We had the chance to sit down and chat with the wonderful Leoni about her upcoming debut solo album, prog in general and her plans for the year. Check it out below!

How would you describe your sound?

Traditionally, I guess I come from a bit of a folk and blues background. I was brought up with sixty year old men playing The Beatles and ‘Copperhead Road’ and that kinda thing. A lot of Elvis too, all the classic 60s/70s vibe. I played with these guys and it would be me, an 11 year old girl, playing with them and they’d be pushing the pedals for me!

So storytelling is much more my background. The sound of it, the production of things, I’m leaning towards the more progressive side of rock. My Rush covers album… Rush is one of my favourite band. Status Quo was the first band I ever saw live, so I guess that’s seeped into it as well. There’s a lot of influential bands and artists that have seemed into my sound. But live I’m heading down the progressive route, I hope. But I also like doing my stuff acoustic. I think a person who’s very okay with prog would be interested.

It is cool looking through your socials seeing how accepted you’ve been into the prog community!

Yeah definitely, I never really considered myself prog, I just felt very much a part of that community. And it is a community, it’s not something that you have to do all these time signatures, but if it doesn’t fit into a boundary that is ‘the norm’ in our music industry today, I feel like prog is more my audience. I feel they understand my music a lot more than if I was to do a pop night, it doesn’t come across as well.

And you just the other day put out a new single, it’s the start of an album cycle, right?

Yeah, ‘A Different Kinda Woman’! Synthetic has actually been done for quite a few years now. Around this time last year was when I got the masters back. I went through a difficult time with a producer prior to this one. Every month I would message this guy saying “I haven’t got a demo or anything, can you send me something”. I didn’t get anything back from him for a year so I had to get higher powers involved, and eventually we got the majority of it back. When we did, it was missing a lot of what we’d worked hard on; we spent a lot of time on tones and different guitars and things. It was a studio production and the things that were missing were substantial so I had to work with someone who came into my life and saved me, Nick Andrew. He’s a fantastic midi guitarist. He took me on board and I was with him every weekend for almost three or four months, just redoing parts of the track. He didn’t know me, but he did the first Rush cover I ever released with me, on one of the Songs for Neil. He took me on as a mate. We got on immediately. He was so lovely.

From that, Elliot Kennedy of Steelworks studios. They put together the Spice Girls, he’s worked with Garry Barlow. He was a mutual friend and we were reaching out asking for help. Elliot decided it was a full project and I asked if he was sure but he said “yes, don’t worry, I’ve got you”. And he bloody well did! Between him and Nick it was probably about a year and a half working with them and it all came together. I got the final masters back this time last year. All of that time, I’ve had this image in my mind and it’s all coming together. I was crying my eyes out. It’s difficult enough as a musician but when people, put you in that position like you’re not worth their time, it’s just absolutely atrocious. It happens to plenty of people which is why I want to talk about it. It’s got nothing to do with you. If they’re gonna be a dick, they’ll be a dick!

So yes, the latest release is the first of seven songs from Synthetic. I believe there might be one more coming into it because I did a masters recently and there’s a track that I play live that gets the best reception live, about my lack of relationship with my dad. It’s something I’d like to include on the album as well but it’s not produced by Elliot. But this is it now, this is me starting my career!

Is there a theme surrounding the album, or is it more individual stories?

I guess it’s sort of like a sonic diary of my journey into who I am today. I don’t necessarily write to briefs, it’s whatever is effecting me at the time. It seeps through in different ways, it’s not necessarily me telling you a story of ‘look, this is what happened’, it can literally be me describing how you feel. Like, if I was writing a song and it had to be quite moody, I would describe it in the song to make you think about it and your body do the same as mine is, my hairs were standing up of my heart was racing. So yeah, it’s my life timeline, things that have happened to me. I look back and I go “I don’t remember what happened but I know why I wrote it”. I am just a girl, and I do keep things like that in my head!

And you’re hitting the road in April, right?

Yes, going on tour with Solstice! I wasn’t expecting… I’m not sure if you know but I got the #4 slot in Prog Magazine. But Solstice and Ebony Buckle, who I’m taking over for on the dates that I’m doing, she got #1 in best artist, the guitarist and leader of Solstice got #1 for best guitarist, and then the drummer got a slot in best drummers as well! So the whole tour is just Prog Mag people and I’m loving it! They’re such lovely people as well.

We went to Milton Keynes recently to shoot the cover for their latest release, and it was just loads of friends and family in an old school hall. Loads of kids running around, trying to get them to sit down. There was at least 50 people there, so it was hectic, but it was good!

Have you got a busy rest of the year planned after that?

I’m away again later in April, actually. I’m away with Solstice at the start, then I’ve got a show with Ross Harding at the Cart and Horses, I believe. And this is between me playing with Solstice and then me playing with Anchoress. She’s fantastic, and she was my one-to-one tutor on the masters! Again away with her in June, couple of blues festivals in July. There’s things that are happening gig-wise. I’m releasing a single from the album every five or six weeks if I can, depending on how it’s doing and analytics and things like that. And I’m hopefully going to be making a music video for all of them so I’m going to be very busy! With J.J. Erenger, who did the first one as well. I believe his dad did the recording and production for Manic Street Preachers which, weirdly, we supported them with The Anchoress!

Hastings on a Tuesday coming up on the 1st March, they’re putting me on the main stage this year which is really cool! And there’s just loads of things I’m yet to do as an independent musician, like get played on BBC Introducing; just general goals you see other people hit and go “oh I should probably do that!” I’m making a massive list and ticking things off as I go along. Whilst also trying not to lose my shit!

Yes, it doesn’t sound like the least stressful time!

I actually thrive on stress. I don’t like being quiet, I feel like that’s when I’m at my worst. I have my good days and my days of “fuck, I need to do everything before I die!”