Rob Lewis (born 2 November 1982) is an Emmy nominated English composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He gained critical acclaim for his compositions for looping cello, which formed the basis of his album "Momentum" released in 2018. In 2019, Lewis was commissioned by Google to compose a 60-minute soundtrack as part of an installation in Los Angeles. Excerpts from this composition formed his second album, "98", which was released in February 2020. In April 2022, he premiered "Tideway Tunnel To Tide", a composition created using sounds from the Tideway Tunnelling Construction process, as a live-streamed event. The work was subsequently released as a single in connection with the Thames Tideway Tunnel project.

TV and film

Lewis has composed soundtracks for numerous television shows and films, including the

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series ''Mysteries of the Faith'', for which he received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Musical Direction and Composition. He also composed the music for

Hulu Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television seri ...

's ''Dead Asleep'' directed by

Skye Borgman Skye Borgman is an American film director and cinematographer. She is best known for her work on the documentary film '' Abducted in Plain Sight''. Life and career Skye was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon. She was graduated from the Cornish Colle ...

, Channel 4's ''Inside the American Embassy'', ''Genderquake'', and the independent feature documentary '‘Perception'’ following the work of Egyptian artist El Seed. He has also collaborated with BAFTA winner David Holmes. He partnered with augmented reality company

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on their first in-house narrative film ''The Last Light'' due for showing at SXSW festival. In 2017 he scored H&M and Erdem's joint campaign directed by

Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962), known professionally as Baz Luhrmann, is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music and recording industries, he is re ...

Education

Lewis began playing the cello at the age of 6. He read music at

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

, and cello at

The Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and j ...

with teacher Selma Gokcen. He has taken masterclasses with

Bernard Greenhouse Bernard Greenhouse (January 3, 1916 – May 13, 2011) was an American cellist and one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio. Life and career Greenhouse was born in Newark, New Jersey. He started his professional studies with Felix Sal ...

Raphael Wallfisch Raphael Wallfisch (born 15 June 1953 in London) is a British cellist and professor of cello. As a soloist he performs regularly with leading orchestras around the world, as well as together with duo partner John York (piano), or as member of the ...

, and Karine Georgian.

Recordings

Released in 2018, his debut album ''Momentum'' is a collection of 10 tracks for looping cello inspired by nature, humanity and the constant strife between the two. The album received support on

BBC 6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC, specialising primarily in alternative music. BBC 6 Music was the first national music radio station to be launched by the BBC in 32 years. It is available on ...

from

Mary Anne Hobbs Mary Anne Hobbs (born 16 May 1964) is an English DJ and music journalist from Lancashire, England. She currently hosts the BBC Radio 6 Music weekday mid-morning show, Monday to Friday, 10:30am1pm, and her ''6 Music Recommends'' show, Wednesday ...

and

Tom Ravenscroft Thomas James Dalglish Ravenscroft (born 6 February 1980) is a British radio presenter and disc jockey. He currently hosts a BBC Radio 6 Music show featuring new and unsigned music. He is the son of DJ John Peel. Career Working initially in TV ...

. It was also described as "Strikingly Beautiful" by

Clash magazine ''Clash'' is a music and fashion magazine and website based in the United Kingdom. It is published four times a year by Music Republic Ltd, whose predecessor Clash Music Ltd went into liquidation. The magazine won the Best New Magazine award in ...

. ''Momentum'' was featured in the show ‘Harmonic’, performed at

Kew Gardens Kew Gardens is a botanical garden, botanic garden in southwest London that houses the "largest and most diverse botany, botanical and mycology, mycological collections in the world". Founded in 1840, from the exotic garden at Kew Park, its li ...

, London in the summer of 2018. The show was created by Cirque Bijou and featured aerialist Korri Aulakh. It was subsequently performed in Shanghai in 2019 and

Bristol Harbour Festival The Bristol Harbour Festival is a festival held annually in the English city of Bristol, and which the celebrates the city's maritime heritage and the importance of Bristol's docks and harbour. Most of the activities, including live music, street ...

. Lewis also performed ''Momentum'' at

WOMAD WOMAD ( ; World of Music, Arts and Dance) is an international arts festival. The central aim of WOMAD is to celebrate the world's many forms of music, arts and dance. History WOMAD was founded in 1980 by English rock musician Peter Gabriel, w ...

festival. The Ambient Zone also released two remixed versions of tracks from ''Momentum''. "The Sea" from the album was captured as part of the 'Unpicked' series, recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Lewis's second album ''98'' centres around the concept of cell regeneration and the evolution of mankind, with each track focusing on a different area of the human mind and body. It forms part of the 60-minute score Lewis composed for Google's Room 98. Music from ''Momentum'' and ''98'' has been used on a number of TV shows, adverts and films. Lewis's compositions have also featured on fashion shows by

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Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

and

Alexander McQueen Lee Alexander McQueen CBE (17 March 1969 – 11 February 2010) was a British fashion designer and couturier. He founded his own Alexander McQueen label in 1992, and was chief designer at Givenchy from 1996 to 2001. His achievements in fashi ...

Tunnel To Tide

Lewis was commissioned to compose a new work entitled "Tunnel To Tide" for the

Thames Tideway Scheme The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a combined sewer under construction running mostly under the tidal section (estuary) of the River Thames across Inner London to capture, store and convey almost all the raw sewage and rainwater that currently ove ...

, a major infrastructure project designed to prevent sewage from entering the River Thames in London. The composition, which premiered in April 2022, is a single piece that celebrates the ecological and social impact of the Thames Tideway Tunnel. The work features a variety of musical styles and instrumentation, including traditional orchestral elements, electronic sounds, and recordings of sounds from the Tideway Tunnelling construction process. Lewis drew inspiration for the composition from the engineering feats required to build the Tideway Tunnel and the positive impact it will have on the River Thames. The work explores different aspects of the project, from the tunnel construction process to the eventual cleaner waters of the river. The premiere of "Tideway Tunnel To Tide" was live-streamed worldwide and received widespread critical acclaim. The composition has been praised for its ability to capture the complex relationship between humans and the environment. In connection with the Thames Tideway Tunnel project, "Tideway Tunnel To Tide" was also released as a single. The work was featured in numerous major media outlets, including:

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

. Lewis has described the commission as a unique opportunity to combine his love of music with his interest in environmental issues.

Cellist

As a session musician and artist, Lewis has performed and collaborated with artists including

Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist, and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed ...

Anna Calvi Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi (born 24 September 1980) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. Her accolades include three Mercury Prize nominations, one Brit Award nomination, and a European Border Breakers Award. She has been noted by ...

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, SBTRKT,

Ghostpoet Obaro Ejimiwe (born 18 January 1983) is a British singer, songwriter and musician better known by his stage name Ghostpoet. His first album, '' Peanut Butter Blues & Melancholy Jam'', was shortlisted for the 2011 Mercury Prize. His 2015 album '' ...

Beardyman Darren Alexander Foreman (born 14 May 1982), better known as Beardyman, is a British multivocalist, musician and comedian from London known for his beatboxer, beatboxing skills and use of live looping. Early life After studying at Queen Elizab ...

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't W ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws, Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. The debut Massive Attack album '' Blue Lines'' was rele ...

and many more. He is endorsed by

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

Music.

SmartScales iOS App

In 2015 Lewis co-founded Greater Heights Media to create the award-winning app ‘SmartScales’ . The App aims to make learning scales and arpeggios more accessible and enjoyable. In 2016,

Apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ances ...

made it ’Best New App’, and the app reached number 15 in the US and Asia app charts. The app also received five-star reviews from The Strad magazine,

BBC Music Magazine ''BBC Music Magazine'' is a British monthly magazine that focuses primarily on classical music. History The first issue appeared in September 1992. BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the BBC was the original owner and publisher toge ...

and

Sinfini Music Sinfini Music was a classical music website containing written features and reviews, news, animations, cartoons, quizzes and filmed sessions. The site was owned by Universal Music Group but claimed to be editorially independent, covering music and ...

Awards and nominations

! Year !! Category !! Nominee !! Work !! Award !! Result , - , 2024 , Rob Lewis / ''Mysteries Of The Faith'' , Outstanding Musical Direction and Composition ,

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Rob 1982 births English cellists English electronic musicians English record producers Living people English film score composers English male film score composers