Essential Tracks: Leif Vollebekk - 'New Ways'
Leif Vollebekk’s latest album ‘New Ways’ is the true sound of desire as it unfolds, hitting the spot when it comes to tenderness, violence, sex and rebirth. Out now via Secret City Records, Vollebekk says ‘Anything that I wouldn’t ever want to tell anyone - I just put it on the record.”
He took a moment to talk us about a few select tracks from the release.
APALACHEE PLAIN
A few years ago I was driving through the painted desert and saw a lone mustang running alongside the road. He looked so free. And he seemed to know everything. That image came back to me when I wrote this.
WAIT A WHILE
I don't remember writing this one at all, but I had typed it out and kept the lyrics in a pile with the other songs I thought I'd record. The first and only time we played it is the one that's on the record.
TRANSATLANTIC FLIGHT
An earlier version of this song sounds almost identical. But when I would listen to it, the vocals didn't sit right because the tempo was just a hair too slow. I asked Olivier to bring his cymbal back to Montreal we set the ribbon microphones up around that and the piano and we tried it again, months and months later. The song is so long because I just wanted to fade it out over the chords, so we just kept playing as long as we could. But when we finished it turned into this whole other thing. In the end I thought the fadeout sounded unnatural so I just left everything in.
When a film really speaks to you, you can see yourself in a character because the character is in you. You better understand yourself. That's how it was when I started playing catch up with Terrence Malick and Richard Linklater's films.
On Transatlantic Flight, I tried to get things to sound and feel like the cinematography of those last few Terrence Malick films.
I like the line "I'm looking at the sun through my eyelids" - I remember doing that when I was a kid, on long car rides or on a Sunday afternoon in the house with nothing to do. Just looking at the sun through my eyelids.
The chorus comes from hearing a lot of Rihanna one summer. Her phrasing is so rhythmic and physical. It sort of rubbed off on me - that rapid fire delivery over a tight slow groove.
Leif will celebrate the release of ‘New Ways’ supporting his fellow Montreal residents Half Moon Run on tour throughout November. Full listings for all of Leif’s upcoming UK shows are as follows and tickets for the Bush Hall show will go on sale on Friday this week via Leif’s official website.
LEIF VOLLEBEKK UK TOUR DATES:
6 Nov 2019 - Bristol, SWX *
7 Nov - London, Electric Brixton * **SOLD OUT**
8 Nov - Glasgow, The Garage *
9 Nov - Manchester, O2 Ritz *
28 Apr - London, Bush Hall
* w/ Half Moon Run