Published: September 18, 2010 11:23 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight September 2010 Edition
Leonora
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Leonora Photo by Alfredo Farina
Italian Singer/Songwriter Leonora makes beautiful music that touches the heart & soul. Her voice comes out sounding heavenly with each note. She also captures the magic of songwriting with her magnificent lyrics. In this spotlight, Leonora speaks candidly about music, her influences, and her hopes for the future. Here is the entire online conversation for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Isaac: I just listened to one of your songs from your CD. What was the inspiration for making your new album?
Leonora: Over the years, I have released several singles on different Italian record labels but never an album. As time passed, I felt the need to distance myself from that stage of my life and make a new start with a more complete project. Using the web as my main means of communication, I continued to write songs and thanks to an email I came into contact with Marco Olivotto, musician and sound engineer. He shared the task of producing the album with me and then released it on his label - Lol Productions.
This record draws on my songs written over the years, especially the ones that felt more “alive”. The album is half in English and half in Italian, my mother’s tongue. English is a language I learnt when I was a kid and so it evokes strong memories of my childhood. The subdivision into two blocks of tracks was the result. I divided the songs even if a collection mixed between English and Italian would have been the most natural approach for me. This way people not used to listening to both languages don’t have to jump between one track and another.
Isaac: Who were your influences?
Leonora: Well, they are not all from one genre. My influences are a real mixed bag. I have always had a passion for music and it was installed into me by my parents at a young age. My Dad loved to sing and write songs, he would sing and play the guitar, whilst my Mum was always a careful, sometimes critical, listener. At home, we listened to everything from the lyrics of American crooners to classical music and folk. I soon started to write music for a keyboard, it just came naturally. The next step was to study piano and singing, which is exactly what happened.
Isaac: What do you consider to have been the highlight(s) and low point(s) of your career to date?
Leonora: In ’96 I took part in the youth section of Sanremo, a music festival that is held in high regard here in Italy. However, since then I have not managed to have other high profile visibility. I have had a long period of standby, one in which I have been looking for a totally independent project on which to work one day at a time. Now I feel at peace with myself. I think it is very difficult to live on song writing but it is so important to have never thrown the towel in.
Isaac: Brief history about your background plus the style of music you play.
Leonora: I’m passionate about music; I don’t have a bias about any genre. I like it all from singer song writing to electronic. I started to write songs on the piano, keyboards and computer as a teenager. Over the years I matured my style. I write intimate, minimalist pieces crafted on a computer with some piano overture.
Over the years I have tried production, partnership, remixing, enriching, adding in sounds (hardly ever taking it away) in styles that were far removed from my own but it seemed right to have a go. On more than one occasion when reworking material I lost things along the way but often the dry electronic sound which resulted came out more suggestive.
Today, thanks to the web, I have contact with my listener, contact which knows no bounds I am open to the idea of my music being transformed into something else. For this reason, I made the album in complete autonomy and chose to reduce the instrumentals to the bare bones. I started with an Ozonic three octave keyboard made by M-Audio and Logic Studio software on my Mac Book Pro. The instruments are all virtual with the exception of an acoustic guitar. For the booklet, I used a mirrored wall, some interesting objects at home and the auto-timer on my Nikon D-80, then Photoshop for the montage and layout.
Isaac: How easy is it to gets gigs for you as an artist?
What is the live music scene like in your area?
Leonora: In Rome, it is not difficult to get a gig even if you are playing your own material. There are several clubs that welcome singer songwriters or original music but don’t expect your show to be paid. The reality is that in my country the scene is strongly feeling the crisis in the music business. The issues related to the sale of records have been all too apparent and also the ways in which the public makes use of music has changed. All things considered there are no shortages of chances to play but it is increasingly more difficult to live on your music.
Isaac: What do you think of the state of Indie music at the moment?
Do you listen to the radio much at all?
Has the Internet helped music grow or hindered it in your opinion?
Leonora: I think that with the crisis in the record industry and the new distribution channels now available, Indie has a great opportunity. Today, thanks to digital it is possible to produce a good standard track with just a few means at your disposal and then you can put it on line with a click. The digital revolution and the web have changed music production and distribution in a revolutionary manner. As with all other big shakeups; on one hand you have a new path to take on the other it is still not clear where it ends. To add to this, it is more difficult than even to make a name for yourself in such a rich panorama of music; only promotion can make the difference.
Isaac: If you could create a fantasy band - what would be the line-up and why?
Leonora: Here are my choices…
The Lost Swans:
Kate - singer
Locke - drums
Hurley - bass
Charlie - acoustic guitar
Desmond - electric guitar
Faraday - piano and keyboards
Jack - sound engineer
Sawyer - tour manager
Isaac: What CD's do you currently have available and where can they be purchased from?
Leonora: I invite everybody to keep in touch and interact with my musical project on www.leonora.it. I conceived my site and blog as a sort of workshop where you can also find the vocal files of my work if you wish to remix my songs. I also welcome video, slideshows and anything else that you come up with!
