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London based alt-pop musician and trained dancer Leon Else recently signed with Interscope Records and will be releasing his debut LP in early 2017. In support of his forthcoming album, Else just dropped his fresh new track “Dance,” the single definitely lives up to its name, it’s pure sonic goodness that makes you want to move.
GroundSounds recently caught up with Else to talk about his latest endeavors, musical inspirations and more, check out the exclusive interview below.
For those just discovering Leon Else, can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you got started with music?
I was born in Gibraltar, grew up in Margate, a seaside town in South East England. I got into a lot of trouble at a young age, my mum thought there was something wrong with me (later on we found out there was as I suffer from ADHD and depression). So I guess it’s cliché but I’ve always sung, since you could never shut me up as a kid! haha. I’ve always kinda been obsessed with songs and melodies. I wrote my first song aged 12, singing onto a tape recorder – it was a song called “My Day Dreaming Girl.”From there on, I just keep writing more and more songs. Then I got into drama, at secondary school, then into dance. I then left Margate to go train full time at dance/theatre school in London, but I had always continued to write songs.
What do you enjoy most about London? What is one local spot every visitor should check out?
I enjoy the buzz about London! It’s such an amazing city, with so much going on. I remember being so young and visiting London, and just feeling drawn to its energy. I knew from a young age that was the place I would be, the place I needed to get to. So I would say that’s what i love about London – there really is no place like it. Places you should see I would say would be the River Thames at night. To walk along the riverside in the winter or late summer evening is beautiful, and the architecture and skyline alongside the river is stunning. You get a real scope of the city. There are some great traditional English pubs along the way that you can pop into. I mean you just have to visit a good old English pub and have a pint…it would be rude not too haha.
Can you tell us about the creative and writing process involved with your track “Black Car?”
The writing process changes every time for me, but I wrote “Black Car” whilst in my then brown car (I now have a black car I drive) that I hated. It didn’t fit my look or vibe. So one day I was driving to go hiking and I started singing the melody from “Black Car” with the lyric “gotta get a black car, the blackest car you’ve ever seen” and that’s where the original idea came from. My visioning was this dark, mysterious, sexy, cool, and scary ‘black car’ that I was so desperate to have and drive, so everyone could see me. I developed it further, deeper into the whole allure of an object of desire and the “Black Car” song was born.
What was it like filming the music video for “Black Car” and working with Suki Waterhouse?
Filming the video was such an amazing experience and a dream come true. It was so exhilarating to watch and see something you have worked on start to come to life. It was a long night of filming too, but so worth it. Suki is a good friend of mine, so working with her was amazing and fun – we had a lot of laughs as I’m sure you can imagine with that tongue. It’s always great to work with friends if you get the chance to do so. She is a dream and absolutely nailed the performance.
What is it about catchy alternative-pop that attracts you to this sound?
I just don’t like the norm. I like things wrapped differently, and I don’t like boxes or boundaries. I work too hard and have too much I want to achieve to work within restrictions. I feel that with progressive pop,as I like to call it, the space you play around in is limitless…when you can do anything and go anywhere, that’s just so much more exciting to me. It’s what I live for.
Can you tell us about working on your forthcoming debut LP? Does it have a title?
No title as of yet, but it’s going to be a journey and you won’t hear the same thing twice. I want the album to be an escapism; an experience to get lost in. It will be me, all of me, in musical form.
What is the inspiration behind your single “Dance?”
The song is about my depression, and the low moments in my life, and how you can use movement and dance to fight those moments of darkness. To get up and put some music on and dance around is something that is such powerful and natural way to make yourself feel better. It’s what I use to do as a career; to dance to escape my life. I learned to dance professionally to help me escape my hometown, and I found comfort and solitude in dance. It makes me feel better. It makes me feel like I’m someone and can do anything. When I dance I forgot everything; all my troubles, my fears and worries, my sadness. Dancing is a moment when I truly feel free. I wanted to write a song that allowed me to have the moment forever. Almost to immortalize this moment for me. I wanted to create something that spoke about my feelings and what I believe is I have an illness, and dance would be a kind of momentarily cure. Though not cure for good, but a short relief. It is therapy in a way.
What musicians/bands are you currently listening to?
David Bowie, Prince, Queen, Amy Winehouse, Elvis, Nick Cave, Fleetwood Mac, to name a few…
After the LP drops, what’s next for Leon Else? What can fans look forward to?
Touring – I want create a real show that combines music, theatre and dance. Something that will take the audience away and for that hour or 2 you come on a journey with me, to forgot all our troubles and problems. To create a live show that is a moment in time just be there – to be present. I really do want to bring people together because we really aren’t that different from each other, and I hope with the stories of what I go through in my life, and what is written in my songs will help others. To help show and tell them that they aren’t alone. This world is so hard for so many different reasons…music really does bring people together.
I also would love to go into acting or writing music for film,. I would love to go back to the stage too at some point. I just have so much I want to do, and so little time.
