Leslee Lewis Reflects on How Music-Making Has Changed Over 30 Years

Mumbai–Music composer Leslee Lewis has reflected on the major changes in India’s music industry over the past three decades, recalling how record labels once worked closely with composers to create songs tailored to individual singers.

Lewis said that during the indie pop era of the 1990s, labels typically approached composers with artists they wanted to promote. Composers would then develop songs suited to the singers’ voices, personalities and musical strengths.

“In those days, you didn’t, mostly didn’t take a song to the label. The label came to you saying, ‘Hey, I know you compose a good song. I know you produce a song. We have this artiste. Can you produce and compose a song for this artist?’ So it came to be from the labels. We trust your musical judgment and we want this to be a commercial hit. Obviously everybody wants a commercial hit, but it should suit the artiste,” Lewis said.

He added that the process focused on developing the performer as a distinctive artist rather than simply producing a standalone song.

“So I think that work has been more about creating that artist into a star. Those songs first had to suit that artist. And that’s probably why you’ve loved all the songs because those artistes sang from their heart because the songs are composed for them in their style,” he said.

Lewis is also known as one half of the music duo Colonial Cousins alongside singer Hariharan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently presented Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with a vinyl edition of the duo’s album “Colonial Cousins” during an official visit to Australia.

The album was included in a collection of gifts highlighting India’s cultural heritage, artistic traditions and agricultural products.

Modi also presented Albanese with a premium Indian coffee collection featuring varieties from major coffee-growing regions across the country. The selection highlighted different geographic conditions, altitudes and processing methods, including washed, natural and honey processing.

The collection was intended to showcase the Indian coffee industry’s growing focus on quality, sustainability and value-added production, as well as the contributions of the country’s coffee growers, processors and roasters. (Source: IANS)