1 2 WATCH: Leo Lore
At the Pit, we are always looking to discover artists that push boundaries, provoke feeling and don’t follow the masses. Leo Lore epitomises this.
The Peckham based artist can be defined as retro-soul, but there are so many intricacies to his sound. Leo fuses the earnest emotion of soul, the fluidity of R&B, the nuance of jazz and the sonic outlook of Motown to offer a sound that is uniquely his own. Leo has just released his vibrant new EP Blue Print; brimming with melodic virtue and cerebral sentiment, the singer’s journey towards self acceptance and personal discovery is stunning to hear unfolding throughout the five tracks.
I caught up with Leo to discuss his influences, standing out amongst the masses and his gorgeous new EP.
Where does your love of music stem from?
Even though neither of my parents are musicians, they would always play old soul, jazz, folk, hip hop, and reggae records around the house when my siblings and me were young, and I think that's definitely where my love for it started.
Who is influencing you at the moment?
It's always changing, but right now I'm pretty obsessed with Kojey Radical, especially Payback, it's been on repeat for some time.. Little Simz, and Jazmine Sullivan - I can't stop listening to her album Heaux Tales, it's just too good.
Your sound draws from many different influences, how would you personally define it?
It's a hard one, but I'd say on the whole it's a soul record.
There is a real throwback feel to your work. Do you pay ode to the greats before you?
Yes, 100%! I want this project to be a celebration of those influences. I think it's hugely important to remember where the music we make today came from, which is why my tracks were named Billie and Sinnerman, to be a kind of nod to Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, which are two artists that I was listening to heavily when writing this record.
The UK Soul and R&B scene is incredibly stacked right now, how do you plan on standing out amongst the masses?
It is! I'm not sure.. although, a big reason I've been driven to release my music is because I feel like the music industry lacks in queer voices, and I guess I want to try to take that space by sharing my work as honestly as possible. And I'm just going to generally try and carry on keeping focus on the music I'm excited and genuinely love to make... and keep my fingers and toes crossed!
What are the main themes behind the EP?
After splitting up with an ex-boy of mine, and in the messy style that relationships mostly end in, I realised that I was still harbouring a lot of shame surrounding my sexuality. So this EP kinda tracks that self-exploration process, and that shift into contentedness and acceptance.
How was the recording process?
I worked with a very good friend of mine and amazing producer and sound engineer, Mikey Shaw (Dub Cavern Studio) on this EP. It was a pretty natural process to be honest.. Mikey also plays drums on the record, and so him, Josh Smiley (bassist) and me laid down the rhythm section, and then it was just a case of getting session musicians to come a build up the rest. I think that's the most exciting thing about recording; slowly seeing the skeleton of a song become a full body of work.
A stand out on the project for me was Sinnerman. Talk me through the process and ideas?
Thank you! So I wrote this after I got cheated on and stupidly decided to stay with the dude.. it's about regretting not putting myself first. I think for me, logic goes right out the window when I fall for someone, so I'm hoping this tune is gonna be a reminder to myself to try and hold onto some kinda sense in the future...
If you were introducing yourself to a new listener, what track would you play them?
I think i'd play them Billie. It's the first track I wrote for the project and and I feel like it best represents who I am as an artist.
What’s to come from you?
A lot if all goes to plan! I'm already back in the studio with Mikey Shaw, recording a few bits, I'm also working with Freya Roy who's producing one of my tracks, and I'm working with south-east london producers shubbs who I'm really excited to be working with and who are going to be joining me for my live shows this year. so yeah, hopefully this year will be a busy one for music from me this year!