6 minute read

SG Lewis

from Beyond The Stage Magazine - February 2022

from Beyond The Stage Magazine - February 2022, page 20

JJ Wilde

PHOTOS BY JOE HERNANDEZ | WORDS BY MERRITT MCLAUGHLIN

At age 16, Samuel George Lewis began creating what he lovingly describes as “shitty dubstep remixes of popular songs.” Not unlike a lot of teenagers, the English native took some time messing around mixing beats, falling in love with electronic music, and finding his sound.

Unlike a lot of teenagers, over the next two years, he put out his first song as SG Lewis and got picked up by PMR records.

Of the experience, Lewis figures he “got really lucky.” We think it’s a little bit more than that.

Lewis’ music is entwined with a deep appreciation and understanding of the genre it’s informed by. Heavy electronic tones weave together the fabric of the tracks, paired with bubbly disco influences.

“The last album had a big disco influence and the way that it kind of came about was by going and watching DJs play between the ages of 18 and 21,” SG Lewis said. “I read a book called ‘Love Saves The Day’ by Tim Lawrence and that kind of gave me a big education about the birth of disco and the seventies in New York. I kind of just fell in love with the genre. I combined that with the electronic music I’ve been listening to anyway. It became a big Influence.”

“Love Saves the Day” is an exhaustive look into dance music culture from 1970-1979, offering more than 300 in-depth interviews with the era’s most game-changing artists, including David Mancuso, Nicky Siano, Tom Moulton, Loleatta Holloway, Giorgio Moroder, Francis Grasso, Frankie Knuckles, and Earl Young.

One thing all of these artists had in common was the ability to pivot and remain unique within their genre, always offering a new facet of originality. From music production to adding his own voice on a number of tracks, Lewis exhibited that sense of originality through his song, “Chemicals.”

“If you asked me five years ago whether I would be singing on my records I would have laughed in your face. The best part about music is pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. So for me, singing was the most uncomfortable thing,” he said. “The process of figuring out my voice, learning how to sing and learning how to use my voice has been one of the most challenging and rewarding things

The saying “high risk, high reward” has held true for Lewis, as stepping out of his comfort zone has paid off for him.

“It’s something that I’ve continued to grow into and then to have ‘Chemicals’ be the biggest single off the album is just like, giving me like a steroid injection of confidence,” Lewis said. ”When I’m inside in a studio now, I’m really just like loving singing it in the moment, and I’m pushing myself.”

Singing is not something Lewis set out to do, but it’s something that he says he will continue to pursue in the future, although it may not be his main focus.

“I’ll always be a collaborator. I love collaborating. I’m too much of a fan of other people’s music to become a one man show,” he said. “But singing is something I’m doing more of currently. It’s definitely something I enjoy doing as well.”

He has also collaborated with a number of artists, including Bruno Major, Clairo, Finlay “Phairo” Robson, Frances, and Dua Lupa.

Lewis says collaboration with artists is something that is really special to him. Stemming from a mutual appreciation of each others work, he’ll get together with an artist with the hope of creating a meaningful and fresh track—usually from scratch.

“It’s almost always from scratch,” he said “I’ll meet someone and the first priority is always just hanging out and going [to] get some lunch, you know, get to know each other a bit and get to know something about the person. From there we’ll go back to the studio and usually I might have an idea, like just a little beat idea or something, but a lot of the time it’s just from scratch. It’s always about making it as personal and as collaborative as possible.”

In addition to collaborations, SG Lewis released his debut album, times, last year. Described by him as “an ode to the present moment, and the finite chances we have to celebrate it” and “an exploration of escapism and euphoria, and the memories attached to those experiences.”

The album has ten tracks, one of which, “Impact,” features Channel Tres and Swedish icon Robyn. There was another unexpected collaborator on the album: the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge of working to release an electronic dance album while clubs were shuttered and would-be fans were in the peak of their banana bread era might be enough to shut down other people, but for Lewis, the timing actually worked to his advantage.

“I was lucky enough that I’d written a lot of the music before those lockdowns happened. The time of lockdown coincided with me needing a period of time where I was locked in a way to work on the production and to finish in the mixes,” he said. “Because I’m on the production side, I’m working alone, so I needed that time when I locked away to do that. In a strange way, I was lucky to have that time.”

Even though that timing worked out, Lewis says there was still a lot of talk of delaying the release of the album.

“It was actually something I was really against because it came at a time when people needed an escape and music, they needed music that transported them to clubs and festivals in their mind,” he said.

This time around, his upcoming sophomore album will transport people to clubs and festivals across the nation. Between producing and writing, Lewis has a lot on the docket for 2022.

“I’m deep in writing the next album. I’m kind of exploring my voice and some writing a lot at the moment and that’s been a really amazing challenge and something that I’ve really wanted to do for some time, I think, subconsciously,” he said. “I’m also producing a lot of records for other people and some heroes of mine. I’m enjoying making music right now and trying to do as much of it as possible. I’m just constantly in the studio.”

Through passion, hard work, drive and perseverance, that kid making “shitty dubstep remixes” now has collaborations with amazing artists, nearly two complete albums, dedicated fans, slots at big-name festivals, sold out shows, and a sought-after sound. We think if that kid could see himself today, he’d be very proud.

SG Lewis’ former self may not be able to see him now, but fans can later this year in Chicago, San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.