‘Lezz’ Is More
A big fan of Eric Clapton, Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, Lesle Lewis popularly called Lezz, defines himself as a “young” rockstar. Having introduced indie pop to the country and contributing to other groundbreaking projects, Lewis believes that it is now time to turn his attention to another genre. “Therefore, I have taken up the guitar again and I am hoping to return to becoming a well-known guitarist,” he says.
Lesle Peter Lewis inherited his artistic genius from his father P.L. Raj. However, as his insight into music grew through his school and college years, he became well-versed with the intricate details of the guitar. This led him to meet other renowned film directors such as Kalyanji, Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, R.D. Burman and even Louiz Banks. “I soon became a part of Louiz’s jazz band, Ranjit Barot’s rock band and a few others. It was at this time that I launched my own music company and began composing jingles for well-known brands. Some of the best brands contacted me and I was happy with what I was doing,” continues Lewis.
Simultaneously he began remixing tracks for singers such as Asha Bhosle and Suneeta Rao. At the same time, he also began to write musical scores for Bhosle’s Jaanam Samjha Karo. One fine evening in 1992, Lewis called Hariharan to help him compose a jingle for one of the brands. While Lewis strummed a western note on his guitar, Hariharan joined him with an alaap. The resulting mix brought about a beautiful blend of the eastern as well as the western, leading to the birth of Colonial Cousins and indie pop. “While there were a lot of Hindi pop numbers that were quite popular with the crowds, much before the beginning of Colonial Cousins, it was the first album that could be compared to the western meaning of the term pop,” he goes on.
With Colonial Cousins having made such an impression with the audience, Lewis went on to do the same act on MTV Unplugged. As a pioneer of Indian fusion music, Lewis continued to release more albums, The Way We Do It (1998) and Aatma (2001). “But this was more like a side band. My main attention was on bringing up indie music artists and pushing indie pop to the top of the music list,” explains Lewis.
Having recently made a song for a well-known heart hospital, Lewis however, is back with his guitar and plans to make a comeback. “So what if I have to start from the coffee shop itself. I’ll work my way up once again,” he states.
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