Island Connoisseur: Mathieu Bitton

In Greek Eleuthera means “Freedom” and by the scenes in Mathieu Bitton‘s most recent documentary that is exactly what he and protagonist, singer-songwriter Lenny Kravitz found when filming Looking Back on Love: Making Black and White America – whether it be spiritual, artistic or professional. Appropriately titled, the film which was three years in the making, takes us beyond the closed doors of Kravitz’s Gregory Town Sound studio – located on the 110 mile island – and gives us an insider look at the creative process. It’s with the opening of the artistically thought-provoking documentary that Kravitz says, “I first came to Eleuthera to visit my cousin who was working here as a nurse, this place had a certain magical quality. This is where I want to be, this is where I love creating, sleeping on the trailer, living on the beach, really really simple.” No better of a man to capture the creative process and its surrounding inspiration than Bitton, a 2010 Grammy nominee and the Creative Director, Designer, and Photographer for Lenny Kravitz; not to mention Bitton holds a long list of credits that includes designing more than 650 posters, book and CD covers for artists and producers such as Sting, Prince, Lionel Richie, Taylor Swift, Quentin Tarantino, and Martin Scorcese – just to name a few. In this film what Bitton most perfectly captures though – a note that struck a far deeper chord with me – is how Lenny’s experiences translate and inspire his music. As Quincy Jones said of Bitton “What you hear and what you see are one in the same.  Colors and music notes have similar shades; lyrics and hand-drawn lines have similar emotional messages.” I couldn’t agree more, making Mathieu an Island Connoisseur in every way.

 Thank you Mathieu for capturing the spirit of Eleuthera so perfectly and for being a part of The Experience,

Lenny Kravitz Looking Back on Love “Making Black and White America” is exclusively available on iTunesMusic.

P.S. – Elvina’s is a place the Lenny regularly crashes when at his studio and home on Eleuthera, see here.
P.P.S. – At the time Bitton first stayed at The Cove in Eleuthera, it was still a resort under renovation. With a much anticipated March opening I expect modern day conveniences such as Television and WiFi will be found, but don’t expect to see any major food chains. As Bitton said of Eleuthera, “to survive in a place like that, not just any one can do that.”

Photo Credits –
Featured Photo:  Polina Rabtseva
Photo Collage: Mathieu Bitton