Xtra Mile Recordings are thrilled to announce the signing of the ever intriguing and compelling Saint Leonard’s Horses to the roster. The deal was inked in the shadow of William Blake’s grave in London before decamping to one of the capital’s oldest city pubs to hatch a plan for the album which will be out in the autumn. More information on that will follow but by way of an introduction here’s the first single, ‘Rise Up’.
In the past few years Leonard has toured the UK and USA supporting and playing shows with Ryan Adams, Father John Misty, Bob Dylan, The Strokes, Beck, The Libertines, Billy Bragg and Wolfmother, to name a few. Then, early last year he was invited to work on music at Stanley Kubrick’s family estate in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The intention was to harness the creative forces at work in the Kubrick house and record new material as 'live' as possible with the five-piece band playing together in the same room and even lead vocals being laid down live with each track.
They then further honed their skills and the songs through extensive touring and festival appearances (including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, The Great Escape, SXSW and British Summer Time in Hyde Park). By the end of a busy 2015, Leonard had left London for the USA, only surfacing again in late December in the Mojave Desert, after a transcendental mystical experience. This marks the start of Saint Leonard, a culmination of two years work in search of a new recorded sound, citing the experience of the Kubrick estate, and several bizarre episodes in the isolation of stays on the Yorkshire moors and the Californian desert, as the grounds for this shift in artistic identity.
Two London shows have been confirmed so far with further touring news to come soon.
21 April – House of St Barnabus acoustic solo show (invite only)
12 May - Servant Jazz Quarters – full band
Speaking of the signing, Charlie Caplowe MD of Xtra Mile Recordings says: “Hugely excited about working with Saint Leonard’s Horses; it's an amazing album and they're a fantastic live band too. Unique signing venue as well – that was a first!”
Leonard from Saint Leonard’s Horses adds: “Xtra Mile Recordings just felt like the perfect fit, the strong home that I was looking for to allow me to reach a growing international audience, without having to compromise on message or integrity. I love what they represent and the team, headed by Charlie, filled me with confidence that they would know how to deliver this bleeding odyssey of a record. The journey of this record so far has taken me from a gothic church on the moors of Yorkshire, to the Hollywood Hills, to a remote cabin in Nashville and ultimately to Stanley Kubrick's estate. Xtra Mile seemed like they understood what that journey meant and were very much up for where it was headed next.”
"Hot new artist…definitely worth a listen!” – Daily Mirror
"The musical bastard love-child of Beckett, Orwell and Ted Hughes." Huffington Post
"Sonically lying somewhere between Dylan and Lennon…quietly charismatic.” GodIsInTheTV
facebook.com/kieranleonardmusic / Twitter @THESAINTLEONARD / saintleonard.co.uk