Discussing his Hollywood debut, Entourage, Leslee Lewis on how his music sensibilities developed with the aim of making western tunes appeal to desi masses
Leslee Lewis
When Leslee Lewis was approached for Omar Gooding’s track, Entourage, the musician, who has so far been credited for his compositions, was delighted to mark his Hollywood debut collaboration with an offering that exploited his singing skills. He calls this new chapter an attempt at investing in himself, and honing skills that he has, until now, put on the back-burner, to work on his compositions.
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“I’m giving wings to Leslee Lewis, the artiste,” he opens the conversation. “[Director] Ricky Burchell gave me an idea of how the track would appear, and when it was sent to me, Omar had already laid his vocals. The way he has rapped in it is beautiful, and I was excited to be part of it.”
Lewis is certain that he was an apt choice for Entourage, which is a fusion of rap and pop. Citing his three decade-long career, he says he has attempted to create a repertoire comprising scores that bridge the gap between Indian and western music. Terming it as his attempt to cater to the “Hindi guy with an angrezi attitude”, he points to how his music sensibilities were shaped in childhood. “When I was in school, I would listen to artistes like The Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix, apart from Bollywood music. They were two distinct styles. But my [friends who’d converse in Hindi] would listen to Bollywoood alone. Even though we now have Ed Sheeran on our billboards, implying that he is someone whose work is consumed by the masses, [majority of listeners] listen to only a few lines, because they don’t understand the language. With my music, I have tried to make western tunes, and English, consumable for the Indian audiences. You will notice such influences in a major chunk of my work,” he says, adding that by employing Hindi against a blues, rock or jazz score, he is crafting music that’s distinct from the kind that the masses have enjoyed, so far.
In what may be considered his attempt to shine in the “indie-pop space in 2021”, Lewis has been consistently releasing music every month. “If you like one song, great. If you don’t, no problem. Move on and listen to the next one,” he says, aptly describing the use-and-throw attitude of a generation that’s fixated to social media, and exposed to a barrage of disposable content. It’s a distinct approach for a musician who successfully established his name during the indie-pop scene of the ’90s. “When Pari hoon main, and Janam samjha karo released is when [people started noticing my work]. The latter became such a hit that a movie was made by the same name.
Like it is done in the west, an independent song like Yaaron dosti, was picked for a film, instead of being made for one. But, in the ’90s, only the songs for which videos were made, became popular, [because they were repeatedly aired on TV]. There was a bunch of other great music made without videos, which eventually got lost. Now, with the growth of audio-streaming platforms, that can be avoided. It’s great to keep creating stuff and putting it out there.”
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