leere, fronted by Simon Monaghan, is a collective of musicians: a band that grows, changes and evolves. Their first album, Compassionate Ride, was created back in 2004, and since then they've released a number of singles, including Hazel, It's My Morning and The Last Women.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- leere are back in the studio at the end of October working on some new material - including the aforementioned 'Peace-Love-Energy Axis' and gigging over the Christmas period. Regular updates and information can be found at www.facebook.com/leerecollective. There are also plans to release a short film in the New Year which will pull together some of the origins of the word leere and tackle head on the ideas of Meister Eckhart. There is a lot of ground to cover... but hopefully it will represent what we are fairly accurately. Thanks for checking out the site and to conclude...here is the most uplifting quote of the day ...'And suddenly you know: Its time to start something new and to trust in the magic of beginnings'. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- leere have thoroughly enjoyed the last few months playing most tracks from the 'Ever Being On Lark Lane' album at intimate gigs throughout the Midlands. With the recent addition of Andy Britton on guitar and with John Kinane as steady as ever on vocals and bodhran drum, we hope to play a few tracks of the 'Alleluia Of Sorts' album at forthcoming gigs and preview something of the new leere release 'The Peace Love Energy Axis' by June/July. Wish you all well - and as ever thanks for visiting the site. Simon
Gigs on: Friday 18th May - Brewery Tap, Derby/Friday 1st June - The Bookcafe, Derby/Saturday 23rd June - The Brunswick Tavern, Derby. All welcome!
For those who might feel the odd 'bout of dislocation' from time to time...an older leere song 'Complete'...Fear not!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Download the China Club single for FREE from the Resound Media Shop when you use the discount code CHINACLUB at the checkout! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EVER BEING ON LARK LANE - RELEASED!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'EVER BEING ON LARK LANE' - Update - 19 August 2011
EVER BEING ON LARK LANE by leere is now to be released on Monday 29th August 2011. Join the band for complimentary copies of the CD at Moranto's Bar on Lark Lane, Liverpool, 8pm on the evening of Tuesday 30th August 2011; at the Old Joint Stock, Birmingham, 8pm on the evening of Wednesday 31st August; or at the Red Zebra Bar, Derby, 8pm on the evening of Thursday 1st September. Live dates to follow soon.
Delighted to say that the final bits are being put together on the third leere album - Ever Being On Lark Lane - due for release on Monday 15th August 2011. A certain tree in Calderstones Park, African tradition, The Beatles, The Rocket steam engine, Leighton Baines, the Hindu god Shiva - all feature at some point, playing their part in the shaping of the tracks, and still I managed to keep to budget!. Working with Nick at The Shed, Lis and Andie Thomson at Gighouse in the later stages has been a great learning curve. And learning takes its place on the album. Growing up, Lark Lane (Liverpool 17) was for me the Capital of Culture long before the 'Capital of Culture' tag was bestowed on the city. It was a vibrant pocket on the world - different cultural, religious and artistic traditions in genuine dialogue only a few miles from where we lived and went to school. A sense of people making sense of the things of the world (...and more importantly 'beyond' the world!) in innovative and energetic ways. And the strong pillars, the invisible gates (...a gateway!), opening onto the shadows of the trees from Sefton Park. Magical! It is only so much later that I fully realized it - when it comes to the value of an idea and the capacity for people to represent their true poetic being - that I am..... 'Ever Being On Lark Lane'.
So in the next few months leere would love to hear about the places and the spaces that not only evoke a sense of memory and nostalgia, but that continue to shape our daily values and our perspective on the here and now. The parks, the piers, the lanes, the sweet shops, the fields (places we felt 'One forever' as JL put it), the venues, the trees (...Lis brought 'The Paratrooper' right up to date!) the playgrounds, that can act as our yardstick and a link between past and the present. Use the leere contact page to share anything you may have, any area that has kept its value and its hold on you over the years. We would love to hear from you. And even if you think this is all just a general sentimentalism....I wanna know why, and if its harmful!
It used to bemuse me when I heard stories of the 'difficult second album', how songwriters battled through the stresses and the strains of a musical project to make their mark on a particular genre or stamp their arrival on the scene. Now, I think I am qualified to write the manual about how to survive 'second album syndrome' , how to overcome the demands and obstacles that can beset that creative idea that consumes you. Of course, it is all relative - every work of the imagination can throw up challenges when it comes to representing those original thoughts and feelings as accurately as possible - and there are the genuine moments of doubt and uncertainty about 'the intrinsic value' of a body of work which kick in from time to time. My sincere wish was for AOS to be ready and released before 15th April this year - but again there is a delay due to 'circumstances beyond our control' (one friend commented that 'you shouldn't write such searching songs... then these things wouldn't happen', to which I replied that the songs have more than likely now been swallowed by a 'large fish' that has since decided to swim the seven seas!!). Regardless, WDP and leere remain committed to AOS finding its feet, onshore...and very soon.
This has all brought into greater focus my work with Nik Thompson and Lis Roberts in recent months. Progress continues to unfold with the third leere album (..or might it become the 2nd? Who knows!). All guitar, violin and double bass parts have now been recorded and we are close to completing the lead and backing vocal parts in the coming days. The beginning of May will see us turn our attention to the mixing and mastering process. We have all sought to produce an authentic acoustic album, one that captures the space and the intimacy of the 12-15 songs and offers a little insight into three friends and the overlap in their attitude and priority around music. There is reference across the songs to the 'place of place', the locations that perhaps continue to influence our outlook and our judgement, despite the distance that we may now be from those specific areas locked within childhood/youth memory. Growing up, Lark Lane (Liverpool 17) was for me the Capital of Culture long before the 'Capital of Culture' tag was bestowed on the city. It was a vibrant pocket on the world - different cultural, religious and artistic traditions in genuine dialogue only a few miles from where we lived and went to school. A sense of people making sense of the things of the world (...and more importantly 'beyond' the world!) in innovative and energetic ways. And the strong pillars, the invisible gates (...a gateway!), opening onto the shadows of the trees from Sefton Park. Magical! It is only so much later that I fully realized it - when it comes to the value of an idea and the capacity for people to represent their true poetic being - that I am..... 'Ever Being On Lark Lane'.
So in the next few months leere would love to hear about the places and the spaces that not only evoke a sense of memory and nostalgia, but that continue to shape our daily values and our perspective on the here and now. The parks, the piers, the lanes, the sweet shops, the fields (JL would expect us to recall some others!) , the venues, the trees (...Lis brought 'The Paratrooper' right up to date!) the playgrounds, that can act as our yardstick and a link between past and the present. Use the leere contact page to share anything you may have, any area that has kept its value and its hold on you over the years. We would love to hear from you. And even if you think this is all just a general sentimentalism....I wanna know why, and if its harmful!
Nick and Lis have been solid companions in the making of the album - they have brought their own many gifts and talents to the recording and engineering and they have grasped the themes from Day 1. Big thanks to them - hope to be gigging the material over summer 2011, and hope 'Ever Being On Lark Lane' touches those of a Liverpool, and non-Liverpool disposition!
Thanks and Take Care. Simon ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- leere LIVE! Catch leere, the wonderful duo Enchanté and friends LIVE We're at Red Zebra in Derby Thursday nights from 8pm Find on Google Maps Visit Red Zebra website A big thank you to James and Alison at the Red Zebra!
Thanks to all who have made it to the 'Red Zebra Wine Bar' in Derby over the last few weeks to catch leere in some capaciy. It is proving to be a chance for the band to air some of the new acoustic tracks of our forthcoming album, and to resurrect a few old songs that I have enjoyed playing with friends over the years. James and Alison make everyone feel so welcome and there is just a lovely ambience to the whole place. 'Red Zebra' has great plans to continue raw acoustic live music...and hopefully leere can be a part of those plans in the months and the years ahead. Remember all welcome...every Thursday night about 8.30pm, a few steps from the beautiful St Katherine's Chapel (Derby Cathedral). Thanks again! Simon (Updated: Friday 25th Feb 2011) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Before leere there was REV'LATOR, a similar collective, also fronted by Simon Monaghan.
In 2006 songs by leere and REV'LATOR formed the soundtrack for the DVD FoGFC Vs The Legends. leere and REV'LATOR songs have been used in a number of other film and theatre projects over the years.
leere are currently gearing up to release a brand new album, entitled An Alleluia Of Sorts. Check back soon for news and updates as they get ready to start touring again!
The word 'leere' is the philosophical concept of emptiness or nothingness. Simon Monaghan the band's frontman, has described his take on the word to mean 'a cup to be filled', like a person ready to receive spiritual gifts or a sacred space like St Katherine's Chapel at Derby Cathedral featured in the song St Catherine on the leere album Compassionate Ride.
(Spelling test failed: It wasn't until after the song St Catherine had been written (a song inspired by St Katherine's Chapel in Derby Cathedral) that the band realised they'd made a spelling mistake in the title!)
