Adam Leonard (singer-songwriter)

Adam Leonard is an English singer-songwriter working mainly in the folk, psychedelic and electronic music fields. His style is often described as lo-fi and the subject matter of his songs somewhat unconventional. Since his debut album 'How Music Sounds' in 2003, he has released many EPs, albums and mini-albums on various small labels. Live performances, which have so far been limited to the UK (Manchester, London and Northern Ireland) are as intriguing as they are rare. In 2008 he opened for British folk legend Steve Ashley. He regularly collaborates with other musicians, most notably Pat Gubler (P.G. Six), Ashley Cooke (Pulco), Gareth Davies, and Steven Collins of The Owl Service, a band for which Leonard provided vocals for their 2010 album 'The View From A Hill'. At the close of 2010, a limited edition album entitled 'Nature Recordings' was released on vinyl only by the London label The Great Pop Supplement. In 2011 Leonard provided the soundtrack to Claudia Heindel's award-winning independent film Lucky Seven. In 2012, Nature Recordings was issued on CD by Manchester-based label The Northwestern Series.

In 2013 Leonard formed Invaderband, a 4-piece “Artrock/Garagerock/Krautrock” group and began gigging locally around Northern Ireland, including a slot at Other Voices in 2014. Occasional solo gigs still took place, including opening for Nick Harper.

Leonard was the winner of UK City of Culture 2013 Resonate Award for Best Song (“My Love”) Full story

In 2014 he embarked on the Octopus Project releasing 8 albums over an 8-month period. In 2015 Invaderband released 2 singles (‘The Implausible Man’ & ‘Attack Of The Pod People’), the latter making the BBC 6 Music Recommends playlist in Dec 2015. An Invaderband album is apparently finished and awaiting release.

Selected discography

• How Music Sounds album, 2003 (Real Wood)
• How Real Is Real? mini-album, 2004 (Apport)
• Sgt. Pepper remake, 2005 (joint release by Real Wood/Bottled Music).
• Leonardism album, 2007 (RW021) (Real Wood)
• It Happened On A Day EP, 2007 (Great Pop Supplement)
• Dan & Headless Bill - REDLIP mini-album, 2008 (Real Wood) --> reissued by Folkwit Records, 2011
• To Give Up You Have To Bloody Start Live EP, 2008 (Real Wood)
• Nature Recordings vinyl LP, 2010 (Great Pop Supplement)
• Nature Recordings CD album, 2012 (The Northwestern Series)
• Octopus Part 1 download album, 2014 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 2 download album, 2014 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 3 download album, 2014 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 4 download album, 2014 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 5 download album, 2014 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 6 download album, 2015 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 7 download album, 2015 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Octopus Part 8 download album, 2015 (self-release via bandcamp)
• Invaderband The Implausible Man 2 track CD single, 2015
• Invaderband Attack of the Pod People 3 track CD single, 2015

For further information see Adam Leonard at Discogs

Press & Reviews

• "Sly and cunning with a great hook ... I really like this" Steve Lamacq, BBC 6 Music
• "Really special" - Tom Robinson, BBC 6 Music
• "Bottom Line: The songs are amazing. Get them into your life as fast as you can" – Stephen McCauley, BBC Radio Foyle
• "Excellent ... sublime ... intriguing ... ambitious ... This is a curious little gem of an album and one that should delight the discerning listener, time and again." - Terrascope Online
• "Leonard has developed a signature style and it's working well ... the whole thing has the ramshackle feel of a bumpy journey in the south of France." - Shindig! magazine.
• "Charming, ramshackle album that whirls and fidgets round the muddy pastoral fields of middle England; here, a little Robyn Hitchcock, there some Syd Barrett whimsy and Swell Maps pout... even the odd sarcastic E. Smith colloquialism. Nice." - Everett True, Plan B magazine
• "Music For A Slow Motion Film sees Adam sitting on a rock on the sea shore playing a mandolin while the wind whips his gravelled voice into a swirling echo" - Careless Talk Costs Lives magazine.
• "A Drakeish air and an English drift" - fRoots magazine

External links

• Eden's Engine: Adam Leonard website (not updated since 2008).
• Adam Leonard MySpace
• The Message Tapes - new blog