As the poncho-wearing frontman of his own band, Leo Lilley is one of the most beloved artists in the Ōtepoti music scene. Playing at parties since his first year of uni, his solo material and classic covers of The Clash and Car Seat Headrest gets the crowd jumping. Critic Te Ārohi had a chat with the man himself in the U-Bar green room to get the details about his success.
Growing up, he started playing violin at the age of three. “I don’t know how my parents put up with a little kid screeching away,” says Leo. He played a bit of bass in high school, which he says was mainly so he could skip class with a “Sorry sir, I’ve got bass practice!” It wasn’t until first-year that Leo would jam with friends and play at parties, starting with his first band ‘Absurd!’.
Now a solo artist, Leo writes all the songs and structures them, explaining that he gets his band to “just feel the music”, which is why live it often sounds different to the recorded versions. He currently has two songs out available for streaming, alongside a remix of his song ‘It Begins’ by DJ Bax, a donk DJ and Leo’s guitarist. “I just thought, ‘Why not?’”
Originally from Wellington, where he lived and studied, Leo moved down to Dunedin for a change of scene. “I was a bit of a fan [of the scene] and was intent on starting a band, which I did and I’ve been loving it ever since,” says Leo. His music is often described as indie rock, but he is putting a different spin on the style of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys by weaving it with the New Zealand indie rock scene. His top three New Zealand influences – both musically and in terms of energy on stage – include Soaked Oats, Heavy Chest, and Revulva.
The lyrical focus of Leo’s songs boil down to his experiences with love. “You can do the sad stuff, the happy stuff, the energetic stuff. It all comes back to love when I sit down to try to write a song,” he says. Leo is currently working on releasing an album, a story-arched concept album about love told through the singles for the album.
“I’ve got them all written, they just need to be recorded and produced. I like the idea of a collection of songs being part of a larger thing. In the modern age, it’s all about singles and that’s it. But I want to do that as well as make the album. Within the New Zealand scene, it isn’t too common for that kind of thing to happen.” Leo isn’t sure what he will do after this project, but mentions that one of the benefits of being a solo artist is the creative control it allows him. “I always get into different genres and try different things.”
You can follow Leo Lilley on Instagram @leo.lilley_ to see upcoming gigs and releases.