'No one wants to buy music any more'

New venture

For the first time Lesle Lewis, who is best known for his stint as the dynamic duo with Hariharan called Collonial Cousins, has ventured into the digital media. The musician has composed soundtrack for a web show titled Confessions — Its Complicated, produced by FremantleMedia. Lewis speaks to Metrolife sharing more about the song and his music.
Excerpts:

How different was it composing for the digital media?

It was absolutely different from most of the other medium. As the title track will be played three times a week on every new episode, so I kept in mind that it must not sound boring, repetitive and must contain the gist of the story in a musical form. Also, it must be instantly recognisable.

Tell us more about the track.

The track is all about the three girls in the series. It’s about their coming into a big city space and their experiences thereafter. The song pretty much defines that in the kind of music I have composed and the lyrics composed by Victor Mukherjee, who is also the
director.

Why did you rope in Anushka Manchanda for the song?

I feel she was the right voice who could take the song and bring on her own emotions. That’s the sign of a good singer. I would also like to add the she sang the entire song in one take (at one go from start to finish without a break). So a big shout out to her.

What would you say about the new trend of music directors and filmmakers picking up already popular tracks?

There is endless talent in Bollywood. But some filmmakers try not to risk new songs. As old songs are already proven compositions, so many opt to remake them with the hope that the song will be liked instantly as they already have a recall value.

You have been away from the Hindi music scene for quite some time. Is there any reason behind it?

I have been re-inventing my music and looking at my songs differently.

There was a time when independent music artistes were very popular, but over the years the scene has changed. What do you perceive it? No one wants to buy music any more. Everybody wants it for free, literally. So how do you expect an artiste to survive? Any Bollywood projects that we will hear your music in?

In due time, but for now, I have created the entire score/music of Disney's First ever musical theatre production in India — Beauty & the Beast. I recorded the score (songs and background music) in Prague with The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra! A great opportunity offered to me by Disney.