Adored by artists from Elton John to Aaliyah, Lewis Taylor has been quietly releasing psychedelic progressive soul records in the U.K. to consistently incredible reviews and a rabid cult of fans that includes some of the biggest names in pop, R&B and hip-hop.

Lewis Taylor was in the Edgar Broughton Band and Sheriff Jack before signing to Island Records as a solo artist. In 1996, the album Lewis Taylor was released in Europe and Japan where it was met with overwhelming critical praise, ending up in the top ten of Mojo’s list of the year’s best albums and as one of the 1000 best albums of all time in the magazine’s Ultimate CD Buyer’s Guide. David Bowie declared the album the best he’d heard all year. Both D’Angelo and Chaka Khan contacted Lewis in hopes of working with him, and Daryl Hall even went over to Lewis’ flat to jam with him. Lewis released a second album through Island to equal acclaim but grew frustrated with the major label system and opted to record on his own. He set up his own label, Slow Reality (an anagram of his name) where he could record with total creative freedom. His first release on his own was Stoned, Pt. 1, which was sold exclusively through HMV stores in the UK and on Lewis’ own website.