“…(Usra) Leedham’s music sticks with you - it’s haunting and mesmerizing…a rare and accomplished gift…” (Red Deer Express)
“...a mix of hazy trip-hop, clear vocal nods to Joni Mitchell and sultry vocals à la Sade...moments of real beauty...” (Scene Magazine)
There are artists that seem to have an intrinsic understanding of the way words and melody should fit together. Where the rawness of the voice is so overwhelming that you feel like you are eavesdropping on a conversation between a woman and her id; Usra Leedham is one of these artists.
Raised in Toronto and trained classically in both voice and piano from a very young age, she graduated from the prestigious Claude Watson Vocal program and originally intended to become a Baroque opera singer. Usra toured all over the world with choral groups from the age of 12, performing everywhere from Roy Thompson Hall to Chartres Cathedral. But after years of singing everyone else’s music, she knew that she needed to write her own.
Her brand of songwriting eludes description, influenced by her South Asian background, Jazz greats like the almighty Ella, and lyrical masters like Joni Mitchell. But despite the range of her influences, her music achieves a sort of wonderfully awkward balance; somehow, between the richness of her voice and the frankness of her words, there is an undeniable symmetry.
Already widely known in the industry as a performer and songwriter on numerous compilations (released by EMI, OM Records, CBC & more), Usra was featured on the CBC’s National News and ZeD, and licensed her song Us on a Thursday to the syndicated TV show Mutant X, well before the album was completed. Now released in Europe on Bad Reputation Records (Boy, Peter Elkas), and in North America on Spicy Brown Records, The Architect’s Wound is a finely-crafted collection of songs at once deeply personal and immediately relatable. The Varsity calls Architect a fusion of “the distinct talent of a classical vocalist and pianist with the personality and past of a remarkable human being...Leedham’s Jazzy style is rough yet elegant, and overflowing in beautiful instrumental passages.”
Usra’s talent has attracted a number of collaborators, most notably West Magnetic of OM/Ultrasound records. She wrote and performed the vocals on his hit releases Can’t Stop, which was licensed to three compilations; Fire in the Kitchen, the club favourite that was licensed to two compilations; and Give it Up for Free, which was remixed by the likes of Johnny Fiasco, Kaskade, Jori Hulkkonen, and Fish Go Deep.
Usra’s South Asian and British roots result in a mingling of Eastern and Western sensibilities. The Architect’s Wound combines Indian ragas with Jazz keys; rhythms use tabla and dirty cut-up beats. Songs can be full, with Rhodes, horn, and bass; or sparse, with only vocals and piano.Just don’t go to one of Usra’s performances looking for something easy. There will be wit, anger, regret, passivity, sarcasm, and (false) bravado. You will have to think. You will have to watch. You will want to listen.
For press/publicity information, please contact:
Yvonne Valnea
LAST TANGO PRODUCTIONS
29 Galley Ave.Toronto, Ontario M6R 1G9
Phone: 416-538-1838 Fax: 416-538-2633
Email: lasttango@rogers.com