Artist Of The Week #273- Leonie Biney — When The Horn Blows

Hey Leonie, how are you? So your debut EP is out now – how does it feel to have it out there? 
Hi, I’m good thank you! Having ‘It Could Have Been Nice’ out in the world is so exciting, especially because it’s my first ever body of work. I’ve been working on this project for almost a year now and it feels so so so good to have it out in the world and hear the lovely (and often unhinged) responses from listeners. I really wanted my first project to show exactly who I am as a songwriter/producer, and I think this EP does exactly that! It’s also nice because now that the songs are out, I can’t change anything about them because I’m a huge perfectionist and will always, without fail, find something to edit. It’s something I’m really trying to get over.

It is called ‘It Could Have Been Nice’ – what is the meaning behind that? 
The EP title is actually a lyric from on of the tracks on it called ‘I’ll Be Fine’ I really liked the idea of using one of my song lyrics to name the EP, so I spent hours going through each song finding different lyrics that I thought could tie the whole project together. I’m pretty sure my shortlist was ‘Not Like Before’, ‘Comedown’, ‘Summer to Summer’, and ‘It Could Have Been Nice’. I ended up posting these options on my TikTok story and asked my followers to help me pick because I was too indecisive! ‘It Could Have Been Nice’ won, and Summer to Summer came in at a close second, so maybe I’ll use that for the next project, who knows. I like how that lyric relates to each song, because they talk about situations in life where something doesn’t work out, and how it could have been nice if it had. The yearner in me couldn’t resist such a name.

Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories you are willing to share with us?
I start 99% of my demos in my bedroom under a blanket to block out any background noise (I’m sorry the story isn’t more interesting) and then I’ll take the demos to producers I like and work on the songs from there. I wish I was the type of person that could bang out a song in one session but sadly (and my producers can testify to this) I’m the type of person to work on a song until the day before it comes out! I’m not sorry!

What are the key influences behind the EP?
Themes wise, it’s pretty big on yearning and oversharing, usually hidden behind a cute bossa nova beat, twinkly synths, or excessive harmony stacks. It’s kind of just about how I was feeling between the ages of 15 and 18 (maybe a little bit exaggerated because I love the drama) or how I knew others around me were feeling at that time. I’m just happy people can relate to and find comfort in my songs. Sonically, I took a lot of inspiration from the album ‘love is not dying’ by Jeremy Zucker. The attention to detail in his work is something that really inspires me, and something I try to apply to all of my songs even if it’s just a tiny bit. I also took inspiration from Beabadoobee, Laufey, and Keshi.

If the EP could be a soundtrack to any film – which one and why? 
No film comes to mind immediately, but I’ve been told that some songs on the EP feel like running through tall grass in an A24, cinematic, shot-on-film way, which was honestly the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me. I’ve also been told they other songs on the EP feel like they belong in Steven Universe, so if I’m allowed to say a tv show instead of a film, then I would say Steven Universe. Or maybe Adventure Time. Or both.

Do you have a favourite lyric on the EP? If so, which one and why? 
I have soooooo many favourite lyrics! The one that immediately came to mind though was a lyric in the first track off the EP called ‘Love You So’ and it goes ‘If I loved you less, I could explain it more’. I get a lot of my song and lyric ideas from books, and after seeing a quote from ‘Emma’ by Jane Austen saying ‘If I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more’ it just about killed me so I wrote it into a song! A lot of people like that line which is nice.

Now the EP is out there – what next for you? 
Definitely more shows, more bossa nova, maybe some orchestral tunes, who knows! I’ve got a load of happy songs that deserve their time in the sun, so maybe a happy record? How unlike me. I’m just excited to use this summer to work on new music (if my student finance allows it) and show a new side of my music to everyone!