ArtistInfo

Hanna Leess

bvoc, g, voc, uke, US
Rock, R&B/Soul, Blues and Pop

Simply put, Hanna Leess defines and develops her craft with one ritual in mind: honesty. This multi-instrumentalist hails from northeastern USA and possesses a voice of remarkable character. A rare mix of virtuous angel and sensual temptress, she maintains a sensitivity and wisdom in her writing seemingly far beyond her years and a talent that shines through on her debut release ‘Dirty Mouth Sweet Heart’. The act of writing a song seldom takes Hanna longer than 15 minutes. Similarly, much of the recording process for this album was not over-planned and protracted but instead left open to whatever happened spontaneously when the mics were turned on. As Hanna puts it, “I never want to lose contact with my intuition and I’ve never entered a studio with a ready made plan. I find it far more exciting to react spontaneously to my inner most voice(s).” For Hanna, the musical whispers most likely started at an early age thanks to her father; also a musician and an avid Beatles fan. By the time Hanna was eight years old she knew lyrics by heart for every song they had recorded. “I became famous at summer camp as a human Beatles jukebox”, she remembers. She also found herself falling in love with Nina Simone, Chet Baker, Marvin Gaye and other classics. It’s from that tradition along with her fondness for 70s folk and 90s indie pop that helped Hanna mold her sound. Hanna began playing the violin at the age of seven and by the time she was ten had become proficient on the bass and piano before picking up guitar in her teens. But not planning music as a career, she enrolled at Lesley College in Cambridge, Massachusetts to gain her teaching license. It was there that she joined a blues band, and upon graduating, decided to pursue music full time. Eventually settling in Los Angeles where she performed for three years, the restless spirit that inhabits many great artists had her on the move again. “I need to change every few years, otherwise I start to feel discontented”, she says. “Fresh input, new surroundings and different people”. This time she left the US and traveled to Iceland. After that, with her guitar and possessions in a rucksack, she set out to tour Europe. Upon finishing the last of four Berlin shows before a packed house she decided to stay. “It just felt so right”, she said. Newly settled in Berlin, a well-timed introduction brought Hanna and drummer Tom Osander together. Perhaps it was not by chance they should find each other as collaborators and co-producers, for ten years earlier Hanna had seen Tom playing in concert with Damien Rice in NYC. Predestination or fortunate accident, the two soon got to work recording tracks, eschewing high end studios for simpler mobile equipment at Osander’s practice space. As Hanna states, “I'm not really a fan of music which has so clearly been overproduced in the studio”. Raw yet spacious, those basic recordings were augmented and expanded and over the next year, becoming the album ‘Dirty Mouth Sweet Heart’. The first single “My God Knows How To Cry” showcases Hanna’s more pop-friendly side. With an expansive range, from gentle acoustic numbers like ‘Shameless Face’ to the dirty funk of ‘Bright Eyes’, this album offers listeners a wide choice of sonic pleasures. Hanna Leess makes music that criss-crosses styles from pop to punk and folk to funk while lyrically pouring over matters of the heart and head, not only with frankness but road-informed humor and insight as well.

Instruments

• Backing Vocals
• Guitar
• Vocals
• Ukulele

Genres

• Rock
• R&B/Soul
• Blues
• Pop