Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Rising Naarm/Melbourne songwriter Leo recently released their debut EP, Please Leave Quietly.

Having earned their live chops playing alongside Teen Jesus, Eliza & The Delusionals and more, the debut effort from Leo is a cascading lesson in effortless earworms, brutal lyricism and deeply reflective themes, gliding between melancholy and wry humour in the most authentically captivating manner.

Futuremag Music sat down with Leo to delve into the inspiration behind the EP.

FMM: Thank you so much for joining me. It's been an exciting week for you because you just put out your EP. Congratulations.

Leo: Thank you so much. It's been a very good week. Nice to have it out.

FMM: How did you celebrate the releaae?

Leo: I got given some flowers and I ate my favourite pizza yesterday and that was really nice and had a lot of kind messages, so nothing too crazy. We're celebrating the release with a launch in two weeks.

FMM: That sounds wonderful. It's nice that people have sent you some nice messages about the release as well.

Leo: Definitely, yeah.

FMM: Can you tell us some of the inspirations behind this EP?

Leo: Yeah, definitely. So, musically, the EP was inspired kind of, by the Phoebe Bridges Stranger in the Alps record and a lot of Soccer Mommy and City and Colour, especially his song, Woman. We kind of wanted to encapsulate that, the idea of having the atmosphere carry the emotion as opposed to just relying on the lyrics, even though the lyrics are quite emotional. So, yeah, it was musically inspired by that. And then lyrically, they were kind of songs that were just written over the last eight years now that kind of encapsulated who I was between that period.

Leo: You mentioned that your lyrics are emotional and one of the ways your songwriting has been described is as personally honest. How do you approach writing lyrics about themes of loss, abandonment, isolation?

Leo: I think that I kind of approach it with this mentality of that secrets aren't good for the soul and that you lies aren't good, they make you sick and that you have to say what you're feeling and. I never really think about how dark they are until someone is hearing the songs or reading the lyrics and they look at me with a concerned face and they're like, are you okay? And I'm like, yeah, I'm fine. I am grateful to be able to articulate the negative or challenging feelings that I do have.

FMM: Yeah, I think that’s a great outlook to have and it's great that you're in the position where you can share those on such a public platform as well.

Leo: Yeah, yeah, definitely. I feel quite lucky.

FMM: You worked with Jonathon from Cry Club for this release. Can you tell me more about how that came about and how that collaboration was?

Leo: Yeah, absolutely. It's a collaboration that I am incredibly grateful to have been in. One of my friends who plays music in Naarm, Eaglemont, they introduced me to Jono in, I think 2021 or so, when she was working on a project with him, and then I went in for a test session, which is where we recorded Half Unconscious. And, being neurodiverse, like, Jono could just… He says that a lot of people around him are neurodiverse, and he really knows how to facilitate a space in which you can communicate what you're thinking, and he can really pick up on that and collaborate to make those ideas happen as unsensical as they often feel in the moment. He always puts in such work to make sure that you're understood. It was a very rewarding collaboration. He's a really beautiful person. I think he's the only man that I know, and I'm very grateful to know him by choice.

FMM: Yeah, it sounds like a really natural collaboration. It feels like you guys were the perfect fit for yourselves, but also the project you've put out as well.

Leo: Yeah, definitely.

FMM: Speaking of the overall project of the EP, I love the title Please Leave Quietly, because it explores the two themes of resignation, but also acceptance. So tell me more about this title, and why you feel that represents the whole project?

Leo: I think that all of the songs in the EP are kind of written from a very isolated perspective and from a perspective in a place that I was in a couple of years ago, I guess, and still emerging out of where I was in this mentality, whether it was happening or not, but I was in this mentality that, you know, everyone's gonna leave, that is what it is. That's what kind of all of the songs were written from, They were all written from a perspective of everyone's gonna leave. That's just what happens. When I thought about what those five songs in the EP encapsulate, I was like, they all encapsulate a feeling of isolation and abandonment. I'm such a people pleaser and see Please Leave Quietly as me almost trying to take a stand of like, I know you're gonna leave, and that's so okay and you're so valid in leaving. Please leave if that's what you want, but please just do it quietly because I'm tired of people leaving and leaving too much of a stain on me. Does that make sense?

FMM: It definitely does make sense, and I feel like that's what's going to make this project so relatable for others as well, because we've all been through it, but then to have someone with music out there that you can listen to it and relate to as well is great.

Leo: Thank you.

FMM: And the music video for Tendencies, I love that and I saw that you also co-directed it, so tell me about that and how you visually portray the messages as well.

Leo: Thank you so much. I am so, so, so happy with that music video. I feel so lucky that it happened. I co-directed it with Nick Jamieson, who's one of my close friends and a fellow, like, trans enby person. I felt so, so, so lucky on every single one of my music videos for the EP, like Rough Hands, Half Unconscious, and Tendencies, but Tendencies especially, they've all been made with this kind of die hard reliance on community, because the whole project is self-funded, so it all kind of depends on how much kindness people have. Space, or not kindness, but time that people have space to give. It was just a vision that I had about a year ago where I was like, I think it would be really suitable for me to be chased by a clown ahen it turned out to be that I'm the clown, which is, like, the whole premises of the video. I kind of came up with the whole narrative for the story, and then Nick helped kind of bring it to life because I'm not much of a film person beyond year twelve film and tv, so, yeah, they made that all happen. I'm so grateful for their talent and whatnot. We co-directed it because I was like, I know that I won't have all of the capacity to beat you on the tools completely when we're filming.

FMM: It looks like it was incredibly fun as well. Obviously, just watching the music video, even though it explores dark themes, it just looks fun and wholesome. And that particular song, it does explore topics of self worth. You’re quite a young artist so how does that self-worth play into finding your own feet and your own spot in the music industry as an emerging, young artist?

Leo: Yeah, there is a lot of trials and tribulations with self worth in that song. It's a very challenging spot to be in, I think, as an emerging artist, because, it's sometimes a bit difficult seeing all of the amazing people around me who just seem so self assured, but then as I've kind of gotten older and have gotten to know them more and have become more comfortable in the community, it's become apparent to me that a lot of people struggle with self worth, and release day is often the hardest day. Well, not for everyone, but for some of my friends in the community is like the hardest day of all of them to feel secure and to feel like you have self worth. So, yeah, it's challenging, but it's definitely the feelings of, you know, lack of self worth as a musician, I think are quite universal within my community, at least.

FMM: Yeah, definitely and as I said earlier, it's great that you've got that platform where you can share that and kind of, in a way, be a bridge to bring that community that you've mentioned closer together as well.

Leo: Yeah, definitely. Yeah.

FMM: And lastly, you mentioned you've got the EP launch coming up, so tell us what you have in store and what people can expect from it.

Leo: I'm super duper, uber excited for the EP launch. It's happening on the 19 April at the old bar in Naarm in Fitzroy, and it is going to be me and my beautiful band playing. We're headlining and, well, obviously it's our launch. Then we have Baby Shower, who are one of my all time favourite bands, the main support. Then we have Mutual Friends of Former Lovers playing as well, who are quite a new band. But I know the guitarist Ollie, who we actually opened for G Flip together, like, two years ago or something. So it'll be really cool to see him and to play the show and there will be a lot of special guests and collaboration and hopefully everyone in the audience can feel the community as much as we can on stage as well, because I'm a sucker for a special guest. I can't go a show without having someone come on stage planned, of course, as much as it might not seem it.

FMM: Yeah, that sounds incredible. It sounds like it's going to be a very fun, exciting, wholesome night.

Leo: Yeah, fingers crossed.

FMM: Obviously you've got that gig coming up, but what do you have planned for the rest of the year Obviously, I know you just put out your EP, but, obviously want to see and hear more from you.

Leo: Well, I'm going to keep on keeping on with Jono and then I'm really hoping we can play some interstate shows later on this year. My fingers are crossed for that. But, yeah, other than that, to be seen by both me and everyone else.