martes, 23 de agosto de 2011

THE LEON PROJECT - RECORDING HISTORY

Welcome to the OFFICIAL BLOG of THE LEON PROJECT, a group consisting of brothers Jesús and Paco León, producers, pianists and composers.

Their music brings a fusion of ETHNIC – WORLD MUSIC elements, with electronic touches – “chill”, and with the piano as fundamental protagonist.

Their debut album, MALAGA MY LOVE, was a very international work where East meet West, where acoustic and electronic modalities interact, and where modern and traditional sensibilities co-habit in a fusion of Flamenco adornments and nuances, among which José Juan Pantoja’s Spanish guitar  and Chandé’s voice (in the choruses and Flamenco harmonies) stand out. 




MALAGA MY LOVE is full of soul-filled melodies; they are a collection of musical works written in homage to the roots of these two musicians and the musical experiences that they have been accumulating and ‘harvesting’ over the years. Two singles/videos were recently selected from this album and posted on our official website http://www.youtube.com/user/THELEONPROJECT ;“LIVING WITHOUT YOUR LOVE" (Jesús León, Paco León & Thomas Henry) with Thomas Henry as the invited artist, and “MALAGA MY LOVE” (Jesús León, Paco León & John Dawes), sung by Thomas Henry and Chandé.
Following MALAGA MY LOVE comes THE LEON PROJECT’S second album, CANVAS OF MIRACLES, totally VOCAL, with a distinct LOUNGE character and with underlying ethnic elements and electronic textures.As ever, the piano and keyboards are the common denominators on all the tracks. They represent a fresh way of appreciating the LOUNGE concept, with a fusion of ethnic (WORLD MUSIC) and electronic sounds, allied to more Spanish aspects, such as the Spanish guitar, the cajón and Flamenco harmonies…a combination that represents a hugely innovative proposition.
Another important reason why these themes stand out even more lies in the fact that they are all interpreted by female singers: Liona Gilad (who has already worked with THE LEON PROJECT in MALAGA MY LOVE), Blessing Odiase, La Negra Mayté and Charlotte Henry – ‘guests of honour’ for the occasion, all of them oozing sensuality, character and identity.  The songs are sung in English, with Spanish segments by Chandé (who has also been with THE LEON PROJECT from the outset) who contributes his Flamenco touch. There are also segments sung in Edo and Igbo (Nigerian dialects) and Hebrew, sung by Blessing Odiase and Liona Gilad, respectively.
This album has a marked WORLD MUSIC flavour which is very easy to ‘digest’ and listen to (EASY LISTENING), free of stridency and with totally current and innovative artistic expressions full of sensory stimuli that invite calmness and relaxation…all with brilliant hooks.   They are themes (which arise from LOUNGE instrumental bases) to close your eyes to and allow yourself to be carried away. They don’t, however, turn their back on musical richness and commerciality.
It is also worth highlighting the exceptional lyrical work of John Dawes (ever-present collaborator) who is responsible for giving concrete form to musical ideas, converting them into tremendously constructive, genuine and meaningful messages full of calmness and sensuality.   The first single from CANVAS OF MIRACLES © 2011 is “LOUNGE STATE OF MIND” (Jesús León, Paco León & John Dawes) whose video has been recently launched on the official website on Youtube . It is sung by La Negra Mayté (solo vocals) and Chandé (final choruses).

THE LEON PROJECT
Canvas Of Miracles (2011)

Credits / Musicians: 

JESUS LEON: PIANO, KEYBOARDS, PROGRAMMING, PERCUSSIONS, MELODICA & VOCALS
PACO LEON:  PIANO, SYNTHS, PROGRAMMING, PERCUSSIONS & SOUND ENGINEERING.
JOSE JUAN PANTOJA: SPANISH GUITAR
LIONA GILAD: LEAD VOCAL on CANVAS OF MIRACLES, TEMPLE OF LOVE, MANTRA and YOUR FINAL KISS
LA NEGRA MAYTÉ: LEAD VOCAL on LOUNGE STATE OF MIND and THE FIESTA’S OVER
BLESSING ODIASE: LEAD VOCAL on VELVET SMILE, EXOTIC GIRL, MYSTICAL and REFLECTIONS
CHARLOTTE HENRY: LEAD VOCAL on  JARDIN SECRETO (SECRET GARDEN) and CAN’T FIGHT THIS FEELING INSIDE
CHANDÉ:  FLAMENCO VOCALS & PALMAS on LOUNGE STATE OF MIND, CANVAS OF MIRACLES, VELVET SMILE, EXOTIC GIRL & JARDIN SECRETO (SECRET GARDEN)
ANTONIO MOLES: CAJON on EXOTIC GIRL, REFLECTIONS & VELVET SMILE
MAESTRO GOMEZ: CAJON, JEMBÉ & PERCUSSIONS: CANVAS OF MIRACLES, LOUNGE STATE OF MIND and JARDIN SECRETO (SECRET GARDEN); 
LUCIA GARCIA: VIOLIN (MANTRA).  
JAVIER AVILÉS: ELECTRIC GUITARS on REFLECTIONS.
ALEJANDRO MANFRIN: ACOUSTIC & ELECTRIC DRUM on THE FIESTA’S OVER & JARDIN SECRETO (SECRET GARDEN)

ALL THE SONGS WRITTEN, EDITED, PRODUCED AND ARRANGED BY JESUS & PACO LEON
LYRICS BY JOHN DAWES, except:
“EXOTIC GIRL”, “VELVET SMILE” & “MYSTICAL”:  Music: JESUS LEON / PACO LEON ; Lyrics: JOHN DAWES; BLESSING ODIASE (Nigerian verses)
“THE TEMPLE OF LOVE” and “CANVAS OF MIRACLES”:  Music: JESUS LEON / PACO LEON;  Lyrics: JOHN DAWES and LIONA GILAD (Hebrew verses)
“JARDIN SECRETO” and “YOUR FINAL KISS”: Music: JESUS LEON / PACO LEON;  Lyrics: JOHN DAWES / JESUS LEON (Spanish verses);
LOUNGE STATE OF MIND”: Music: JESUS LEON / PACO LEON;  Lyrics: JOHN DAWES / JESUS LEON and CHANDÉ (Spanish verses);


PRODUCING, RECORDING, MIXING AND MASTERING by PACO LEON & JESUS LEON at DUENDE EDITORIAL, MALAGA, SPAIN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: STEVAN PASERO_ http://www.sugomusic.com/


THE LEON PROJECT PHOTOS by PEPE URBANO BIEDMA ©
LIONA GILAD PHOTOS by TOM BARTOV ©
MALAGA MY LOVE ALBUM, THE LEON PROJECT BACK COVER PHOTO: ANTONIO MANUEL RUIZ
VÁZQUEZ ©
© 2011 PORTICO MUSIC, A DIV. OF SOLEA GROUP © http://www.youtube.com/user/PorticoVideo  
© 2011 DUENDE EDITORIAL MUSIC PUBLISHING COURTESY OF SOLEA GROUP

No hay comentarios:

Publicar un comentario