STUDIO ELECTROPHONIQUE follow RICHARD HAWLEY support shows with the release of their debut single 'Jayne'

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND   Studio Electrophonique is the new solo musical venture of James Leesley.   Bright eyed, tousle-headed and with a look halfway between penitence and innocence, his new single “Jayne” conjures a sound akin to the dream where Bill Ryder-Jones fronts The Velvet Underground with echoes of Cherry Ghost drifing in there for good measure. The track finds James in a reflective, wistful mood conveying a song of warmth with simultaneous space and intimacy. Efficient in its arrangement yet intricate in detail.   "I think there are a lot of ‘Jaynes’ in the world, they’re just hard to notice. ‘Jayne’ is fictitious but loves, hates, over-thinks, fantasises, works, and breaks like anyone else. Writing the song felt a bit like I was invited into the mind of ‘Jayne’ and I had to quickly jot things down before I was thrown out. I wanted the music to sound the way ‘Jayne’ feels. She would probably die at the thought of being mentioned in song but secretly like it." – James Leesley On hearing the track Richard Hawley was so enamoured that he invited Studio Electrophonique to open for his band in London and Holmfirth in May 2019.   "Jayne" is released on all digital and streaming formats on Friday 5 July 2019. “Jayne” is a preview and the opening track of Studio Electrophonique’s forthcoming debut elp album “Buxton Palace Hotel” released on 10” vinyl on Violette Records in September 2019.   Violette Records is the label formed as a platform for Michael Head (Shack/The Pale Fountains) and has since developed into a cultural hub for music, literature and the arts. Studio Electrophonique will play live dates in Sheffield, Liverpool, London and Paris in Autumn 2019.

BIOGRAPHY   My vision for Studio Electrophonique is to capture ideas as purely and as untouched as is possible.   James Leesley is Studio Electrophonique. Late at night he enters his home studio in Sheffield to write and record songs purely for the love of making words fit melodies and melodies fit chords, capturing them on his tape machine. These songs developed into the "Buxton Palace Hotel" elp album set to be released  on 10" vinyl in September 2019 on Violette Records. Using a simple tape machine facilitated my ideas. The songs were in 4-track form in my head, so it felt right just recording it as it was in my mind, in one or two takes.   James was the former singer, guitarist and main songwriter in a band formed at school with his friends. High Hazels were full of charm, promise and minor 7ths on sunburst guitars. Their talents earned them a record deal with Heist or Hit Records. An eponymous album, an EP and a handful of singles were met with crtical acclaim. By contrast James' solo project is more personal, sounding more revived, more assured, and in a sense, more himself. Studio Electrophonique allows me a more introspective, vulnerable lyrical approach. The words don't have to introduce themselves to anyone before being in the song, so they could just be themselves. This has been the most natural and satisfying way of writing songs.   James writes and records late at night, keeping the noise down so not to disturb the neighbour's new-born baby, a factor which proved to be a catalyst to his fittingly gentle vocal delivery and measured playing style. James utilises just an old Guild Starfire, a Gibson B25, along with a Casio keyboard and a Philips Philicorda for accompaniment. The songs he creates are simple and plaintive, beautiful and redolent, evoking feelings of calm reflection and so saying many of those things in song by night that we struggle to say in conversation by the light of day.   “I Don’t Think I Love You Anymore” is one of my own favourite songs. It’s the most romantic song I’ve done. I’m a hopeless romantic so naturally I try to find ways of hiding that emotion within the song, or at least enrobing it in some kind of ambiguity. Hence the title.   Studio Electrophonique's elp album “Buxton Palace Hotel"  will be released on 10" vinyl and all digital formats in September 2019 on Violette Records.