Lewski talks about his Military Simulations EP

Hey there Lewski! Long time since we last spoke, how have you been keeping up in these times?

Hey, I’m okay so far! Of course, music production has been on the side for a while… Before the pandemic, I finally started to play in my favorite clubs and when that is not happening you get the feeling you kinda need to start over again. Luckily, this is not the case. Like Daniel Avery posted on social media: ‘Artists will never stop being artists. That’s the only thing to take from this.’.

Do you feel like this time has made you look at the dance music scene differently? What do you expect for the future?

Now it is hard to realize that we have been partying all together in one place. Everybody is on the same page. So hopefully there will be a new start for this scene.

This year you released Military Simulations on Intercept. How would you describe the style of the EP and the process behind it?

All three tracks are different. That’s what I like about releasing an EP. To get a spectrum of what I like to play out. The process behind it went quite smoothly. Intercept is very good at communicating and helped me a lot to finish it!

You seem to find a balance between catchy motifs and experimental production. How are you able to do that?

Being experimental is fun and easy to do and it will add more depth in your tracks. Those catchy motifs? I don’t know. Sometimes it happens when your jamming. In particular ‘Military Simulations’ started when I was busy with a complete other project and while I was fiddling around with my Erebus the bass melody came out of the blue.

Talking about production, could you shed some light on your favorite production tools in the studio or on your computer?

Since I’ve started in Ableton I finally could finish tracks haha. I try to minimize my set-up. Just to be sure that my creative level stays high. Plugins of Soundtoys helped me a lot and just got into Plugin Alliance for better mixdowns. Got a mono synth which I like: Erebus. And just got into the Digitakt from Elektron. Sweet for programming drums!

Your productions seem to have all these little resampled details, could you give some tips on your favorite was to get all those crazy textures in there?

Granulator all the way! Warping, reverse it, etc.

Do you think that you will always be making dance music or has this time also showed a different side of Lewski music?

Mostly dance music! But hey, maybe there is something else to discover.

Last 2/3 years you were becoming quite the household name in the Dutch DJing circuit, playing in clubs like Shelter and De school. What do you miss most about these shows?

Everything of course; the party people and playing your favorite music out loud on high sound systems.

Is there a certain memory that pops up and stands out thinking about this time?

Try to get creative when you can. But no shame if you’re standing still at the moment. Focus on other things to get more creative later!

Lastly, what’s up for you in the future?

Hopefully, the dance scene will get a reset. Balanced fees and no difference between headliners and talented DJ’s.