Be in sync – musically, and temperamentally: Colonial Cousins, Hariharan and Leslee Lewis

Hariharan and Leslee Lewis at the mid-day office. Pic/Raj Patil

There may have been umpteen occasions on which this reporter has interacted with Hariharan and Leslee Lewis in the last few years, none of which, however, brought them together to discuss their work as the Colonial Cousins. "We do a lot of our own stuff," says Lewis, who has spent a fair share of time reinventing his style of music, of late. Hariharan too, has been investing time in the studio, working on different sounds. The Kala Ghoda festival, however, brought them together yesterday. Days ahead of their performance, they turned up at the mid-day office to walk down memory lane.

Edited excerpts from the interview.

Hariharan: Leslee, you and I are set to perform at the Kala Ghoda festival this year. Do you want to tell the readers how this materialised?
Leslee: Well, the Colonial Cousins are colonial, and so is the Kala Ghosa festival, which is all about art and music. Also, we've not played in Mumbai.
Hariharan: Mumbai's crowd is different. At a festival like KG, there are no tickets [for our show], so people will walk in, and will stay to watch us, if they are interested. We'll relive the time capsule of the '90s.

A file photo of the duo. Pic/Facebook

Leslee: Why do you think we haven't performed in so many years?
Hariharan: We did perform abroad, and did online shows during [the lockdown], but we were not together. You were busy with your album, The White Album, which is a great one. During COVID, I also recorded three albums, two of which centred around ghazals. In the last two years, things have been [good], in the studio.
Leslee: I think that people think we have split. They believe Colonial Cousins is no longer active. That's a perception people have.
Hariharan: Colonial Cousins is popular, but we have a particular set of listeners [who like our music]. People who like classical music appreciate our sounds. The Indian elements of our music are traditional. But [our] songs are a bit more funky. So, this is a niche.
Leslee: I remember, I was in Manhattan, New York, and walked into a record store to see if our albums were available. The person at the counter came up to me and asked me if I was Leslee Lewis. When I asked him how he identified me, he said ours was the most sold album in the world music space, and hence, my face was familiar.
Hariharan: We also have good sales in Germany.
Leslee: Yes, we do. A lot of them were pirated too. But you need certain sponsors or brands willing to promote this music.

Hariharan: Since you have a good memory, do you remember how we met?
Leslee: You were working on a jingle. I was composing it, and you were singing it. I recall, I started jamming, and you joined in. Most classical singers sing in one scale. So I stuck to one scale and kept hearing you sing. But then, I decided to change it and use jazz. And instead of stopping, you continued to sing along to the music. Then, I used country and western music, and you kept going with the flow. If you remember, each person in the studio dropped what they were doing and sat on the floor to listen to us. In a way, that was our first performance.
Eventually we resumed working on the jingle, but you told me that we should do something about our [collaboration].

Leslee: Do you remember how we came up with the name, Colonial Cousins?
Hariharan: We had been considering a lot of Sanskrit names, and also [those from the] Ramayan. We even thought of Gayatri. But, none of them fit the bill, because we also had fun songs that we were working on.
I was in London meeting someone who told me that his British friends called each other colonial cousins. And the first thing I thought was how well this fit.
Leslee: I remember, when you told me the name, I was so upset that you got it, and I didn't.

Hariharan: What are the most memorable moments you have [from our journey]?
Leslee: There are commercial moments, like being on MTV Unplugged in London, and singing Krishna at the Billboard [Awards] and watching the reactions to it. Getting the MTV Viewers' Choice Award at Radio City in New York was also special. But, artistically too, we have had great moments. I remember, we were performing Indian rain, and you wanted to sing the entire song, and, I thought I should sing the English portions. But you [were adamant], so, I agreed. When you sang it, that was an amazing moment for me, because I realised that [we should] always favour the music.
Hariharan: In my case, I think it is the wonderful people we met during our time in London. We were connected with Adrian, who is a [prominent] producer, and he had great musicians and recordists [working at his studio], which he made available to us. That's why we call [the song] Adrian's angel. Some of the biggest musicians and backing [vocalists], who were singing for the top UK acts, [were accessible to us]. To get that sound for our first album was great. It was a blessing.
Leslee: I also remember being in the first-class lounge in London, and being approached by an elderly man who recognised us. And when we asked him if he consumed our work, he said, ‘Yea, Elton and I love your music.' When we asked him who he was referring to, he said, ‘Yea, I am Elton John's manager.'

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Leslee: I know you dislike a lot of things about the changing music trends.
Hariharan: My philosophy about creating music is that the artiste should create what [he] wants to. You are the giver, and you need to have the conviction. You don't need to become the receiver. Be popular, sure, but you need to become an artiste, in the true sense. A lot of people concentrate on [creating] versions [of songs], but you have to create your own sounds, and your own song. While creating music, whether involving vocals or instruments, your soul is trying to say something, and you are transmitting energy. If you don't do this, where's your soul? I know views are important, but if you create good music, you'll get all of that anyway.

What advice would you give to young composers hoping to join the industry as a duo, like you?
Hariharan: It's easier to be alone. It's tricky to be together. You have to be in sync with the other person, both, in the way you think, and also from your heart and soul. Your likings, musicality, temperaments, they all need to match. You can have dissimilarities, but they should be to a lesser extent. I'd say, hang out with each other for a few months, write things together, and do a project. Then, if you feel good, consider collaborating. You need to be compatible.
Leslee: If you don't have a liking for each other, then there will be trouble. When we began, we were already [established] names. When we came together, we did it for fun. Sometimes, we do our own thing. You have to be together, because it is like a marriage. Today Hariharan is my brother. We are not at each other's homes all the time, but we are together. In him, I found someone who became my guide and friend. We teach each other different things.