MP3 Leslie Low - Worm

Solo guitar and voice deliver haunting intense acoustic numbers about death, retreating from the world and seeking refuge in a quiet place behind the woods.

11 MP3 Songs
FOLK: Folk Pop, POP: Delicate



Details:
Former frontman of Singapore indie stalwarts Humpback Oak, Leslie currently sings and plays guitar for the sextet The Observatory. Leslie started out playing drums and backing on vocals for indie band Twang Bar Kings and only formed Humpback Oak with schoolmates of his later in 1990. The foursome released a number of demo tapes (The Mojo Sessions, The Songs Will Always Be There, and Moth and Bagpipes), but it wasn't until 1994 that their successful debut album, 'Pain Stained Morning', appeared. Humpback Oak gained considerable attention and popularity and also won both Local Act of the Year and Criticsâ Choice awards in Singapore's Perfect 10 Music Awards in 1995. Humpback Oak released two more albums, 'Ghostfather', an introspective, moody album dealing with the death of Low's father, and 'SideASideB', before calling it quits. Since 2001, Leslie has been working regularly with The Observatory, a band that offers him a new dynamic and operates off a very different tangent. The Observatory have gained recognition for the inventiveness of their music as well as their unflinching attitude towards challenging convention. Their debut 'Time of Rebirth' was greeted with popular acclaim and their recent follow-up 'Blank Walls', sees the band pushing ahead with their musical adventures. Leslie is also one-third of free improvisation unit, Snake Blood Union. 'Volcanoes', Leslieâs first instrumental album, released in 2005, was an unexpected detour from familiar folk singer-songwriter territory and explored a more experimental palette in his musical vocabulary.

With 'Worm', Leslie now returns to his original roots in songwriting. Worm, addresses a number of continually present themes in Leslieâs lyrics, a sense of loss, regret and painful realisation as well as a yearning for peace, solace and a place of refuge. Although elusive in meaning, the words are intense and confrontational. Leslieâs style remains unassuming, quiet and contemplative. But the songs are not exactly laid back. Whatâs even more apparent in his voice is a restlessness, almost as though he is driven by a great need to pen down these songs. Comprising demos and properly recorded material, the album features mostly solo acoustic guitar and voice, and only a few songs are adorned with the barest of arrangements from other instruments. Worm is a collection of simple, focused and heartfelt songs.