Feature: Lewis McCallum

Author: Lydia Jenkin (photography by Chris Melville)

When Lewis McCallum's debut album 'Wake' landed on my desk, I was intrigued. Stylish cover art, props from Nathan Haines and Mark de Clive Lowe, and that niggling feeling that his name was familiar all contributed to my curiosity. Taking a listen to find out what had impressed Haines et al, a few pennies started dropping. First of all, the album is a charismatic collection of contemporary jazz and beats ("J'n 'B"as Lewis later explains to me, tongue firmly in cheek), so no questions required of the high praise from high places. Secondly, as I scan the press release it becomes obvious why his name seems familiar. A long list of impressive collaborations coupled with a very musical family ring all the right bells.

His father Mal McCallum is a very well respected singer-songwriter, his mother Linley teaches music at Westlake Girls High, sister Sarah is on the path to musical success in Sydney, coupling her lovely voice with a new take on electro-pop, and brother Greg is a brass player of some pedigree, having played trumpet and French horn with Rodger Fox and the Queen City Big Band. With genes like that it's little wonder that even at a young age, Lewis knew he was a musician. "Yeah, I remember at primary school having an argument with someone who was saying that sports people earn more money than musicians. I'd only just taken up the clarinet, but even then I knew which one I was. I was insulted. I thought, Michael Jackson must make more money."

'Waking Up The Jazz' -Lewis McCallum

Having picked up the clarinet at a young age, and then embraced the saxophone at high school, Lewis slowly added to his swag of talents with the flute and the keys, partly, he says, because the saxophone is a bit limited for chord writing and he wanted to be able to write his own tunes, "...see what the jazz chords were doing, what the harmony was".

He moved into the production and beat programming side of things about five years ago ("making tunes on dad's computer... and stealing a whole bunch of other gear from him"), and started setting up his own studio in 2003. This has proven to be rather useful in crafting 'Wake' which he self-produced and mixed in the home studio (along with some help from Submariner). The album has been in the works for a good 18 months, and having a studio of his own gave Lewis a bit of flexibility when it came to putting things together.

"I didn't say, 'Right we're gonna track for this month, and then we're gonna mix for this month', it was more bits and pieces, getting a track together, as I could." So not quite the same as booking three weeks in a studio and recording from whoa to go then. "That's something I'd really like to do next, is do an album that way around - preconceive everything, get the stuff written, have some rehearsals, go to the studio and record it in a week. Obviously that would be a more live type of sound, so I'm not sure if that's what'll happen, but I'm definitely interested in that."

Although the album is certainly a product of beat processing and studio work, it does have a strong organic live element, courtesy of the strong vocal contributions and Lewis's own rich multi-instrumental talents. The night of the album launch, Lewis was accompanied by an 8-piece live band along with guest musicians, and Khuja Lounge was packed to bursting with some very enthusiastic and impressed punters. The live show had people tearing up the tiles, the vocals smooth and strong along with a stonking instrumental line up pulling out great solos keeping late night pulses high. It was as hot as a sauna in the small city venue, but an encore performance of Fly or Die was the embodiment of 'cool'.

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