Studio Electrophonique - Happier Things EP

Format: 12” Mini-LP
Catalogue No.: VIO066
Barcode: 5051142009449
Release Date: 11 Feb 2022
Genre: Singer-Songwriter

Studio Electrophonique is James Leesley: a young songwriter and musician from Sheffield.

Since the critical acclaim accompanying his sought-after debut 10" album "Buxton Palace Hotel" in 2019, James has captivated audiences performing at his own curated events in Sheffield, Liverpool, London and Paris as well as at The Green Man and End Of The Road festivals.

In 2020 Studio Electrophonique performed at L'Olympia in Paris at the personal invite of the legendary Étienne Daho as well as across the UK and Ireland with Richard Hawley - both are long-time supporters and admirers of James's work.

James is currently putting the finishing touches to a film featuring Jarvis Cocker and Sean Bean which retraces the fascinating history of Ken Patton's original Studio Electrophonique home recording studio in Sheffield.

Previous Mini-Album ‘Buxton Palace Hotel’ sold out immediately - ‘Happier Things’ is limited to 500 COPIES WORLDWIDE.

Songs come to James Leesley in airless attics, dinner time chippies and late afternoon bookies shops; on long walks through town with a sandwich in each pocket, on morning runs through the park in lost-property trainers or on the top deck of the 52A with rain-laced windows and wet toe-ends.

He records on an old four-track machine using deadstock Metal Maxima cassettes sourced from an unnamed charity shop close to Bramall Lane. This machine kills flashiness. There is no room for garnish. Choice is minimised to serve the song, intimacy is maximised to serve the ache.

Studio Electrophonique is a semi-fictional collective of analogue romantics sent to reassure us that art is not some far off place, that sadness can be enjoyed like happiness and that glamour can descend like a minor key melody on the shoulders of anyone willing to pay their subs and the price of a day-return to Ballifield shops.

Studio Electrophonique's latest 5- song record is a plaintive symphony of love and hope, yearning and hopelessness. "Happier Things EP" is released on 12' vinyl and digital formats on 11 February 2022.

The EP is preceded by the title track to the EP released as a digital single on 14 January 2022.

PRESS FOR ‘BUXTON PALACE HOTEL’ MINI-ALBUM (SOLD OUT)

"This is beautiful. Very reminiscent of Alex Turner’s songs for ‘Submarine’ (IE: THE BEST THING HE EVER DID!)"– Pete Paphides

"This is just amazing, I am completely in awe" – Janice Long

"It is precisely at the moment when we have seen everything, heard everything that a young, angel-faced guy shows up. Not even thirty years old and yet this boy writes songs which upset habits. Songs that we fall in love with at an instant. Even if we have several lives there will not be many records like this." – Christophe Basterra, Section 26

"When everything gets out of hand, there are records like tiny miracles, humble yet essential epiphanies. Proof of humanity. "Buxton Palace Hotel" is more than just a record." – Matthieu Dufour, Pop, Cultures & Cie
"Cold truths, soft sounds, beautiful simplicity and a ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ clarity; that’s all you should need to want to consume" – Rats On The Run

TRACKLIST
1. Happier Things 2. Can't You Just Want Me? 3. If I Loved You Less 4. The Lovers in the Café 5. All-Time Biggest Fans