Shadow Speaks: LEEVAI
LEEVAI is an independent Wardandi Noongar artist hailing from Meanjin (Queensland Australia) who defies genre, soaring through soundscapes, refusing to be confined to one sound; and it works. With one album Beats Vol.1 and an extensive catalogue of singles behind him, he took 2023 by storm.
LEEVAI is one to watch, and speaking to Shadow provided an insight into his creative process and what lies in the abyss of 2024.
January 2023 was when Leevai was birthed into the public sphere. Did the feat of releasing music and that music being listened to and appreciated feel like a pipe dream to you?
I've been involved in several projects and bands since the early 2010's, though none of them have had as big of a reach as LEEVAI has had currently. It's pretty surreal to have received messages from people from Brazil, Japan, the UK, Midwest US etc. all talking about how much they like my songs. So to me, that's my pipe dream come true!
What was the catalytic moment that gave you the confidence to put yourself out there?
The key idea behind LEEVAI at the beginning was that it could be a catch-all project, united by one common denominator: Myself. The project would be songs written by myself, performed and recorded by myself, and released/marketed by myself.
As 2023 was rolling around, I had a hard drive full of songs that were 85-95% complete, and I'd been hitting creative roadblocks in a prior project. So I gave myself the goal of one release a month, every month for the entire year. Whilst I didn't technically complete this initial goal (I chose to take November off even though I had songs ready), I stayed true to the underlying intention which was to get my music out there and see what stuck.
Your debut Beats Vol. 1 is a jungle of electronic lo-fi beats, and we hear that up until the single, It’s Never Too Late and its B-side Angst and then your subsequent releases find you entering the realm of garage-rock morphed with indie-folk. It is apparent to the listener when an artist is authentic and writing the music they want to hear - how would you describe your songwriting process? Both emotionally, and creatively, and the execution of recording the songs.
When it comes to making music, I like having my hands in multiple cookie jars so to speak, and just exploring sounds and genres that I find particularly interesting at any point in time. There's never been too much pressure to compartmentalise myself into one box or particular sound; I think quite frequently of that Denis Villeneuve quote - "I did this movie for a single audience member, which is me."
I typically find myself inspired to explore one or 2 specific genres at a time and will work on songs that operate within those styles, however if I feel like they can be used in a larger, more coherent project like an EP or a mixtape etc. I may park them for a little bit once they're done and I give them some track siblings. For example, "Game Over, Try Again" from the Beats Vol.1 LP for instance was actually produced and initially put up on SoundCloud back in 2018 before finding its way alongside all those other beats that I made between 2021 and 2023.
For the guitar-oriented songs more specifically, those will typically manifest from little guitar jam sessions when I find myself playing around with particular chord structures and shapes. A vocal melody will usually take shape over the top if I find the sound inspiring, and from there I can work it into a song structure.
Did you prefer the experience of expressing emotion via lyrics or would you say that the process of creating an electronic song vs. writing a riff and penning lyrics are incomparable for you?
I wouldn't say that I have a preference for either approach or workflow, they're just creative exercises that get my brain going in different ways! At the end of the day I see my music making primarily as a process of setting a mood; It can be melancholy, it can illicit feelings of loneliness, elation, despair, heartache, calm, yearning etc. but the tools and the sounds that you use to create that feeling change and can be used in different ways. And the best part is that there's always a different way to present that feeling or mood to an audience, and to connect with people in different ways.
Cardigan is a short song which packs a punch - and the only song of yours which has a music video, give us an insight into how you decide to present a song visually.
I made the Cardigan music video with my good friend and long-time creative collaborator Khan Eckford; We had a chat through about presenting a visual mood board to the audience of what the song evokes and what we settled on was primarily showcasing places and spaces near where I reside, as a way to share with listeners a little bit of what I was seeing on my walks when I penned the song. Cardigan is a very introspective track and I think Khan did a great job presenting that with the still shots of the parks around my neighbourhood, me having a cuppa etc.
Try Hard is a fucking monster of a song - how did that come about?
I'm glad you enjoy this song so much! To be honest with you, I'd really wanted to make a song that sounded like an old Pinegrove track i.e. Need 2 or Problems, and so I just recorded it with that production methodology in mind, hence the gang vocals, acoustic guitars, minimal percussion etc. I used to play trumpet in high school and had been wanting to get back into it for a while, so I pulled my lovely old Yamaha out and added some brass harmonies over the top for extra flavour. Nothing too deep, I'd just wanted to make a nice little folk track at the time!
You release all of your music independently and it can be purchased digitally via Bandcamp, have you got plans for a physical release?
Because of their popularity at the moment, I have ideas of chucking Cardigan and Try Hard on a 45' vinyl at some stage, that would sell pretty nicely I think. I do also have plans for physical media with my upcoming releases... More on that later.
I am interested to know who your creative influences are (doesn’t necessarily have to be confined to musicians).
My music influences include but are not limited to Radiohead, Elliot Smith, Bored Nothing, Ovlov, Boards of Canada, Ball Park Music, The Strokes, Nirvana, Jeff Buckley, The Smiths, Number Girl, Cloud Nothings, Modern Baseball, Alex G, Beach Fossils, Pinegrove, Phoebe Bridgers, Squirrel Flower, Villagerrr, Computerwife, Wednesday, Truth Club, Hannah Cameron, Obscura Hail, Melaleuca and Platonic Sex. I also really love everything that Matt Farley has made in the last 2 decades. The guy has released over 30,000 songs, what an inspiration.
What is your personal favourite from your discography so far, and why?
Great question! My personal favourite so far from my discography is indeed Cardigan, the entire process of writing, recording, producing the song, plus making the lyrics and working on the music video just felt so effortless. Everyone who was involved with that song knew it was a good one, and our efforts were pretty quickly rewarded.
What is an album which has had a profound impact on you?
It's very difficult to narrow it down to one but the first album that comes to mind is always Beach Fossils 'Clash the Truth'. It has this incredible sound throughout the record; Clarity from every instrument, yet dark and gritty. Beautiful melodies but noisy, distorted and smudged. Controlled and on-tempo but so free-flowing and in-the-moment. Youth, nostalgia, angst, feelings of sprinting along the beach in the middle of the night; It came into my life at the perfect time and it's never let go since.
Favourite book/film/TV show?
I'm always terrible at answering these questions so I'll instead give the best book/movie I read/watched in 2023:
The Plague by Albert Camus. Beautifully written, absolutely emotionally devastating but left me with a feeling of hope in spite of it all.
Aftersun; Same as prior but with absolutely no hope at all and just profound grief. A great movie.
I can however confidently say that Breaking Bad is the best tv show of all time and nothing else comes close.
What is next for LEEVAI?
2024 is another big year for LEEVAI. I'll be releasing an instrumentals album in late March following my first headliner show at The Bearded Lady, Brisbane QLD on 3rd of March! After that, more live shows to come (with a brand spanking new live band to help support....) plus another EP aiming for a mid-June release, followed by an LP in October AND a mixtape in December! Assuming everything goes to plan of course haha. Watch this space!!
LEEVAI's Bandcamp: https://leevai.bandcamp.com
Tickets to LEEVAI's first headliner show in Brisbane: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/leevai-wchelle-bottlerockets-the-bearded-lady-tickets-808762830397
