Leo Brenin’s EP Dialogue Demo’s is a conversation
The EP is a work that he birthed himself. Every single part of it comes from his mind, his emotions, his memory, all of him. Leo Brenin penned every lyric, produced, mixed and mastered every sound we hear.
There are 7 conversations; monologues with the deconstruction of the fourth wall, heart-to-hearts he had with himself and words he wishes he could say.
He wants us to sit down with his vocals and feel comfortable to exchange words with him. He wants us to take the place of past lovers, friends who were left in the past, a man who he saw as his father, a friend who is in love and an outlet, something like a journal.
And so, he wrote to us.
We spoke to him about Dialogue Demo’s and in his conversation with us, he took his EP and unraveled it for us.
‘Love Riddim is a tribute to someone whose love for me was a father’s love, Mr David Santi. It is a symbol of gratitude for my late mentor, teacher and father-figure. The song was originally titled Mr Santi’s Riddim however since I did not have the family’s blessing, out of respect, I chose Love Riddim.
I wrote Wena Wedwa when I was still in a long distance relationship.The song is a reflection of a heavy heart that came from my emotional attachment to someone I couldn’t even hold in my arms. It is an outpour of my woes in song.
All My Favourite Things was inspired by D’Angelo’s How Does It Feel. I remember struggling to find a suitable chord progression and out of my frustration, I switched off the keyboard and assembled vocal harmonies over the bass line instead. This is something I am grateful I did. I wanted the song to be sensual and evocative enough to be a bedroom tune.
Knee Deep was written after a conversation with a friend. He told me that he plans to wed his long-time partner and we joked about how he was out of the shallows and entering deep waters. And that is how the name came to life. The love they share is so genuine and I wanted to create a piece that would do justice to that beauty.’
‘What’s Your ETA is a vent about being taken for granted. A mind dump that speaks for me and says the effort I’m putting in is telling, I am for you but you don’t take me half as serious.
On Learn To Trust I wanted to explore the subject of insecurities and how they ultimately lead to the dissolution of beautiful things. Take home with you from the song that communication is significant in relationships. Communicate your feelings and concerns with your partner.
Uchuku came after I experienced friendship fallouts and duplicitous behaviour from people who I thought had my back. It hurt. A lot. I couldn’t even pen this in English. It was too personal. The words began to flow onto paper when I began writing it ngesi’Xhosa. I had to bring out my inner rapper for this one. I also sampled one of my favourite artists; Bambino SUPREME for this.’
‘All 7 songs carry a lot of sentimental value to me.’
Unraveling Dialogue Demo’s, Leo Brenin’s EP.
