Leonie Evans – I Really Do (2024)
While her Spotify discography spans back to 2016, Leonie Evans has at least two decades of experience in the music industry. Her confident performances have been enjoyed across Europe playing at notable festivals like Glastonbury and Smugglers Festival, as well as playing notable venues like the Royal Albert Hall. Sadly, we can’t all see Evans perform; however, the power of the internet allows us to enjoy her music and, ultimately, be entirely enchanted by it. From the poetic lyrics to the complex arrangements, Evans’ material is insatiable and rather inimitable. Her constant collaborations with international artists present genre-diverse music pushing musical conventionalism and highlighting Evans’ versatility. The latest addition to her discography is the single ‘I Really Do’.
Following her critically acclaimed 2020 album Collaborations, Vol 2., Leonie Evans returns with her track ‘I Really Do’. Another cacophony of musicians with various styles, ‘I Really Do’ draws together the talents of Evans (vocals, piano and organ), Gina Leslie (vocals and bass), Sam Gelband (vocals and drums), Ajai Combelic (Omnichord), Lyle Werner (violin), and Anders ‘Ormen’ Christopherson (plucked piano) in an avant-garde fusion of folk, jazz, pop and soul.
Recorded and mixed by Christopherson, with mastering by Jim Barr, ‘I Really Do’ is a celebration of musical duality oscillating between soothing calm and haunting vulnerability. Like travelling on a glistening sonic river, the single captures the warm restfulness of a laidback tune; however, and here is the duality, each instrument is a raindrop breaking the shiny surface. They slice in like ripples disturbing the river’s tranquillity. Yet, even with the pulsating plinks and plonks, ‘I Really Do’ is a harmonic symphony.
At first listen, ‘I Really Do’ is an eclectic melody to stand on its own, but it is the alignment of sound and concept that is most profound. Representing the intricacies of the human mind, Evans explains:
“The song is about being afraid to stay alone in my thoughts when I was in my first relationship with a woman. Knowing that the love was there but too afraid to show it because of the internalised shame and fear… wanting to break through those feelings and wanting to believe in love.”
In addition to the single, Leonie Evans released an official music video for ‘I Really Do’. You can view the video below or on her YouTube channel.
Find out more about Leonie Evans’s official website, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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