Veteran music composer Leslee Lewis has opened up about the sweeping transformation in how indie pop music is created, contrasting the label-driven ecosystem of the 1990s with today's artist-first landscape. Speaking from Andheri West, Mumbai, Lewis offered a candid look at the creative process that defined a generation of chartbusters.

How Music Was Made in the 90s

According to Lewis, the power dynamic in the early indie pop era was fundamentally different. It was the labels — not the composers — who initiated the process. Leslee Lewis recalled: 'In those days, you didn't, mostly didn't take a song to the label. The label came to you saying, "Hey, I know you compose a good song. I know you produce a song. We have this artiste. Can you produce and compose a song for this artist?" So it came to be from the labels. We trust your musical judgment and we want this to be a commercial hit. Obviously everybody wants a commercial hit, but it should suit the artiste.'

This model placed the composer at the centre of a triangular relationship between label, artist, and audience — with commercial viability and artistic fit as twin mandates.

Why the Songs Resonated

Lewis argued that this tailored approach is precisely why the music of that era left a lasting impression. 'I think that work has been more about creating that artist into a star. Those songs first had to suit that artist. And that's probably why you've loved all the songs because those artistes sang from their heart because the songs are composed for them in their style,' he said.

Notably, this philosophy stands in contrast to the current streaming-era model, where songs are often produced speculatively and then matched to artists — or released by artists independently without label gatekeeping. The shift, Lewis implies, has altered the emotional authenticity that defined 90s indie pop.

Colonial Cousins and the PM Modi Connection

The conversation around Lewis's legacy gained fresh relevance recently when Prime Minister Narendra Modi presented a vinyl edition of the iconic album 'Colonial Cousins' — the celebrated collaboration between Leslee Lewis and Hariharan — as a diplomatic gift to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese during his official visit to Australia. The gesture placed the album alongside other curated gifts celebrating India's cultural heritage, artistic traditions, and agricultural excellence.

Among the accompanying gifts was an Indian Premium Coffee Box, showcasing varieties from the country's leading coffee-growing regions, distinguished by their geography, altitude, and processing methods including washed, natural, and honey techniques.

The Broader Shift in Music-Making

Over 30 years, the Indian music industry has moved from physical album cycles driven by labels to a digital-first, algorithm-influenced environment. Indie pop — once a distinct genre with its own star ecosystem — has largely been absorbed into the broader independent music scene, where platforms and playlists now play the role that labels once did.

Lewis's reflections serve as both a nostalgia trip and a structural critique: the personalisation that once made an artist a star is harder to replicate in an era of volume-driven content creation. Whether the industry can recapture that intentionality remains an open question as streaming economics continue to reshape how music is commissioned, composed, and consumed.