The unique calming sound of the stellar Anjunadeep act seems to be back, at long last.
We’re so used to the magical formula of an eight-bar melody over and over. It works like a charm: it works on the dancefloor and it works on the charts. As there seems to be little demand for it, few electronic music artists are truly able to tell a story in their songs, but once you find those who do, you discover a whole extra dimension inside Dance music. That’s the case with Leaving Laurel.
Since the birth of the duo, Pierce Fulton and Gordon Huntley proved their music was very different from what dominated the charts: Each of their songs tells a tale and walks you through the emotions they put into their creations. With both artists coming from very energetic projects (Pierce on his own, and Gordon as part of Botnek), it was quite a change of pace to see them create something much more tranquil and emotional. Many loved the concept, myself included.
Leaving Laurel are, perhaps, the creators of the most purposeful electronic music in recent years, not only due to their unmatched level of emotion in their music, but also due to how well these two geniuses worked together, and how solid ideas would be born from any piece of improvisation in their iconic Live From The livestreams.
After Pierce’s sudden passing in April of 2021, a hole was torn in fans’ hearts and in the project itself. It was beyond tough to understand someone, and something, so beautiful had gone away so abruptly. After their self-named album release, Gordon stepped aside for a while, understandably coping with the loss of a true best friend. Anjunadeep put up a third Live From The live set as a celebration of what would’ve been Pierce’s 30th birthday, and then the project went silent. Until a couple of weeks ago.
‘the family we find’
“I wasn’t sure there was ever going to be any more Leaving Laurel music“. That’s the first line Gordon writes in his January 31st post, the day that would surprise fans all over with the single ‘the family we find‘. In what he explains is making one of Pierce’s wishes come true — to combine two of their undeveloped demos and see how they sounded —, the five-minute-long song captures the essence of the Leaving Laurel sound, with touching melodies, melancholic motifs, and break-styled percussion. A heartwarming part of, what we’d only get to know today, is LL’s first piece of music since their album.
“as if some significant response from the universe, fireflies started to appear all around us. not just a few, but thousands. there were fireflies everywhere, for as far as we could see.” -Gordon Huntley
LL’s comeback EP
Today is the day. Huntley posted yet again on Leaving Laurel’s Instagram page, announcing a four-track EP titled ‘fireflies (for as far as we could see)‘, comprised of the homonymous song, previously released ‘the family we find’, ‘this time last year‘, and an extended version of the first track. In his post, he details the very moment in which, after months of uncertainty and not knowing if he had anything else to contribute to Music, the inspiration and the feeling of accomplishment came back to him. Gordon also hints towards new horizons as Leaving Laurel, by saying ‘fireflies (for as far as we could see)’ “feels like the start of a new chapter of giving myself the permission to write brand new material on my own“.
As for the whole EP, there’s an aura of melancholy, happiness, relief, and accomplishment after a great fall, after a painful wound. As I said at the beginning of the article, Leaving Laurel are able to share not only melodies but emotions. The entirety of the piece invites you to be a part of a story that’s hidden behind the elements. It’s one of those works you have to close your eyes to fully dive in, enjoy, and consume. This is a sign for you to go ahead and listen to their latest release. It’s so worth it.
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