LIAMLEON is a new artist signed by Lazerdiscs Records. When I got a preview of LIAMLEON's debut album ¨Memories From The Future¨ in early April, I immediately fell in love. What a great singer and what a great sound. That's why I say confidently: I have seen the future of synthpop ... and his name is LIAMLEON! Time for an interview.
Liam, can you please introduce yourself?
Hi, my name is Liam but I also go by LIAMLEON. I am here to bring bright and uplifting music to as many listeners as possible, and to spread as much inspiration as I can.
I have been producing music as far back as I can remember, and my approach and style has always remained consistent throughout. I have always worked to produce something that connects with an audience whether it be through simply singing along, moving them deeply, something to relax to or purely just to dance to.
I am really into a more synthwave style / pop / electronica music for sure. Creating unique chords and melodies with different sounds is my most favourite part of producing and I hope you are able to hear that in my new album!
Congratulations on your new album “Memories From The Future”. I like it very much! What is the idea behind this album?
Thank you so much! It makes me so happy to hear that!
The idea for the album came from listening to a lot of synthwave / retrowave style music over the past few years. I absolutely fell in love with the variety of different electronic style sounds I was hearing, and I the uniqueness of the chord progression in more than a few. It gripped me so instantaneously and I wanted my music to be able to do that too. It’s so different to what we hear in mainstream music.
The first track I produced from the album was ‘More For Me To See’, and I remember half way through I realised this was the kind of music that deserved a whole album around it. I was receiving the same satisfaction from producing it as I was from listening to other synthwave music, so I knew I was doing something right. 1 year later and ‘Memories From The Future’ was finished!
Talking about the lyrics of the songs on your album. Where did you get the inspiration from?
The synthwave / retrowave style comes with a lot of amazing and distinctive imagery. Futuristic city’s, neon lit streets, retro arcade games and not to mention everything given with a hint of that 80’s nostalgia vibe added to it.
The lyrics came from a place that I know we can all relate to in some way or another. We all sometimes feel a little trapped, we feel like we could be doing so much more, we need to see what’s out there, and we need to be free to explore the unknown. An adventure!
These emotions combined with witnessing all that inspiring imagery of beautiful landscapes really brought out that emotion when it came to writing the lyrics for the album. I wanted them to be able to inspire the listener, to make them feel that they are part of this journey with me.
There is also a narrative element to the album I incorporated which reflects on challenges with other people around you, but you’ll have to listen to the whole album to get the full story ;).
The cover of the album is very cool. What can you tell us about this?
Honestly, nothing too detailed I’m afraid. Lazerdiscs Records designed the cover art for me and I’m very grateful! The neon strobes and the blue gradient is so in your face, then you have the beautiful girls face with a relaxed expression on it, the contrast just works!
What is your favourite song on the album?
I’d have to say it’s definitely a tie between ‘More For Me to See’ and ‘Paradise’. ‘More For Me to See’ has a special meaning being it was the first track I produced on the whole album, but I also love it’s upbeat tempo and interesting drum patterns throughout. 80’s pop style drum loops often included a wide variety of different percussions and reverberated claps and snares which created this amazing sense of space and atmosphere.
‘Paradise’ really gives me that sense of nostalgia. Especially with the use of the tape cassette sound FX at the start and end, it feels so intimate and allows me to be taken away on this journey. Also, maybe when I’ve not had such a great day I’ll listen to it and it usually makes me feel better. That may sound silly but If you don’t believe me, give it a listen yourself!
What activities will you do to promote the new album?
At present I’m trying to gain attraction through my Instagram ( _liamleon_ ). I have been mixing snippets of the album with some synthwave imagery and I’m hoping can start a following from the synthwave community. Other things like Photoshoots and possibly even a music video are still in the works for now, and hopefully they will help to build my audience as well!
Your album is released by Lazerdiscs Records. How did you end up working together with this label?
I follow a feed on Instagram called ‘FLSTUDIOTIPS’ with nearly a 200k following. I decided to send the admin of the page ‘Feel Your Love’ from the album, and half expected to hear nothing back, but he replied to tell me he absolutely fell in love with the track! He suggested I should submit my whole album to Lazerdiscs Records.
I had been looking for a Label to work with which focused on this style and genre of music, so it seemed perfect! I did some research and (admittedly nervous) I sent them my album with some details about myself. Thankfully Lazerdiscs really liked my sound and wanted to promote it for me! I was so grateful and excited!
What other musicians inspire you?
First and foremost, it has to be Owl City. I am a huge fan of their music and a huge fan of Adam Young. I have followed Owl City ever since their first album ‘Ocean Eyes’ was released in 2009 and embarrassingly probably know all the words to each song released since then. Adams musical engineering is just near perfection and it’s always given me something to strive towards In regard to my own work. Plus, as a bonus, nearly every time I introduce someone new to my music they will tell me I sound like Adam Young, which to me a very nice compliment!
I’m also a big fan of The Midnight. I came across their album ‘Endless Summer’ completely by accident and ended up listening to the entire thing in one sitting! It would be amazing to work with them at some point!
I do have my guilty pleasures too, a bit of Troye Sivan and Ariana Grande will not go unappreciated.
What are you further plans for this year?
Already I’m working on another album! I’m going to try and lean towards a more ‘pop’ vibe. I will be staying loyal to the LIAMLEON sound and make sure it still has that 80’s nostalgic feel to it, but it might give me a chance to experiment with new ideas.
I loved producing ‘Memories From The Future’ so much that I’m diving straight back into my work.
Of course I will taking a bit note from my album, and I’ll be doing other things like travelling and adventuring!
What do you like most about the ´80s?
Even though I was born in 1992, I have just been fascinated with the whole concept of the 80’s. Every old movie, commercial or documentary that was filmed during the 80’s, people seemed to have such a strong sense of passion and drive. Perhaps it’s because they weren’t glued a mobile phone or scrolling through pointless videos 24/7. They were out exploring, discovering who they were, and looking towards the future through a rose colour lens.
It was the decade of amazing sci-fi movies like Back To The Future, The Breakfast Club, Stand By Me. The characters and atmosphere was so driven with passion and inspiration. The music themes became so iconic and it just proves they were doing something so right back then. Who could ever hear ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’ by Simple Minds, and not instantly be reminded of The Breakfast Club’s most intimate and iconic scenes?
And finally, any last words to the synthwave community?
I’d just like to say a big thank you to everyone that supports this community. There is a lot of emotion and passion that goes into synthwave and you can hear it in almost any artist you listen to, so it’s reassuring to know there are people out there with like minded thoughts and ideas.
I hope you all get a chance to hear my debut album and get the chance to go on your own personal journey when you’re listening to it. It’s what I intended the album to do! Don’t stop playing that tape cassette, and let’s go on this adventure together.
Much love.
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