A Moment with Leon O'Leary: Interview with the indie-folk singer-songwriter

Suffolk based indie-folk singer-songwriter Leon O’Leary just returned with a new single titled ‘Got This Love For You’ featuring Gyuri Baek, taken from his highly anticipated upcoming debut EP ‘Pretend (To Be Saviours)’.

We got to chat with the singer around this new release about his artistry, the collaboration with Gyuri Baek and upcoming EP.

– What was the starting point of your music career?

I started playing music when I was around 11 when I began writing songs on this tiny ukulele my uncle got me (guitar was too big for me at the time haha). From there I grew up doing loads of open mics and small gigs in Suffolk. I properly started recording and releasing music in 2019 when I released my first single Ivy which was produced in my lounge. It was definitely far from being great as my knowledge of mixing and recording was pretty basic back then. That year was also when I started playing larger venues and festivals which got me more noticed on the local music scenes.

– Congratulations on the release of ‘Got This Love For You’! Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind this song and what it means to you personally?

Thank you! The single came about a rough patch I was going through with relationship anxiety. I was struggling to deal with it and eventually opened up to my partner about what was going on in my head. We were talking about it quite a bit and felt like I wanted to write about it as I know a few other people I’ve met who’ve gone through the same thing. Sound wise, I was listening to “I Won’t Run From It’ by Big Red Machine quite a bit and loved the delayed effect on the drums and how melodic the guitars are. This really influenced the base of the track along with the usual artists and bands I listen to including Ben Howard’s ‘I Forget Where We Were’, Kings of Leon, U2 and The War On Drugs.

– You’re blending your Irish and English influences with Gyuri Baek’s Korean background in ‘Got This Love For You’. How did this collaboration come about, and what was the experience like working with Gyuri on this track?

Gyuri is actually one of my partner’s best friends. My partner showed me Gyuri’s music on Youtube and I instantly loved her voice and style. When I was demoing the track I thought it would be really interesting to have her feature on it and for her to sing in Korean. I thought it would be pretty cool as I’ve never seen an indie collab between an English artist and a Korean artist before. From a songwriting perspective, it was fascinating to read the Korean lyrics and understanding about different words that can’t be translated directly to English.

– Could you take us through your songwriting process? How do you typically begin crafting a song, and how does it evolve from there?

Like this single and mostly all my songs, I usually come up with lyrics from thinking about things in life In the shower or on bus rides until something sticks and I have to write it down in this note document I’ve got on my phone which is full of loose lyrics floating around. For the actual music part of it, I usually try and come up with some wacky chords or melody driven riff that I like which I store until I’ve got enough lyrics for, usually rearranging the ones I’ve written in my notes to fit around the melody and tempo. One thing I know for sure is I can’t sit down and go ‘I’m gonna write a song today!’, never can do it as my mind just goes blank haha.

– Having performed at major festivals like Latitude and Wild Paths, what have been some of the most memorable moments from your live performances so far?

We did a show at Spice of Life in London last year which sold out and was pretty memorable for me as I had all my mates performing with me on stage including my sister. It was all our first London show and I remember our faces looking at each other on stage. It was the best fun I’ve had for sure.

– Your upcoming EP, ‘Pretend (To Be Saviours)’, seems highly anticipated. What can listeners expect from this project, both in terms of themes and musical style?

The EP is basically a genre casserole of all the music I love put into one. The tracks on the EP are a reflection of the songwriting I’m most proud of too. It’s a real mix of rock, Americana, folk, indie and pop but if I’ve got to pin it down to one sort of sound, it’s definitely influenced by musicians like Ben Howard, Hozier, The War on Drugs, Bon Iver and James Bay.