After college, Lewis moved back to San Jose. Most recently, he finished the Black Egg EP, with singer Miles Bonny. The eye-opening video for “Bottom to Top,” its first single,” features a couple getting in on most convincingly—and a lot of trippy smoke effects. A second video, for “Drop It,” is in the works.
“I spent a lot of time in the studio with that one,” he says of the EP. “As far as composing. I did most of the music, and Miles Bonny played trumpet. He did the majority of the singing, and I did a little bit of the background singing on that one. It came together pretty quickly. There was some trial and error in there, figuring some stuff out. We had to re-work some stuff. But overall I’m really happy with it.”
What might surprise those who are only familiar with Lewis’ more experimental beats is the sleek and smooth sound of the songs’ soulful R&B. But in reality the sound is close to his heart, having grown up on his father’s soul records.
This show, however, will feature his more experimental beats, which blend hip-hop and electronic and whatever else he can get his hands on.
“I’m always listening to new stuff that comes out, and coming up with new ideas, whether it comes from electronic music or folk music or indie music or experimental,” says Lewis. “I’m always thinking about what I can do next. I like to push myself and expand my horizons. I want to see where I can go.”
SONNYMOON, JONTI, DEVONWHO and B. LEWIS perform at the Pagoda Lounge in San Jose on Wednesday, June 20 at 9pm; $8.
.Preview: Sonnymoon, Jonti, B. Lewis Push Boundaries of Sound at Pagoda
