LEW APOLLO – AN ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AND IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW
Photo Credit Delaney Gibson
By Ralph Beauchamp
Hey world, are you ready for this. Austin based artist, Lew Apollo is releasing his debut album, Fool’s Gold independently on 8/8. In the meantime, Apollo has released three dynamic singles that will easily capture the heart and soul of any listener. His sound grooves like lush puffs of aromatic delights. Apollo’s voice is funky, soulful and ferociously melodic . His songwriting is superb with sublime cadences that hit every vibe. Apollo simply generates silky textures and spectacular flares of R&B greatness.
Apollo‘s latest single shimmers with a brazen soundscape. “No Room In Hell” delivers tons of sonic orgasms with smooth vocals and a laid back beat. Like a Jungle track, you feel the embolden intonations. “Diamonds And Gold” ups the funk. Danceable and brazen, the song will have you feet shuffling to the delightful bassline. Apollo’s vocals are singular in scope with a glittery quality.
“Let The Light In” is both sexy and sultry. The guitars hit like butter. Apollo‘s voice is romantic and amorous. Every note oozes passion. It’s the perfect late night track while you lay next to your better half. In the very near future, Lew Apollo will be a force in the R&B and pop stratospheres. I’m still not sure you are ready for what’s about to hit you. Be warned.
Lew Apollo was gracious enough to sit with AMP for this in-depth interview.
AMP: When did you first realize you wanted to be a musician?
APOLLO: I was eight years old, sitting on our living room floor in rural Minnesota, listening to my dad play piano. My dad and mom both played a bit of acoustic guitar and strummed Beatles, Bob Dylan and Neil Young songs and taught me chords early on. Growing up surrounded by nature gave me a quiet space to dream, and music became the place I could actually say something.
AMP: What is your creative process like?
APOLLO: It’s very feel-driven. Sometimes it’s a phrase I scribbled down, or a melody I hum into my phone at 2 a.m. I usually start with emotion, not structure and just letting whatever’s real come out. Being close to nature grounds me, and often that stillness helps me untangle whatever I’m going through. If I had to choose one way however, it’d be to sit with my classical guitar and flesh out my thoughts.
AMP: Is there a specific song, album or performer that guided your musical taste?
APOLLO: Hozier’s music made me realize that soul music could be poetic and dark and spiritual all at once. As well as staples like Bob Dylan and The Beatles of course. Prince and old soul singers shaped my rhythm and tone early on, and more recently, artists like Blk Odyssy and Labrinth have helped me push the cinematic edge of what I do through production.
AMP: What kind of themes do you try to embed in your music?
APOLLO: Mental health, love, and what it means to heal in a world that doesn’t slow down. My songs are often about being in the thick of it. In the chaos of your mind or the weight of loss, but still chasing something beautiful. I want my music to feel like a hand on your shoulder when things get heavy and to show people perseverance through difficult times.
AMP: How would you describe your sound?
APOLLO: Cinematic soul or Indie R&B. It’s warm and dark while blending raw vulnerability with layered production. I like to think of it as music that feels like dusk in the jungle: mysterious, vibrant and alive.
AMP: Your new single, “Let The Light In” just dropped. Can you give us some insight into the track?
APOLLO: I wrote and produced this song one night when I wasn’t feeling great mentally. It’s about being left behind, emotionally and physically, and the paralysis that comes after. It pulls from ’70s soul and modern artists like Jungle, but the heart of it is very personal. It’s the sound of someone trying to come back to life through one of the darkest points of their life.
AMP: In the same vein, your debut full length, Fool’s Gold, gets released on 8/8. How excited are you?
APOLLO: I’ve never been more proud or more vulnerable in a body of work. Fool’s Gold is a concept album in disguise: it maps the journey from illusion to truth and from the surface to soul. I made it in the wake of losing my dad to suicide, and the process became a way to survive and make sense of that grief. I can’t wait for people to live with it. In addition, I hope they find their own ways to live through the songs.
AMP: What’s the best advice another artist has given you?
APOLLO: “Don’t wait to be perfect, just be honest.” I spent years over-polishing before realizing people connect to raw emotion over a filter. This album is the most honest thing I’ve ever created.
AMP: If you could collab with any current artist, who would it be and why?
APOLLO: Jungle or Labrinth, without a doubt. They both are some of the few artists who can make raw emotion sound like a symphony. Both of their productions are bold, innovative, and spiritual. I’d love to build something cinematic and soulful with them.
AMP: Outside of music, what do you do to unwind?
APOLLO: Nature is my reset button. I stay really active and try to be outside as often as possible. Also, I spend time with my wife, our dog, and friends. Of course, I like to cook Italian food. As I grew up in the forest, being outside reminds me of my roots when the noise gets to me, it definitely calms and grounds me.
AMP: What’s next for Lew Apollo?
APOLLO: My debut self-produced album Fool’s Gold drops August 8, and my band and I have locked in a super cinematic live show that brings these songs to life in a whole new way. Many more music videos are dropping in the next couple months. Plus, I’ve already started writing the next chapter.
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Lew’s a handsome, thoughtful and and talented guy!