leo. second album ‘a new one’ has been highly anticipated since the release of the first preview single, ‘green’, was released earlier this year. Two more singles later and it was finally time for the project to be unleashed onto streaming services. leo. has brought his A-game to the album, bringing us the relatable melancholy and expansive songwriting that we’ve come to love from the artist.
Whether he keeps it acoustic or expands into other vibrant instruments, what stays present is the gorgeously angelic harmonies that he layers with his vocals. In an almost barbershop fashion, he tracks and accents each line with wistful chords, whilst the instruments deal with the rhythmic moment. Pensive, bittersweet, flowing, pretty, you are pulled into the world that leo. creates, and by the end of the project you are not quite ready to go, leaving you with an optimistic haze and sense of understanding you didn’t have on the way in.
leo. adds, “‘a new one’ feels more like a piece of my soul than anything I’ve done. I wrote these songs over the course of a year and they detail the process of learning to love again as I was going through it - ultimately in a healthier way, but not without its setbacks. More than that, I can see my growth as a person over the last year in these songs. After writing all 10, and using some material I had written way back, I took them to Ed Allen around this time last September. After months of recording, re-recording, arranging, trying new things out, trying old things out, crying, screaming, etc., we finally finished my most ambitious project so far - and I’m really proud of it. I’ve always loved the idea of telling stories with my music, and with these tracks, videos, artwork, and lovely interactions with my audience, I can tell a story that’s important to me, and might be important to a lot of other people too.”
The multi-million streaming performer has grown a community around his melancholic, rich and nostalgic music, with his fans developing a deep connection with his writing. Emerging from classical training in 2018, the Portugal/UK-based artist recorded his first single from his bedroom. By 2019, the hit ‘despair’ sent his career skyrocketing, following it up with larger projects ‘Drink My Soul’ in 2021 and ‘Letters From Dreamland’ in 2022.
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