WORDS BY Enid Kirk
Joe Leath is a 21 year old indie musician from Liverpool, best known in Manchester for running the Haus open mic nights in Fallowfield alongside Ethan Horspool (aka The Avenue). His new single ‘If I Don’t Speak’ is a catchy indie-pop song with a relatable but introspective feel. I spoke to Joe about his writing process, dream gigs, collaborations, and the Manchester music scene.
‘If I Don’t Speak’ is quite a departure from Leath’s older music. “It’s a lot more pop”, he noted. “But it also just feels more mature. A lot of my older stuff I wrote when I was 17/18 so it’s very big and emotional. Now I’m in my early 20s my writing is more introspective.” A lot of Leath’s new material which he plans to release over the next year is as exploration of, in his words, “how we choose the person we are and what we project to the world.” Looking back, he said “This collection of songs seemed totally random when I wrote them but the more I looked them, the more it felt like a study in human nature and personal growth.” ‘If I Don’t Speak’ is the first of many as part of this project.
In this new era, Leath has been drawing inspiration from Bloc Party, Fontaines DC, and Michael Jackson. He explained “I’ll always love good rhythmic pop” and admits that since transitioning more into the pop genre, his guilty pleasure is Gracie Abrams. Leath put his head in his hands as he remembered his musical origins as an emo kid. “There are some awful photos of me from that era.”
When it comes to his writing process, Leath describes himself as “lyric-centric.” “It varies a lot,” he said, “sometimes it can take me a day, sometimes it takes months.” He explained that ‘If I Don’t Speak’ is an example of the former. “It was very quick because I knew I wanted the song to be about feeling insecure and left behind and it needed to be fast and emotional”.
You may be familiar with Leath’s music from the Haus open mic night (and if you’re not, it’s about time you check it out!). He cited it as “one of the best things I’ve been involved in.” Unlike a full scale gig, Leath explained “it’s very intimate and people are there to have fun with their mates so you’ve really got to grab their attention.” The open mic is always full of talented musicians and Leath confessed “I like to magpie a bit, if something works well I’ll take that and use it in my own stuff.” One musician who he met through the open mic is University of Manchester student George Laws (aka Georges). “I’ve learned a lot from George, he’s got this amazing charisma. He holds a room so well because he’s not forcing you to pay attention, you just can’t help it”.
As well as Haus, Leath has played at The Lion’s Den and The Castle Hotel but his dream Manchester venues are Deaf Institute and Gorilla. “They feel like obvious choices but it would be like an artist not wanting to see their work in the Louvre”.
Leath was born in Liverpool and has lived there all his life. “I wouldn’t be the person I am if I’d grown up anywhere else, I love it and I’m very proud to be from Liverpool.” He described the city as “creatively stimulating” because “every street you go down there’s something going on.”
Liverpool based visual artist Pixie Louise uses their synaesthesia to create designs inspired by Leath’s music, including the art for ‘If I Don’t Speak’. “There’s a great working relationship there, I can give her a song and tell her my thoughts and feelings for it and Pixie will create these reactive pieces that go really well with the ideas I have in my head.” When working collaboratively, Leath said that he surrounds himself with people who have a similar way of engaging with music. “I like people who approach it very emotionally, I think if you sit and analyse it too much you defeat the purpose because music is supposed to connect with you on a deeper level. Pixie and I definitely have that in common”. He described a similar relationship with Liverpool musician Jimi Boswell who produced ‘If I Don’t Speak’ with Joe. “He can be very analytical from a technical point of view but he just gets what I’m trying to do. It’s great because sometimes it’s difficult for me to articulate what a song is about but I’ve got people around me like Pixie and Jimi who totally understand it.”
A charismatic performer, accomplished musician, and all-round lovely human, Joe Leath should definitely be on your radar. You can catch him at Haus every Tuesday and follow his Instagram for more announcements. ‘If I Don’t Speak’, is available to stream now on Spotify.
