Dance Today, not Tomorrow with SG Lewis
Lucky for us, office magazine was able to catch up with SG Lewis at Coach's Fall 2022 show for an exclusive interview. Check out the conversation below.
Seeing how you’ve grown and developed as an artist, what advice would you give to yourself when you were just starting out?
Trust your gut over everything. Don’t be afraid to let it guide you blindly, as no one else will have a better instinct for your art than you.
As we've slowly been coming out of pandemic mode, what has been a highlight of this last year for you?
The return of shows - not just playing them, but attending them too. It’s crazy to think how long we went without them. That feeling of shared euphoria in a crowd is my favorite thing in the world.
Can you paint the sonic landscape of what this album sounds like visually? If you were to create a world and this album was a visual, in a sense, how would you paint it?
There’s definitely a sonic arc to the album that shifts from start to finish. It follows the trajectory of a night out, and how the energy changes from sundown to sunrise. So it’s starts with a golden hour sun set, peaks with the red lights of a dark club, and closes with a soft sunrise. With the visuals and artwork of the album, the aim was to capture what it would look like if you could visualize euphoria.
Where did your love of Disco come from?
My family wasn’t musical growing up, so I really got introduced to disco music when I started raving in Liverpool, through DJ’s like Honey Dijon and Motor City Drum Ensemble. I saw the latter play at The Kazimier in Liverpool, and the love I felt in that room had such a massive effect on me. Disco music is so celebratory and inclusive, and that became something I wanted to convey in my own music.
How do you source your music inspiration? Is it Vinyl shopping, Reddit, talking to other musicians, etc?
I’m lucky to have a group of friends who are massive music geeks. We share music with each other on a WhatsApp group every day, and have nights in London where we stay in spinning records we’ve bought. It makes it so much more fun to have people to share those rare finds with.
You’ve collaborated with N.E.R.D, one of my favorites. Did you get an iconic Pharrell speech during the making of the song?
It was actually just Chad Hugo that i worked with, who is truly one of my musical heroes. Watching chords and melody flow out if him is something of a religious experience. He’s on a higher wavelength than the rest of us musically! However I did meet Pharrell a few years back, and he shared some incredible kind words. His presence is so calming.
In an industry that can really pick people apart for every little thing in their lives, what do you do to stay grounded and true to yourself?
My friends are the first people to check me - they affectionately nicknamed me 'DJ Dickhead' just to keep my ego in check haha. Whilst I’m lucky to get to experience so much through my work, nothing beats sitting in a pub for 10 hours with my mates on a Saturday back home.
How are you cultivating a safe space via sound and your music?
Inclusivity and safety of expression are at the very core of disco fundamentally, and it’s so important to me that I continue to help create safe spaces for people to express themselves, and to remind people of where disco came from. The artwork and album sleeve for ‘times’ was shot in a “party” we created in Phonox in London, where we brought together people of all different genders, sexualities and races to celebrate their varying identities. My good friend Tiara Skye, a trans woman I met on the shoot, has hosted some shows we’ve played in the UK. She’s an incredible host, and her energy sets a tone of inclusivity from the moment the show starts.
When you’re working on new music, what is something that you like to keep in mind, whether it's a certain sound or energy or even just a vibe?
It’s always about a pursuit of euphoria in one way or another. That feeling of overflowing emotion is something I chase constantly, and it’s always in the back of my head.
Who would you have partied with in the 70s, if there was one icon you chose?
I would have killed to party at The Loft or Studio 54 in the 70’s, and from the stories Nile Rodgers told me about him and Bowie, I think it would have to be with both of them!
Your album is named, 'times.' Is there anything you can tell us about the theory you have on time or memories?
Its title is about the present moment, and the finite opportunities we have to celebrate it. Sometimes it’s hard to realize in the moment that you’re living the best times of your life, so it’s a reminder to myself to cherish those moments.
