Obsessions | Heather Leigh & Gardening

“The kind of focus and the sort of mindlessness that I have to have in the garden… I really feel that transfers into my work. The type of music that I’m doing… some of it’s improvisation based, but when I’m working, particularly on my solo work, my song work, I really… I can’t let myself be distracted and I can’t let myself think too much… and I think that practice of being in the garden… it’s a kind of mind-training for me in a way.”

The daughter of a coal miner, weaving a trail from West Virginia to Texas to Scotland where she’s lived for over a decade, Heather Leigh furthers the vast unexplored reaches of pedal steel guitar. Her playing is as physical as it is phantom, combining spontaneous compositions with psychedelic folk and industrial-strength progressive rock.

With a rare combination of sensitivity and strength, Leigh’s steel mainlines sanctified slide guitar and deforms it using hypnotic tone-implosions, juggling walls of bleeding amp tone with choral vocal constructs and wrenching single note ascensions. 2015’s critically acclaimed I Abused Animal (Ideologic Organ) was a turning point, a breakthrough album that marked her first venture into professional studio recording. Throne (Editions Mego 2018) is an album of punch-drunk desire clouded by peripheral danger. After the rawness of its precursor, Throne is a record of late night Americana and heavy femininity; a suite of alluring heartbleed ballads cauterised with burning riffs, its melodies and hooks set alight with the fiery core of her unique and distinctive pedal steel.

Her newest album Glory Days (Boomkat Editions) was recorded at home with the window open during lockdown in Glasgow, April 2020.

Leigh’s work explores themes of glamour, abuse, sexual instinct, desire, romance, vulnerability, memory, shadow, fantasy, jealousy, cruelty, delusion, deception and projection.

In addition to her work as a solo artist, Heather Leigh has worked extensively with a long list of unique collaborators, most recently with saxophonist Peter Brötzmann. The duo have released five highly idiosyncratic albums: Ears Are Filled With Wonder, Sex Tape, Crowmoon, Sparrow Nights and South Moon Under.

Text taken from https://wishimage.com

For further information on Heather - Twitter @wishimage

For further information on John - Twitter @johnrobb77

Obsessions is a Paine & Porter production.

Andrew Paine (@ItPainesMe) and Sophie Porter (@OtherHalfUK)