix)
• N.E.R.D. Feat Daft Punk - Hypnotize Remix (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Gypsy & The Cat - Jona Vark Remix (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Bear In Heaven - Lovesick Teenagers (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Oh Land - White Nights (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Lady Gaga - Born This Way (Twin Shadow Remix)
• MS MR - Hurricane (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Neon Indian - Hex Girlfriend (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Wim - See You Hurry (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Hooray For Earth - "Surrounded By Your Friends (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Sky Ferreira – Everything Is Embarrassing (Twin Shadow Remix)
• SKATERS - Deadbolt (Twin Shadow Remix)
• Transviolet- Girls Your Age (Twin Shadow Remix)

Collaborations

• On the limited edition version of Twin Shadow's Forget, there's a collaboration with Hooray for Earth called "A Place We Like".^[28]
• Twin Shadow remixed Lady Gaga's "Born This Way".^[29]
• A Twin Shadow remix of Neon Indian's "Psychic Chasms" appears on that band's Mind Ctrl: Psychic Chasms Possessed.
• A Twin Shadow remix of Neon Indian's "Hex Girlfriend" appears on that band's ERRATA ANEX EP.^[30]
• The iTunes Store edition of Haim's Days Are Gone includes the bonus track "Edge", a song co-written by Lewis.^[31]
• Flume released a mixtape as part of the deluxe edition of his self-titled album. Twin Shadow was featured on the track "Sleepless".^[32]
• Twin Shadow sings lead on “Lost You”, an anthemic track from the Canadian festival-dance producers Zeds Dead^[33]
• Twin Shadow and D’Angelo Lacy collaborated with Wrestlers for single “Say Anything” which was released on Record Store Day (April 19, 2014) on a Red Bull Sound Select limited edition split 7″.^[34]
• Twin Shadow was featured on Big Data's track "Perfect Holiday" from their debut album 2.0.^[35]
• Twin Shadow sings in two of Mickey Moonlight's songs for the album And The Time Axis Manipulation Corporation under his birth name George Lewis Jr.

Covers

In 2013, Twin Shadow launched the UNDER THE CVRS series in which he covers requested songs from various artists.

• "I'm Not in Love" (10cc cover) August 2013^[36]
• "I'm on Fire" (Bruce Springsteen cover) September 2013^[37]
• "Silent All These Years" (Tori Amos cover) September 2013^[38]
• "Perfect Day" (Lou Reed cover) October 2013^[39]
• "With or Without You" (U2 cover)
• "Cupid" (112 cover)
• "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" (cover of The Smiths song)

Acting

Lewis Jr. is slated to make his feature film acting debut in Future World (2016)^[40] alongside James Franco, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Suki Waterhouse, Method Man and Snoop Dog.

Television appearances

• Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Episode #1.435 (2011) (writer: "Castles in the Snow" / performer: "Castles in the Snow")

As himself – musical guest^[41]

• Conan

Episode #578 (Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014) (song performed: "To The Top")

As himself – musical guest^{[42][43][44][45]}

• Late Show with David Letterman

Season 22 Episode #27 (Tuesday, February 17, 2015) (song performed:"Turn Me Up")

As himself – musical guest^[46]

• Late Night with Seth Meyers

Season 2 Episode #59 (Wednesday, May 6, 2015) (song performed: "I'm Ready")

As himself - musical guest

• Comedy Bang Bang: Season 3 Episode #2 "Milkshake Movies" (July 31, 2014)
• The Late Late Show with James Corden: (Wednesday, July 29, 2015) (song performed: "To The Top")

As himself - musical guest

References

External links

• Official website