Singer, composer Lesle Lewis talks about keeping his music fresh, working with today's musicians and more in a chat. Lesle Lewis is "enjoying this phase of his life" the most where he is making music for himself. "After creating and composing music for so many years of 'demand' (composing ad jingles, music albums and Bollywood songs), I have finally made my own band and I am writing my own songs and composing for my pleasure," says Lesle Lewis, who was in town recently for a performance. Lesle adds, "I can still deliver on demand, within an hour. I can compose songs for you as per your requirement, but I just feel like making music that is free, music that says what I feel."
Lesle Lewis, who has been in the music industry for over two decades now, has many a phenomenal hits to his credit. "From Alisha Chinoy to Sunita Rao and KK, I have brought them into the world of music. I introduced fusion with Colonial Cousins, and brought folk rock and more through my television music. I have been able to do so much of creative music because I never thought I was making music for a reason. And that's why, even after two decades, I have managed to keep my music young and lively. For someone who has done a lot for the indie music scene, Lesle has composed only for a few Bollywood projects including Irrfan Khan starrer Apna Asmaan.
He says, "I never said I didn't want to compose for Bollywood. It just so happened that when I was getting offers, and big ones at that, I was busy with my indie music. And at that time I put indie music higher on the priority list and turned down the film offers. In that process people started thinking I was not interested in doing film music. And many of them still think the same, even though I am all willing to do Bollywood." Talking about the new genres like EDM (Electric Dance Music), Jazz and Blues that are getting popular in India now, Lesle says, "EDM is catching up and it's purely because of the fact that it can make you dance. But we still need to Indianize it to suit the Indian sensibilities. That's why a major population of popular dance music is only remix versions of Bollywood songs. The horizon of music is only expanding for Indians, and if we are open then there is a lot you can enjoy."