Resident reviewer Tanya Bonnie Rae is currently roaming around Germany, and was able to track down Austrian duo Leyya, while they were in the neighbourhood for a show. They chat about their sound, musical inspiration and their killer new music video.
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Where are you at the moment and what are you wearing?
[Laughs] We are at the Kantine am Berghain in Berlin, because we’re playing here tonight, and I’m wearing jeans, a black shirt and a green jacket.
Where does the name Leyya, come from?
It’s actually quite a fantasy name, Leyya is from a project I had before that was converted into a duo project and we just decided to keep it.
What was it like growing up in Austria?
We grew up in Eferding and moved to Vienna three years ago to make music, because in our hometown it’s quite hard to make music professionally.
How would you describe your music to someone who has never heard it before?
That’s a difficult question… if you describe it in just a few words it’s electronic, experimental, pop, but there are many genres that just collide in our sound. We do use acoustic drums and bass, we have four people and its a little bit different live than on the album… [Laughs] But it’s really hard to describe.
The music video for your track ‘Superego’ is really interesting and also quite abstract. Did you guys have a concept behind that?
Yeah at first we did, we met up with the camera guy and discussed a few things, but in the end it always turns out a bit different to how you plan it. We knew what we wanted to do but during the shooting, there’s a moment where you just say, “Okay, lets do this. Just forget everything and do nothing.”
What did you do before you got into the music industry?
When we were young and in school we always made music, and after graduation we both moved to Vienna to pursue it. I work 20 hours a week but the main parts of my free time I just do music, Marco as well. I never really did anything else!
Your music has been likened to Portishead, Alpine and Sohn, do you have any artists who inspire you or your music?
There are so many different artists it’s really hard to say but for example yes, Portishead of course, The Beatles, Radiohead. There are so many things that inspire us, it’s not just music, but it’s people and locations, you really can’t just concentrate on one thing.
You’ve described your sound as experimental/electronic. What would you say is the best environment for your music?
Small locations for people, who can really listen to the music, go into it and feel it. It’s not really music for big parties and festivals. It’s for the people to decide!
Last of all, what’s next for Leyya? Any plans to head to Australia in the future?
We would love to go everywhere and travel to different countries and play everywhere that people want us to play! We play a lot in Austria and Germany now, and we’re planning on going to the UK and maybe a little further to Australia and the US, but it’s all a matter of time. We can’t really say at the moment, but we really want to spread our music everywhere if people are open to it.
Leyya‘s Spanish Disco album is available now from iTunes.
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https://www.facebook.com/Leyya.Music | https://soundcloud.com/leyyamusic