Lewis Floyd Henry

Lewis Floyd Henry

Lewis Floyd Henry is a UK songwriter and performer who builds his music around street busking and a one-man-band setup. He performs on street corners in London, including Brick Lane, Borough Market and the South Bank, where he plays with a battery-powered amplifier and a custom-made drumkit mounted on a trolley.

Style and influences

His work begins with folky blues, then expands into harder, high-energy rock grooves. The music draws on blues, blues rock, psychedelic rock and cosmic elements, and he describes a range of influences including Big Youth, Motown, Michael Jackson, De La Soul, Pantera, drum and bass, 1960s music and dub reggae. He is also influenced by Robert Johnson, Nick Drake, Jimi Hendrix, The Stone Roses and The Wu-Tang Clan.

Early musical development

Henry grows up surrounded by music and develops an early interest in graffiti, which leads to several arrests for decorating public buildings. He learns guitar on a cheap Argos instrument, plays with skater friends, and jams to The Stone Roses’ “The World Is Waiting For”. A cassette of Jimi Hendrix becomes a major revelation for him, shaping the way he thinks about sound, colour and composition.

He first plays in a steady trio, performing occasionally on Brick Lane to make money. When the drummer moves to Italy, he begins exploring solo material and starts writing songs specifically for himself to perform.

One-man-band approach

Henry experiments with a traditional one-man-band arrangement, first trying a large kick drum strapped to his back. He then develops a floor-based setup with kick drum, snare and hi-hat, which allows him to keep the rhythms more precise and band-like. This becomes the basis for his street performances and his recording work.

He says playing on the street gives him confidence and shapes his performance style, and he continues to treat busking as a major part of his musical identity.

Debut album and recordings

His debut album is One Man & His 30w Pram, named after his trolley-mounted amplifier and drumkit. The album grows out of material he writes and busks, and he develops more than thirty original songs in this period. Its tracklist includes songs inspired by his family walks in the Lake District and Peak District, as well as songs about extraterrestrial Pleiadians, romantic regret, house parties and driving blues.

The album is recorded at Miloco Studios’ The Pool in four days, with Ferg Peterkin producing. Peterkin is also associated with work alongside Graham Coxon, Depeche Mode, Foals and The Horrors.

Labels and live work

Henry is spotted busking on Brick Lane in July 2009 by Suss’d Records, a label connected with reissues of Salsoul and P&P Records. That encounter leads to a deal and to the creation of Adjust Records, distributed through Republic of Music and Universal, to release his records and potentially those of other artists.

After demoing around twenty tracks, he plays shows around London and across the UK, including Bestival, Latitude, Leeds and The Big Chill.

Online attention

His profile also grows through online clips, including a video of him performing The Wu-Tang Clan’s “Protect Ya Neck” outside Tottenham Court Road tube station, and another clip in which he plays a Prokofiev piece with his teeth.