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Nearly a year after his collaboration with Dua Lipa came out, SG Lewis is still humble about it.
He co-produced Hallucinate, the showstopping climax ofLipas 2020 disco outingFuture Nostalgia.
Its the complete opposite of everything thats happening in everyones lives.
People want and need that escapism, he explains.
That just made me A).
fall in love with it, but B).
so curious about it.
There was a Brazilian disco record called Ripa Na Xulipa, by Rabo De Saia.
I remember hearing it for the first time and being like,What the fuck is this?
That helped me understand where it came from and why I felt myself resonating with it.
Disco was born out of this coming together of marginalized communities, and disco is gay, Black music.
So I was going through the whole period chronologically as I was reading the book.
To be honest, quite mind-blowing!
I didnt expect that to be such a possibility.
He said, Just send it to Nile, see what hes saying.
And I was like, Thats crazy.
Songwriting camps
Theyve done nothing but improve my ability, really.
Being a singer
Its really enabled me to songwrite by myself more.
Take, for instance, Impact.
But if nothing, its just opened up more doors and possibility in the studio.
Working with her was just incredible, and I learned so much from it.
Working with her showed me how much detail I need to go into with my own music as well.
The details matter, and I think thats why her music lasts for as long as it does.
You know, the thing that lasts forever is always the song.
Frontin is a huge record for me.
Theres kind of small pockets ofPharrellflirting with disco, like when he did Justin Timberlakes Rock Your Body.
Or even, if youre talking about Frontin, that wasoriginallymeant to be a Prince record.
I want to be that guy.
Thats the ultimate goal.
DJ sets
Ive always made music that lends itself to the live show.
I think that the performance would end up being a hybrid between those things.
Theres been sound-system versions of live shows Ive seen.
I was looking forward to playing festivals and providing that energy for crowds.
I guess well see when it comes back.
One of them was this guy called Alex Rosner.
So I interviewed him for about an hour, and he told me about his life and his story.
It was really humbling to speak to someone whose life had been a part of some huge experiences.
One day, the opportunity to do those things wont be there again.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
