Radio LBB: Joe Lewis' Music Journey
To put things simply, music got me to where I am today. Playing music, writing and discovering music have been an integral part of my life since I can remember. I studied classical guitar at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama and worked as a composer for almost 20 years, the skills from which, as with so many audio professionals, carried me into my current profession.
I grew up in Bahrain in the 1980s - the media was limited to two hours of kids' programming on the national broadcaster, the national radio stations, coupled with a couple of dozen pirated VHS films a week. The real breakthrough happened when I got my first stereo. I discovered music for myself when I was about eight years old, scrolling through the AM radio stations and found myself listening to the classical music channel. Weirdly, it was classical guitar music that grabbed my attention. I can vividly recall begging my parents for classical guitar lessons (no easy feat in one of the smallest countries in the world), and after enough badgering, the wish was granted. It is no exaggeration that classical guitar was the gateway drug for a world of music, not just the classical genre, but the wider world of popular music.
My older brother was a metal fan. I remember the first time he played Metallica to me. I won't go as far as saying the aesthetic hit me with a particular vigour, but I can say that the moment I first heard From Whom the Bells Toll, I knew I could play it, and I knew it was going to give me kudos on the playground! The same applied to The Pixies, Nirvana and Tool. For me, this was where the music took hold; if I thought I could try and play it, I would learn it. I would shred for the kids at school, but at home, a world of Bach and Beethoven was also opening up.
I think the most important moment was the discovery of Hendrix, the mix of weird intervals, and the unique aesthetic and technical performative playing resonated. I remember sitting in front of my stereo listening to Axis: Bold as Love on infinite repeat, and this is where I started to think about the production process. I know it is very common for people to laud Hendrix's live performances, but for me, I noticed the mix. Their engineer, Eddie Kramer, was creating incredibly dynamic and loose mixes, with massive reverbs, delays and overdrives. It is something I am still in awe of today. To think those records were made without automation is mind-boggling.
In the mid-’90s, my musical taste pivoted from guitar-based music to electronic. It started with Nine Inch Nails - the editing on Fixed got my attention. I started to dig through records. I discovered Aphex Twin, Mo'Wax and Ninja Tune. It was here that I started to explore production for myself and started writing properly. Every penny was spent on compressors, synths, samplers and outboard gear. I am sure that a lot of the techniques I use daily were really embedded at this point.
As with so many things, I think we all approach art on multiple levels. It is a cliché, but our decision-making is informed not only by our conscious desire to seek out new music but also by our surroundings. i.e. Grunge was a big deal during my formative years, I like Mudhoney and Nirvana. I did my A-levels in Bristol, and it is no surprise that I love Massive Attack and Tricky. Nonetheless, there can often be other triggers. Most of the music that appeals to me comes with a level of catharsis, but compositional production techniques also play a massive role in my decision-making. I love hearing a super balanced mix. I love new ideas. Conversely, I also find myself particularly confused when I love a track, but the mix or the edit is on paper appalling.
These days, I feel my music choices are all over the place. Sometimes it is to ingest an entire album, and then there are the pieces where those special moments (see 3:06 minutes into Will She Come Back on Cliff Martinez's Solaris Soundtrack or 1:59 into DJ Food's The Crow). I listen to Shostakovich and Ligeti one moment and then Jon Hopkins the next. This is all excluding the fact that I am currently being spoon-fed new music by my oh-so-trendy teenage daughter.
I don't think I am alone in that collating a playlist that reflects my musical taste is daunting. Like many people, I think if I were to include the full breadth of music I listen to, it would end up being an audio version of a Rorschach test! Nonetheless, I hope that I have managed to put together a decent compilation of music that has influenced my approach to creativity and production.
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