At first glance you'd be forgiven for dismissing 24-year-old Luke Leighfield as just another singer-songwriter with an acoustic guitar. Except his acoustic guitar is a piano. Leighfield's sound has been informed by a classically trained childhood and teenage years spent at underground punk rock shows, so his upcoming album New Season contains both pop-rock tunes and softer moments that hint at his more mellow inspirations.
How long have you been making music?
I started learning piano when I was four and I started my first (awful) band when I was sixteen. However, I've been making music with a piano in this guise for about six years.
What inspired your latest album?
A few big changes ushered in a new period in my life, so I wrote an album about it. New Season is about change, new beginnings, positivity, hope, starting over - things like that.
What process do you go through to create your music?
Most of my best ideas tend to come to me at the most inconvenient times. Inspiration usually happens when I'm driving, so I'm fumbling with my phone and trying to make a quick recording without crashing! I tend to write the lyrics and music together, and most of my songs seem to come together quite quickly - I usually have the skeleton of a song within half an hour. Then it's just a case of refining it over a few months and finishing those niggling little bits which seems to demand the most time!
How would you describe your sound?
People have used terms like piano-pop, power-pop and pop-rock. I'm not sure what I'd say. This album has very poppy moments, but then it also has very heavy moments. Maybe piano-heavy pop-rock is as close as we'll get! I also think there's a sense of positivity and hope that is prevalent throughout the songs.
What would your dream collaboration be?
That's a tough one! In terms of working with people that are do similar things, Ben Folds would be a dream. I'd also like to maybe try something more neo-classical with someone like Ólafur Arnalds. Or maybe something really heavy with Thrice. One thing I'd love to do is record an album with an incredible arranger and huge orchestra. That would be amazing.
Where can we catch you performing next?
I'm doing four UK dates at the start of March with my eight-piece band, and then heading to Scandinavia for a solo tour in May. After that, who knows?
Luke Leighfield's album New Seasons is released on 26 March.
Visit www.lukeleighfield.com for more info.
How long have you been making music?
I started learning piano when I was four and I started my first (awful) band when I was sixteen. However, I've been making music with a piano in this guise for about six years.
What inspired your latest album?
A few big changes ushered in a new period in my life, so I wrote an album about it. New Season is about change, new beginnings, positivity, hope, starting over - things like that.
What process do you go through to create your music?
Most of my best ideas tend to come to me at the most inconvenient times. Inspiration usually happens when I'm driving, so I'm fumbling with my phone and trying to make a quick recording without crashing! I tend to write the lyrics and music together, and most of my songs seem to come together quite quickly - I usually have the skeleton of a song within half an hour. Then it's just a case of refining it over a few months and finishing those niggling little bits which seems to demand the most time!
How would you describe your sound?
People have used terms like piano-pop, power-pop and pop-rock. I'm not sure what I'd say. This album has very poppy moments, but then it also has very heavy moments. Maybe piano-heavy pop-rock is as close as we'll get! I also think there's a sense of positivity and hope that is prevalent throughout the songs.
What would your dream collaboration be?
That's a tough one! In terms of working with people that are do similar things, Ben Folds would be a dream. I'd also like to maybe try something more neo-classical with someone like Ólafur Arnalds. Or maybe something really heavy with Thrice. One thing I'd love to do is record an album with an incredible arranger and huge orchestra. That would be amazing.
Where can we catch you performing next?
I'm doing four UK dates at the start of March with my eight-piece band, and then heading to Scandinavia for a solo tour in May. After that, who knows?
Luke Leighfield's album New Seasons is released on 26 March.
Visit www.lukeleighfield.com for more info.
