Let your emotions out and get ready to be hit in the feels with LÉON’s newest single and music video for “Chasing a Feeling.” This track is a sunset toned masterpiece of honest feelings on long walks home. LÉON perfectly captures the self-talk and journey of wondering if you need to break up with someone. It tells the tale of chasing the feelings that were once in the relationship, even though they have faded away like the sun into the horizon at dusk. This relatable dilemma of not wanting to regret cutting something off or losing someone you care about is beautifully summed up within the song’s lyrics.
The song slowly builds with warm harmonies and, of course, LÉON’S signature vocals. The video was directed by Bjarke Underbjerg, who also directed the video for “And It Breaks My Heart.” These videos seem to play together hand in hand within the same creative universe in a cinematic dreamscape that is sure to evoke a feeling somewhere in your chest.
LÉON herself is a seemingly effortlessly cool, confident, quiet, soul with a dreamy 60’s twist. This Swedish artist is here to show us what we have been missing when it comes to someone blending indie-pop with retro soul. She appears to be that dream girl who is delicate and soft yet also strong and empowered.
Get lost in a world all LÉON’s making and listen to “Chasing a Feeling,” get to know more about her artistic process, and what drives her to create by continuing to read below.
Hi, how are you doing today?
I’m good… I’m a bit hungover. Had a lot of red wine yesterday, but I am good! It was just one of those nights where It’s such a nice time with your friends and you just don’t want to go home. So we just stayed up till, like, three. Just drinking so much wine and now it’s just a fog.
What does vulnerability as artists mean to you personally?
Wow. That’s like, Good morning. Let’s kick it off with a real question. I don’t know. I feel like, the typical answer would probably be being honest and not really thinking about it. Sometimes you get into your head about if you’re too personal or something, but I don’t know. It has to be honest. Not thinking about what anybody else is thinking and being honest, I would say. That’s the first thing that comes to mind. The music I listen to the music, you can tell that there’s a story behind it and that there is real storytelling that is done. That’s what draws me in, and when I listen to music.
What inspires you and or what drives you to create?
I would say that I feel the most inspired when there has been a lot of things going on in my life. That’s when I feel like I have something to say. For some reason, when I’m the most inspired is when there’s no pressure to write a song or anything when they just come to you, and you feel like you have to get something off your chest. It’s like when your life stands still, it’s such a typical artist thing to say, but it’s harder when you try to write lyrics. So when things are happening in your life, and you go through things or things go to shit, that’s kind of where my inspiration thrives.
In addition to what inspires you, what does your artistic process look like?
I feel like recently I’ve been going back a lot to how I used to write. Like, I always write for myself when I’m alone. But now for the new music with quarantine, It’s been a lot of me just sitting in my kitchen, just writing, for fun for myself, and then it’s just if you get something that’s great. It’s been very like relaxed the whole process recently of just sitting on your own and figuring out what you want to say and just jumping on my bike to go to my producer’s studio. We’ll just finish the song together. it’s been very relaxing, just writing more for myself in a way.
So running on that same vein: with your music videos, your album art, and your Instagram. You have a really specific aesthetic. Has it always been there naturally, or did you work to curate it?
Thank you! I’ve always liked the idea, you know, having it look a bit more retro and not as crisp. I like it when it’s a bit more grainy and all of that. it just has always stuck with me for some reason. So now I don’t think about it… When I first started my own Instagram and all that, I kind of had a vision but wanted it to be something I liked and that I liked to look at, and then it just became what it is. I love the seventies, the sixties, and all that look, so I guess I would draw a lot of inspiration from that as well. There’s something very nice about that time.
I noticed the “Chasing a Feeling” video and the “And It Breaks My Heart” video. They looked like they existed in the same universe. Was that on purpose?
Thank you again! Yes, it was; I think for this album and also for the last album. I just wanted everything to feel very connected because sometimes I don’t know the whole thing of making a video just to make a video that happens easily, and when it doesn’t really connect, and it feels a bit all over the place now to me. I thought even more so for this album, that I wanted it to feel like it was in the same universe. These new videos aren’t as retro as the other ones. I really wanted to make another video with the same director because he is incredible. He’s never made a music video before! So the first one that he did for me was his first music video, and I liked the way he was thinking about it more as a movie instead of just a music video. I really wanted to have that – I didn’t want to sing in the video. I really wanted it to feel like you were watching a short film and to get across a feeling. It was really important that it would feel like it was in the same world so that people understand it more.
Lastly, what do you hope that people take away from “Chasing a Feeling”?
Great question, I think hopefully people can connect with it. To me, it’s like writing about something new because I think “Chasing a Feeling” was kind of the beginning of me writing about my own insecurities in the relationship that I was in and kind of being on the other side because a lot of times I’ve been singing about being left or feeling like a victim of some sort. Now this side of me is the one very insecure about my own feelings I’m not sure about if you should stay or not. So hopefully people can relate to that kind of being in a position of wondering if you should be the one breaking up with someone. Hopefully, people can relate to it.
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photos / Sandra Thorsson
story / Weslee Kate