SG Lewis is a frightening proposition.
An all-rounder – he produces, pens his own material, and performs a lucid live set – the electronic talent looks young enough to be ID'd for a packet of fags down his local newsagent.
Sitting next to Clash, though, it rapidly becomes apparent that's already packed a huge amount of experience into those tender years; experience that will have an enormous influence on his next few steps.
In London to play a live set at Lovebox, SG Lewis sauntered backstage to pick up where he left off: plotting his next move.
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So how's your Lovebox experience?
Not quite sure what time of day it is! I flew back from Chicago last night…
How was America? Did they welcome you with open arms?
It was great, man! I just went over to do some writing for the album. I'm fully in album mode now. I think if someone had asked me to make an album a year ago I'd have freaked out, and been like: woah! What even is an album?! But now, I feel very ready to create a full length album. I feel like I know exactly how I want the album to be, how I want it to sound, and what I want it to say.
You've taken things quite slowly.
Yeah, and signing to PMR has been amazing for that. Had I signed to a big major I think that pressure would have been on to deliver the album within six months to a year, but they've really given me time to develop and work out what the project actually is. Because when I signed I had like two songs, and they were the first two songs I had ever finished. I think I needed that time to work out exactly where my project fitted in, and exactly what it was.
What was happening in Chicago?
Just working with some guys over there. Did a little bit in L.A. and then over in Chicago.
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It's good to be in London where it's raining, and you have to knuckle down and focus…
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How was America?
America has been really interesting. One of my tracks – 'Warm' – got synced on HBO, and it gave me this leg up in America which means that the shows over there have been incredible because I didn't even realise the reach HBO has over there. We got this amazing sync and it just did wonders for the track. So now when I go over there, there's a lot of people coming down to the shows who have discovered the music through that. America was really one that I didn't expect to be good at this stage but it's been absolutely amazing. But I still think I prefer making music in the UK. I have too much fun if I'm over there – the weather's too good! It's good to be in London where it's raining, and you have to knuckle down and focus.
Will you be bringing in guests on the record, or is it a solo affair?
I'm definitely bringing in some features, it's just the nature of a lot of what I do… but I think, less so than before. Just because I think for a first record if I was to have every track as a feature then it wouldn't feel like my record. So maybe three or four people.
You've been very selective in who you work with – the JP Cooper collaboration, for example, worked out fantastically well.
I've been really lucky with the people I've worked with. I listen to those people a lot – I'm on SoundCloud, Spotify, just listening to new music. It's not in a calculated way, I'm just a fan of their music and then if we get in a room and something works then that's amazing, and then if it doesn't then I still have massive love for them as an artist.
The track you recorded with Gallant is great – his voice is unreal.
It's insane! I saw him live, he played this show in London. I was completely taken aback by his range and his energy. It was a small room and he was just killing it – going mental, in the best way possible. He's an incredible vocalist, and his range is unreal.
And he's from a very different background than yours – much more R&B focussed.
Right. I think the wider the influences can be, the more chance you have of finding something that's a bit different to what you'd usually do, or what people expect. Which I think is a good thing. And that's something that I'm looking forward to doing on the album, showing off a few more of those wider influences. Maybe on an EP or on singles you don't get a chance to show off your full range.
What is it you feel that's changed over the past few months that's enabled you to tackle an album?
UK club music has undergone an interesting turn. The deep house thing blew up – when I was first a student that bubbled up through the early Bashmore singles and Disclosure. It became this quite caricatured personality of UK nightlife – you had the shufflers, you had the typical piano house. As genres do, that went through a cycle and has almost come to an end in my eyes.
And what's happened, from what I can see, is that the people who were a part of that before have driven into techno, in that progressive Inner Visions, Dixon, Taylor Vass way. That's become really popular as an alternative to that. But on the other side, the people who were on the more commercial side of that sound are perhaps listening to more future music, or even hip-hop. The UK house thing has experienced a bit of an over-saturation. It'll come back round, no doubt, but it means that it's split in two, in my eyes.
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People tend to be proud of where they're from.
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And you're looking to make the album in the UK, which is quite appropriate.
Definitely. It's obviously where I've grown up, and I think London is so influential as a sound. I wouldn't even consider the music I make to be particularly UK, but then apparently it is an apparent influence. Even if you spend time in America – it's a lovely place, with some amazing music fans – but I think the vibe of how the music is made is different.
It really is. The UK is an island, so we're always exporting and importing – it's this ongoing mutual conversation.
People tend to be proud of where they're from. SoundCloud does means that everyone has an international influence – you'd hear from trap music than you would if SoundCloud didn't exist, for example. Ultimately, everyone wants to represent where they're from, and its more real for someone to make music that's influenced by the things around them. If I was to make a straight up Atlanta hip-hop track it would be jumping on that bandwagon.
The live show earlier was great – do you have plans to ramp that up as things progress?
100%. The live show in my eyes has only been beta tested so far, it's very early stages. But I think after the summer run we'll sit down, re-invest in the show and build it bigger. The visions I have for it, I'm really excited for it to grow itself and to have the facilities to do that. When you're starting out, you've got a laptop and keyboard and that becomes your live show. But then as things progress you get the opportunity to work with amazing people who can help the show to grow.
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Catch SG Lewis online HERE.
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