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Leone Western are a Melbourne based duo putting out some pretty sweet tunes. Their new EP, "hearts' still beating" was released last month and we caught up with the pair to chat about the new album and find out more about their project...
Firstly, for readers unfamiliar with your music, could you please describe the Leone Western sound in a few words?
dark, dirty, hopeful
Where did the name 'Leone Western' come from?
A friend suggested ‘Spaghetti Western’ as a band name which (Dwayne) I thought there was no way you could be taken seriously with a name like that, but it grew on me, and I found my self thinking about it a few days later.. so it’s a bit of a play on words as Western Leone was like a mini Hollywood in Spain where all the early Clint Eastwood Spaghetti Western’s were filmed which were directed by Sergio Leone. Everyone seems to spell or say Leone differently, but I guess that’s all just part of it!
What have been the major influences (musical or otherwise) on the crafting of your tunes? Has there been any one song/band that has changed your life?
For me (Dwayne) discovering my parents record collection was probably the biggest influence on me knowing I had to be doing something with music in my life. So growing up I was listening to Bowie, Dylan, Hendrix and The Beatles. I think the first time I listened to early Beatles I must have been about 8 and yeah that was that moment for me.
(James) I’ve always been involved with music and on my iPod you would find pretty much every genre, and I like to mash everything together when I write, depending on what I’m going for. I like to try new things and come up with different sounds or melodies and it may change day to day. Sometimes I listen back to the day before and think, ‘what is that?’ while other days it works out.
If you put your collective iPod/mp3 players on shuffle - what would come up?
You’d get a mix of Wolf Parade, Darwin Deez, Arcade Fire, Two Door Cinema Club, Handsome Furs, The Drums, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the list goes on...
Please tell us a little about your recently released EP Heart's Still Beating - what was the vision for the record? Was there a particular message or theme you wanted to get across to listeners?
When I (Dwayne) write songs I don’t really get to control what comes out, it just does. So there was no particular message, but I guess it’s a bit dark and aggressive at points, and that’s just a bit of a reflection of where I was at about a year ago. I’m a bit happier now and pretty excited about writing new songs, and with James in the band now the sound will continue to evolve and that’s pretty cool for me.
What is your favourite track on the EP and why?
While Dwayne will probably not agree with me, my favourite track is ‘Les Vagrant’. I think it is always a solid track with a great upbeat melody throughout. The lyrics are also pretty strong but to the point.
What can punters expect from a Leone Western live show?
Grungy guitars, melodious synth, electronic drums, reverb, and a mix of two very different style vocalists. Come on down, have an open mind and you will hear something a bit different which I’m sure you will enjoy.
What's your favourite venue to play in Australia and why?
I can’t wait to go home and play a gig in Adelaide and hopefully we’ll be able to do that in the coming months. Of the Melbourne venues we’ve played I’ll say the Brunswick Hotel because I like Sydney Rd, so I’m a bit biased, plus we played our first gig there where we actually got paid, I think we got 20 bucks each so that’s a bit of a laugh, but not to be sneezed at! ha.
Lastly, what are Leone Western's plans for the next 6-12 months?
I think we will try and get out of Melbourne and play around a bit, and expand on our sound in a big way (which is already evolving rapidly) to then hopefully release a second EP. Look out for it!
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Find out more about Leone Western and listen to some tunes!
