'In music the people you surround yourself by become like family - I think of David as a brother': Nitin Sawhney with David McEwan. Photograph: Philip GriffinI was working at MTV and writing music for adverts when I met Nitin in 1998. We were introduced by his manager because Nitin needed his new Mac set up – this was back in the day when no one really knew how to set up a?computer. I went round to his place in Tooting and did the job. I started pointing out little things that he could reconfigure in his studio – which was chaotic, to say the least – to make it easier for him to work in, and he asked me to help him out. He was just about to start work on Beyond Skin.
When Nitin and I are in work mode, we're very much working. Then we clock out and we start joking again – the friendship and working relationship never spill over into one another. He's intense and very driven, so it took me a few years to really get to know him. I feel lucky to be working with Nitin – we've had an amazing journey. He's put me in situations I?never dreamed would be possible: mixing for the London Symphony Orchestra, big high-pressure projects. He puts a?lot of trust in me in live gigs and in the studio – it's up to me to make his performance sound right for the audience, which is not a job I take lightly. Nitin's trust and belief in me have helped my career, and the loyalty goes both ways.
We fell out once a few years ago – we'd spent way too much time together. We had a blow-up at the airport and I?went back to Australia [where he grew up] for a while, but we made up quite quickly. We're both opinionated, and if I think something is shit, I'll say. We're kindred spirits like that.
Our friendship is based on music, but I can talk to Nitin about other things, too. We're quite blokey, though, so it's not like you'd ever catch us crying on each other's shoulders.
I was sharing a flat with people in London and had a room at the top of the stairs which was basically a stereo system, keyboard and new computer – the good old days! David came and reconfigured my whole set-up. He seemed like a?sharp, intelligent guy. He was meticulous and a perfectionist – which appealed to me as I am, too. Our working together felt like a natural connection straightaway; we bounced off each other. It's so important that David works with me – he's been my front-of-house engineer for a long time and in the studio he's just as essential. Recently, we recorded straight to vinyl, and I?knew he was someone I could trust with that process.
He's very funny. We've spent so much time on the road as a band and he keeps the whole tour bus entertained with his impersonations and characters – he has fantastic comedic timing. It's very rare in life: someone who is brilliant, really knows what they're doing and is also a lovely guy.
David and I are both alpha males and clear on what we think works. It's the longest creative relationship I've ever had. We've worked on incredible projects together: Cirque du Soleil, the Proms, Electric Proms, the Sydney Opera House. He's a sounding board; he'll tell me the honest truth.
We hang out socially with his wife, but dinner in each other's homes is something we're still working towards, although I'm not a great cook, so I don't know that he will necessarily want to come to mine. In music, the people you surround yourself by become like family. We look after each other – and I think of David as a brother.
Nitin Sawhney's album OneZero, a retrospective of his career, is out now on deluxe vinyl box set, CD and download on Metropolis Recordings
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‧ This article was amended on 18 July 2013. The original photo caption failed to credit the photographer, Philip Griffin. This has been corrected.
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