this week’s opener (8/23) is:

Leif Vollebekk

🔮the vibe…

indie folk singer showing shades of bon iver and gregory alan isikov 🎙️

🏡the roots…

Ontario, Canada📍

📖 the story…

• coined as ‘the songwriter’s songwriter’ ✍️, leif was born in 1985

• while info about leif is limited, we do know he is of mixed norwegian and french descent, and was heavily engulfed in music from a young age

  • playing violin 🎻, guitar 🎸, and piano 🎹

• much like bon iver, a big piece of leif’s musical identity was found out in nature

• while immersed in iceland 🇮🇸, leif was heavily impacted by the experience and wrote his first album, inland, in 2010

• with a preference for live recording his albums, and his “full body” performances (see below), he’s gained a reputation and following for his spontaneous approach to creation

• his bright ☀️ melodic sounds grab you by the collar from the start, and they blend folk and jazz elements

• since the release of inland, he’s released 3 more, including his 2017 album ‘twin solitude’ which was a finalist for the Canadian Polaris Prize🏆

• his 4th album comes out in 34 days ⏳, and the two lead singles from the project are already fantastic (see here)

🎧 the 🔝 songs…

hot tears - spotify / apple music

long blue light - spotify / apple music

🎙️ the 🔝 performance…

transatlantic flight (live in montreal) ⬇️

• this video of his live performance was my introduction to leif…it hooked me!!

• the way that the music is completely taking control of his body…the way he feels it, is so damn cool.

• i need to see him live

📇 the rest…

• he is currently touring europe…fingers crossed he does the US next

• IG

📩the word…

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