The saying ‘an old head on young shoulders’ is an understatement when speaking of Anna Leone. Much like the stories we are told as a child, within the music of the songwriter there lies a sentimental value that cannot be taught. Possessing an almost gramophone-esque nostalgia within her melodies, so soulful is her voice that when coupled with the folk lines that pirouette freely beneath her lead, you become senseless to the world that surrounds you – instead becoming encompassed in the cordial haze that the works of Leone summon.

Ahead of her newly released single, Still I Wait, we caught up with the Swedish songwriter to unearth what she has been listening to as of late. These are her Five Right Now picks:

Shirley Bassey – Now You Want To Be Loved

 

I’ve been listening to a lot of Shirley Bassey lately. I really love this song. And the cover as well, with those blues and greens. She looks like royalty. That’s kind of the feeling I get when I listen to this song. It’s very majestic. I feel like she’s singing directly to me. Her voice is so powerful and when the strings soar and she sings the higher notes, it’s electric.

Ego Ella May – Girls Don’t Always Sing About Boys

 

I first heard her on COLORS performing In the Morning, which I loved, and that led me to find Girls Don’t Always Sing About Boys. I really like the idea behind this song. It’s interesting to explore what songwriting can look like and be about. There’s so much material out there about love and heartbreak and romance while other significant experiences and subjects aren’t explored as much. At least not in mainstream music. Ego has a taped conversation about this where she talks about the song and the inspiration around it and I was really inspired by that too. It’s called Girls Don’t Always: The Conversation.

Alice Boman – Waiting

 

I started listening to Alice Boman and this song in particular a few years ago, but I’ve recently come back to it. She’s also from Sweden which is cool. Waiting was the first song I heard from her. It’s such a nice track; it has a kind of haunting, ethereal atmosphere but feels comforting at the same time. Those simple chords are so effective. And the voice and lyrics, everything together is beautiful.

Wings – Let ‘Em In

 

I recently re-watched the movie, Wild, starring Reese Witherspoon and I haven’t been able to get this song out of my head since. Coincidentally, I’ve also been listening a lot to the Beatles recently, but it took me a while to connect the dots that this was Paul McCartney’s band. I love the different instrumental sections on this track; the whole song has got this really strong groove to it.

Jacob Banks – Devil That I Know

 

Jacob is a really good friend of mine, we met when I was headlining his Village tour a while ago. I loved this new song from the moment I heard it. His voice is really vulnerable here and it’s cool how the spare instrumentation supports that and let’s his intention carry the song. I get emotional when I listen to it. It’s got this hopeless feeling to it that I’m drawn to. Like an end of the world song. Except it’s a beautiful end.

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