Interview with Leo Spauls (Sweden)
By Mick Michaels
The Cosmick View: Hello, Leo and welcome to The
Cosmick View/MBM Ten Pounder! Thanks for taking some time to chat with
us!
CV:
Describe your definition of your sound and style, and how
does that definition uniquely describe the music?
Leo Spauls: It's pop music, based on piano and synthesizers. When we play live, we go on as a rock-pop band with guitars and drums. My songs are written from an LGBT perspective. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they only apply to a gay audience. On the contrary, it's not the kind of music you usually hear on the gay scene. The idea of gay music is still too limited, I guess. I'm not sure John Grant's audience is primarily gay, and I'm not sure our listeners are either.
Leo Spauls: It's pop music, based on piano and synthesizers. When we play live, we go on as a rock-pop band with guitars and drums. My songs are written from an LGBT perspective. However, that doesn't necessarily mean that they only apply to a gay audience. On the contrary, it's not the kind of music you usually hear on the gay scene. The idea of gay music is still too limited, I guess. I'm not sure John Grant's audience is primarily gay, and I'm not sure our listeners are either.
CV:
Today, everyone talks about artist and audience connection. Is such a level of
connection actually achievable for an artist and if so, how have you made the
connection to your fans?
LS: It all depends on what you mean by communication. When I was running a theatre company in Stockholm some years ago, we experimented with addressing the audience—actually letting them interact with the play. It was a thing that became popular ten or fifteen years ago. There was a lot of fuzz about that, and some people liked it, others didn't. I sometimes go to rock concerts and think they don't communicate at all. Even though you have a band playing for you, you could sometimes feel left out of the communication. As an audience, you are just receiving. Some singers are good at making funny speeches between the songs, but that doesn't necessarily help. When we play live, I try to focus on the four squares in the room and think that we are in this together, creating it. That helps connect for me. We are not just band and audience, we’re doing it together.
LS: It all depends on what you mean by communication. When I was running a theatre company in Stockholm some years ago, we experimented with addressing the audience—actually letting them interact with the play. It was a thing that became popular ten or fifteen years ago. There was a lot of fuzz about that, and some people liked it, others didn't. I sometimes go to rock concerts and think they don't communicate at all. Even though you have a band playing for you, you could sometimes feel left out of the communication. As an audience, you are just receiving. Some singers are good at making funny speeches between the songs, but that doesn't necessarily help. When we play live, I try to focus on the four squares in the room and think that we are in this together, creating it. That helps connect for me. We are not just band and audience, we’re doing it together.
CV:
Is fan interaction an important part of your inner
culture?
LS: If it makes it easier to get laid, I suppose so. But my experience is that fame isn't that important to achieve that. If you didn't get it before you were famous, fame will not help you.
LS: If it makes it easier to get laid, I suppose so. But my experience is that fame isn't that important to achieve that. If you didn't get it before you were famous, fame will not help you.
CV:
Can an artist truly interact with its fans and still maintain a level of personal
privacy without crossing the line and giving up their "personal
space" in your opinion?
LS: David Bowie's last song on Black Star is "I Can't Give Everything Away". That is understandable since he was so famous and had family and children. But, on the other hand, when I heard Iggy Pop play that song on "Iggy Confidential" on BBC6, he said quite the opposite. He wanted to give everything away. He didn't have any secrets to conceal. There is this debate about being personal or private. Being personal is a good thing. Being private isn't…at least among artists. I'm not sure I know what the difference is. I try to be as open as possible, and if you are honest with who you are, then there is no need for gossip. However, people don't recognize me in the Underground, so maybe it's easy for me to say. I've talked about mental illness and such things in the media because I don't think you should feel shame about it. But when my father developed manic depression in the '80, it was a stigma, and people couldn't understand it. Therefore he never went on medication, which ruined his marriage and destroyed our family. So I'm perfectly okay with saying I'm on antipsychotic drugs. Humanity is more or less insane. You need to get functional as an individual. That's about it.
LS: David Bowie's last song on Black Star is "I Can't Give Everything Away". That is understandable since he was so famous and had family and children. But, on the other hand, when I heard Iggy Pop play that song on "Iggy Confidential" on BBC6, he said quite the opposite. He wanted to give everything away. He didn't have any secrets to conceal. There is this debate about being personal or private. Being personal is a good thing. Being private isn't…at least among artists. I'm not sure I know what the difference is. I try to be as open as possible, and if you are honest with who you are, then there is no need for gossip. However, people don't recognize me in the Underground, so maybe it's easy for me to say. I've talked about mental illness and such things in the media because I don't think you should feel shame about it. But when my father developed manic depression in the '80, it was a stigma, and people couldn't understand it. Therefore he never went on medication, which ruined his marriage and destroyed our family. So I'm perfectly okay with saying I'm on antipsychotic drugs. Humanity is more or less insane. You need to get functional as an individual. That's about it.
CV:
Is music, and its value, viewed differently around the world in your opinion?
If so, what do you see as the biggest difference in such multiple views among
various cultures?
LS: The most significant difference in the UK compared to Sweden is that people take you seriously here. In Sweden, I always felt this contempt towards being pretentious and perhaps trying too hard. When I released my last album, "Heaven's Deep Blue Sky", in 2018, it featured Mike Garson (David Bowie's pianist). Some people in Germany and the UK wrote about it, but there was total silence in Sweden. At the same time, these Bowie tributes showed up in Sweden with people who had no connection with Bowie whatsoever. They were Swedish celebrities, nothing more than that. I wrote to them, saying I am working with Mike and releasing an album together. Mike was doing his "A Bowie Celebration Tour" simultaneously, playing Europe and the US. So, in my opinion, that would have been interesting. But no answer whatsoever.
LS: The most significant difference in the UK compared to Sweden is that people take you seriously here. In Sweden, I always felt this contempt towards being pretentious and perhaps trying too hard. When I released my last album, "Heaven's Deep Blue Sky", in 2018, it featured Mike Garson (David Bowie's pianist). Some people in Germany and the UK wrote about it, but there was total silence in Sweden. At the same time, these Bowie tributes showed up in Sweden with people who had no connection with Bowie whatsoever. They were Swedish celebrities, nothing more than that. I wrote to them, saying I am working with Mike and releasing an album together. Mike was doing his "A Bowie Celebration Tour" simultaneously, playing Europe and the US. So, in my opinion, that would have been interesting. But no answer whatsoever.
CV:
Do you feel that an artist who has an international appeal, will tend to connect
more so to American audiences? Would they be more enticed or intrigued to see
the artist over indigenous acts because of the foreign flavor?
LS: That is a very good question. I believe I have a very European sense of melodies, and I'm not sure if that would work in America since they are so much into hip hop at the moment. However, blending it with my Swedish background, perhaps it could be exotic enough. The UK band have members from Italy, Finland, Australia, Sweden and the UK, all based in London, so we are a melting pot. Will it work in America? I certainly hope so, but time will show.
LS: That is a very good question. I believe I have a very European sense of melodies, and I'm not sure if that would work in America since they are so much into hip hop at the moment. However, blending it with my Swedish background, perhaps it could be exotic enough. The UK band have members from Italy, Finland, Australia, Sweden and the UK, all based in London, so we are a melting pot. Will it work in America? I certainly hope so, but time will show.
CV:
Has modern-day digital technology made everyone an artist on some level in your
opinion? Have the actual lines of what really is an artist been blurred?
LS: It's like the pop art revolution. Suddenly everyone can be an artist. These days you don't need anything more than a computer. So does it make music less attractive? Not necessarily. You still can choose the genre you like. If you are trying too hard to be artistic, it seldom works. You need to be yourself and do what you like. Then if you have a thousand followers on Spotify or a million, it all depends on what the audience thinks they want to hear. Most people don't care much about music or the musicians. They want to be entertained or distracted from their day-to-day jobs. I've been having this discussion with Mike many times. During all the years he worked with Bowie, people didn't pay much attention to the band. Now it has changed because the focus is on him. But you can have the best musicians in the world, and people want the lead singer.
LS: It's like the pop art revolution. Suddenly everyone can be an artist. These days you don't need anything more than a computer. So does it make music less attractive? Not necessarily. You still can choose the genre you like. If you are trying too hard to be artistic, it seldom works. You need to be yourself and do what you like. Then if you have a thousand followers on Spotify or a million, it all depends on what the audience thinks they want to hear. Most people don't care much about music or the musicians. They want to be entertained or distracted from their day-to-day jobs. I've been having this discussion with Mike many times. During all the years he worked with Bowie, people didn't pay much attention to the band. Now it has changed because the focus is on him. But you can have the best musicians in the world, and people want the lead singer.
CV:
How would you describe the difference between an artist who follows trends and
one who sets them?
LS: The usual saying about being the right person, in the right place at the right time. Does it make you a lesser artist if you aren't? Probably not. Beethoven managed to be all three of this…Bowie, too. It seems like The Weeknd is at the moment. Does it make the rest of us less attractive? Of course not, but if no one has heard of Leo Spauls, who cares if he is a potential trendsetter? I hate to say this, but it's more about luck than talent. The world is not a fair place, and maybe it's better that way for some of us.
LS: The usual saying about being the right person, in the right place at the right time. Does it make you a lesser artist if you aren't? Probably not. Beethoven managed to be all three of this…Bowie, too. It seems like The Weeknd is at the moment. Does it make the rest of us less attractive? Of course not, but if no one has heard of Leo Spauls, who cares if he is a potential trendsetter? I hate to say this, but it's more about luck than talent. The world is not a fair place, and maybe it's better that way for some of us.
CV:
Has music overall been splintered into too many sub-genres in an effort to
appease fan tastes in your opinion? And has such fan appeasements, in
actuality, weakened music's impact as a whole by dividing audiences?
LS: If you look at London, certainly not. You can find so many different venues with so many genres. And there seems to be an audience for everything, or at least it used to be like that. Not sure the pandemic will change anything. We'll probably go back as usual. That's what people seem to do. I believe that if you are interested in music, you will search for the music you like. And not accepting a popular Spotify list.
LS: If you look at London, certainly not. You can find so many different venues with so many genres. And there seems to be an audience for everything, or at least it used to be like that. Not sure the pandemic will change anything. We'll probably go back as usual. That's what people seem to do. I believe that if you are interested in music, you will search for the music you like. And not accepting a popular Spotify list.
CV:
What can fans except to see coming next from you?
LS: We are releasing a new single on September 10, during London Pride. It's called Moon Sign. Hopefully, we'll go on the road next year or the year after. We're starting to build our UK audience this year, so this is an exciting experience.
LS: We are releasing a new single on September 10, during London Pride. It's called Moon Sign. Hopefully, we'll go on the road next year or the year after. We're starting to build our UK audience this year, so this is an exciting experience.
CV:
Thanks again Leo for taking some time and talking. It is greatly appreciated.
Check out Leo Spauls at:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/15Pv5NraiSG667qm10ajvC
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/benway
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBiwiBgq8wTYPMhxrl2Ta7g
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leospauls/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeoSpauls
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spauls.se
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/15Pv5NraiSG667qm10ajvC
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/benway
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBiwiBgq8wTYPMhxrl2Ta7g
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leospauls/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LeoSpauls
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spauls.se
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My name is Mick Michaels...I'm an artist, music fan, songwriter, producer, show host, dreamer and guitarist for the traditional Heavy Metal band Corners of Sanctuary. Writing has always been a creative outlet for me; what I couldn't say in speech, I was able to do with the written word. Writing has given me a voice and a way for me to create on a multitude of platforms including music and song, articles, independent screenplays, books and now, artist interviews. The Cosmick View is an opportunity to raise the bar and showcase artists in a positive and inspirational light. For me, it's another out-of-this-world adventure.
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