SG Lewis on his imposter syndrome: “Elton John said, ‘I’d love to get in the studio with you’. I was like, ‘Are you kidding?’”
“Elton’s extremely personable, very funny and very caring: he’ll FaceTime every now and then just to check up on me and make sure I’m doing alright. It’s really cool.”
Image: Scott Dudelson/Getty Images for Coachella
SG Lewis has revealed what it was like to work with Elton John in the studio, and how his imposter syndrome impacts his confidence as a producer.
In an interview with NME, the producer and musician opened up about his experiences working with A-List musicians, from Dua Lipa, to Elton John.
After being invited to appear on Elton John’s Apple Music Show Rocket Hour, the producer says that Elton John made him a proposition.
“At the end of the interview, Elton said, ‘I’d love to get in the studio with you’. I was like, ‘… Are you kidding?’ I thought he was just saying it. The next day I’m driving along, and I get a phone call from this number I don’t recognise. I pick it up and I hear, ‘Sam, darling, it’s Elton! When are we getting in the studio?’”
“Elton’s extremely personable, very funny and very caring: he’ll FaceTime every now and then just to check up on me and make sure I’m doing alright. It’s really cool.”
The studio session resulted in the creation of the joint dance track Orbit which was released as a part of Elton’s Lockdown Sessions. However, despite SG’s success with these big names, he admits that he sometimes feels undeserving of his success.
“Sometimes, especially when the imposter syndrome sets in, I do ask myself why artists want to work with me. But I think I trust my own tastes: I think that, if anything, I like to think that I’m able to at least share some musical tastes with my collaborators, and try and at least aim to make something that we both genuinely like and listen to. That’s always the aim.”
Speaking on his work with Dua Lipa on her critically-acclaimed album, Future Nostalgia, SG says that the vocalist “incredible in the studio.
“She has so many ideas and is such a pro on the mic: you don’t do a take more than three times. Future Nostalgia became bigger than anyone could have even contemplated, and it ended up getting a bunch of Grammys. It was just a really cool record to be able to have played a small part in, because I think it will be a record that will represent a moment in time to a lot of people, especially in terms of lockdown.”
SG Lewis is releasing his second studio album AudioLust & HigherLove, and will be embarking on a European tour which will culminate headline date at the O2 Academy Brixton on 31 March. Let’s hope Elton John is on the guest list.
SG Lewis’ ‘AudioLust & HigherLove’ is set for release on 27 January.
