THROUGH MY EYES review

SIMON LEWIS Through My Eyes SL Productions

KEYBOARD player/composer Simon Lewis might once have been regarded as an ambient musician, but his recent recordings contain many nuances, including jazz. Here, he works with regular bassist Jonathan Zion, Tony Hicks and Nick Yates (reeds), guitarist Lucas Michailidis, drummer Tony Floyd and percussionist Peter Neville, to produce a series of Iyrical sound pictures that at times waft airily, at others are propelled along gentle grooves or (on the final Hide Away) break into a light rock tempo. Initially, he was inspired by natural surroundings, as he was in 1 996's Presence, a compilation of soundtracks for videos and TV documentaries (including ABC's Wildscreen series). The new CD is filled with emotive instrumental themes (A Smiling Heart, The Kiss, Carrie's Aire) and occasional sonic sketches such as the delightful, bagpipe-led A Winter's Embrace, free-form Dance Of The Waterfalls and languorous In The Clouds.