Be in sync – musically, and temperamentally: Hariharan and Leslee Lewis

There may have been umpteen occasions on which this reporter has interacted with Hariharan and Leslee Lewis in the last few years none of which however brought them together to discuss their work as the Colonial Cousins ldquoWe do a lot of our own stuffrdquo says Lewis who has spent a fair share of time reinventing his style of music of late Hariharan too has been investing time in the studio working on different sounds The Kala Ghoda festival however brought them together yesterday Days ahead of their performance they turned up at the midday office to walk down memory laneEdited excerpts from the interviewHariharan Leslee you and I are set to perform at the Kala Ghoda festival this year Do you want to tell the readers how this materialisedLeslee Well the Colonial Cousins are colonial and so is the Kala Ghosa festival which is all about art and music Also wersquove not played in MumbaiHariharan Mumbairsquos crowd is different At a festival like KG there are no tickets for our show so people will walk in and will stay to watch us if they are interested Wersquoll relive the time capsule of the rsquo90sA file photo of the duo PicFacebookLeslee Why do you think we havenrsquot performed in so many yearsHariharan We did perform abroad and did online shows during the lockdown but we were not together You were busy with your album The White Album which is a great one During COVID I also recorded three albums two of which centred around ghazals In the last two years things have been good in the studioLeslee I think that people think we have split They believe Colonial Cousins is no longer active Thatrsquos a perception people haveHariharan Colonial Cousins is popular but we have a particular set of listeners who like our music People who like classical music appreciate our sounds The Indian elements of our music are traditional But our songs are a bit more funky So this is a nicheLeslee I remember I was in Manhattan New York and walked into a record store to see if our albums were available The person at the counter came up to me and asked me if I was Leslee Lewis When I asked him how he identified me he said ours was the most sold album in the world music space and hence my face was familiarHariharan We also have good sales in GermanyLeslee Yes we do A lot of them were pirated too But you need certain sponsors or brands willing to promote this musicHariharan Since you have a good memory do you remember how we metLeslee You were working on a jingle I was composing it and you were singing it I recall I started jamming and you joined in Most classical singers sing in one scale So I stuck to one scale and kept hearing you sing But then I decided to change it and use jazz And instead of stopping you continued to sing along to the music Then I used country and western music and you kept going with the flow If you remember each person in the studio dropped what they were doing and sat on the floor to listen to us In a way that was our first performanceEventually we resumed working on the jingle but you told me that we should do something about our collaborationLeslee Do you remember how we came up with the name Colonial CousinsHariharan We had been considering a lot of Sanskrit names and also those from the Ramayan We even thought of Gayatri But none of them fit the bill because we also had fun songs that we were working onI was in London meeting someone who told me that his British friends called each other colonial cousins And the first thing I thought was how well this fitLeslee I remember when you told me the name I was so upset that you got it and I didnrsquotHariharan What are the most memorable moments you have from our journeyLeslee There are commercial moments like being on MTV Unplugged in London and singing Krishna at the Billboard Awards and watching the reactions to it Getting the MTV Viewersrsquo Choice Award at Radio City in New York was also special But artistically too we have had great moments I remember we were performing Indian rain and you wanted to sing the entire song and I thought I should sing the English portions But you were adamant so I agreed When you sang it that was an amazing moment for me because I realised that we should always favour the musicHariharan In my case I think it is the wonderful people we met during our time in London We were connected with Adrian who is a prominent producer and he had great musicians and recordists working at his studio which he made available to us Thatrsquos why we call the song Adrianrsquos angel Some of the biggest musicians and backing vocalists who were singing for the top UK acts were accessible to us To get that sound for our first album was great It was a blessingLeslee I also remember being in the firstclass lounge in London and being approached by an elderly man who recognised us And when we asked him if he consumed our work he said lsquoYea Elton and I love your musicrsquo When we asked him who he was referring to he said lsquoYea I am Elton Johnrsquos managerrsquoAlso Read City fest brings Colonial Cousins Hariharan and Leslee Lewis togetherLeslee I know you dislike a lot of things about the changing music trendsHariharan My philosophy about creating music is that the artiste should create what he wants to You are the giver and you need to have the conviction You donrsquot need to become the receiver Be popular sure but you need to become an artiste in the true sense A lot of people concentrate on creating versions of songs but you have to create your own sounds and your own song While creating music whether involving vocals or instruments your soul is trying to say something and you are transmitting energy If you donrsquot do this wherersquos your soul I know views are important but if you create good music yoursquoll get all of that anywayWhat advice would you give to young composers hoping to join the industry as a duo like youHariharan Itrsquos easier to be alone Itrsquos tricky to be together You have to be in sync with the other person both in the way you think and also from your heart and soul Your likings musicality temperaments they all need to match You can have dissimilarities but they should be to a lesser extent Irsquod say hang out with each other for a few months write things together and do a project Then if you feel good consider collaborating You need to be compatibleLeslee If you donrsquot have a liking for each other then there will be trouble When we began we were already established names When we came together we did it for fun Sometimes we do our own thing You have to be together because it is like a marriage Today Hariharan is my brother We are not at each otherrsquos homes all the time but we are together In him I found someone who became my guide and friend We teach each other different things