With a rasp reminiscent of Adele and the emotional strength of Stevie Nicks, the Swedish sensation Léon delivers heart-wrenching lyrics and heavy vocals throughout the four tracks on her newest EP Surround Me. With emotional ballads like “I Believe In Us” and the catchy Motown-inspired track “Body,” Leon shows off her sultry old soul and invites listeners to connect with her personal stories.
Léon, born Lotta Lindgren, was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden to a musical family. Growing up with strong front-women as her musical inspiration such as Amy Winehouse, Janis Joplin and Beyoncé, it’s no surprise she has become the powerhouse female soloist she is today. Her first single in 2015, “Tired of Talking,” off her debut EP Treasure gave Léon an immediate fan base, anchoring her as the queen of break-up anthems. On her latest EP, Léon first gravitated towards making something “less sad.”
After getting into the studio with musician Wrabel, Léon reveals that they spent hours dissecting the state of mind Léon was in and what she was feeling. “I told them I was tired of being sad and writing sad songs,” the charming songstress says. “We played around on a grand piano and just jammed. The song was finished in like, an hour. Or maybe I blacked out during it,” she says with a sincere laugh.
The sensual song, “Surround Me,” is accompanied by a music video featuring Léon moving in reverse. Despite being shot in Iceland over the course of 48 short hours, Léon proves her talent in the video by moving flawlessly to the newly learned choreography. “You’re always a little nervous when you have such a short amount of time and you don’t really know anybody,” she admits of the filming. “But, the directors were amazing and all I had to worry about was trying to look natural!”
Léon’s natural inclination towards soulful sounds is evident on her song “I Believe In Us,” offering an inside-look at Léon’s heartache. “It’s the most honest song I’ve ever written,” she says of the track. “It was really tough to write. It’s almost too honest.”
She explains that as freeing as the writing process was, she was emotionally exhausted afterwards. “I was going through some personal stuff,” she vaguely explains. “My feelings were all over the place and so I worked with an amazing songwriter and producer to try and explain what I was going through.” Léon adds that during one of the first live performances of “I Believe In Us,” she ended up getting visibly emotional which was a first for the songstress. On tour now with Wrabel, you can catch Léon belting out her emotional and soulful songs. As far as a full-length album goes, she plans on writing as much as possible until she’s ready.
