ARTICLE ON SIMON

Amidst the ever-increasing chaotic furore of Western urbanisation and expansion, many western peoples are turning to the solace which the universe of ambient music seems to offer. This hunger for some kind of serenity exists in a world which churns out cities, an endless tirade of televisual images and the desperately pumped-up poundings of contemporary rock, pop and techno music. Much ambient music embraces elements of this society of technology; notably the electronic wizardry of the computerised synthesizer. Complement this with the soothing sounds of nature's rhythms, which are often drowned out by our own anxieties and stress, and the result is Simon Lewis.

Southern Water and Southern Dreaming, two ambient CDs by Simon Lewis, are derived from a 25 year-old passion for the magnificent stretch of Victorian coast which bends and winds between Queenscliff and Port Campbell. The different soundtracks of the two productions are the young composer's reflections on the area where he has spent most of his life; the life where at a very early age he learnt to play the piano and to surf. The pieces are celebrations of the spiritual tranquility inspired by an environment which can be dangerously sublime one minute, and serene and rejuvenating the next. This is an essence of the Victorian coastal environment; an essence which is acknowledged by Simon's music. Whilst the music of Southern Water and Southern Dreaming map out coastal regions like Point Lonsdale, Barwon Heads, the Otways, and Port Campbell, there is at the same time a spiritual mapping in process in which the composer constructs worlds which pour from his own creative insights.
The young composer's manner is relatively shy and relievingly vernacular. When I first arrange to meet Simon during the Easter period, he cancels at the last minute due to a promising early morning 'swell' at Thirteenth Beach near Barwon Heads, close to his home. I sneak down to the point where he mentions the surf is pumping and watch for hours as Simon and many other surfers confront, glide, dance and fall at the mercy of tremendously powerful Victorian waves.
The music which runs through Simon's veins of inspiration is a far cry from conventional ambient music - Miles Davis, Bill Evans (the 'guru'), Pat Metheny, and the gods and goddesses of funk and soul music are his passion.

by Moniqe Orrock