Leonie Casanova is a London based singer/songwriter and actress, born in Zambia to an Italian Father and a Zambian mother. Since her collaboration with Shamim Sarif and Hanan Kattan of Enlightenment Productions, her music has reached and resonated with a global audience and has been featured in two award winning films as well as a documentary.
Leonie’s colourful and almost nomadic background has deeply influenced her approach to song-writing and what to her is the intrinsic and essential story-telling element of this process. She is a smart and sensitive lyricist and vocalist who manages to cross genres and musical textures with ease.
Musical Career
editThe Beginning
editMusic has always been a fundamental element of her life and her interest and natural performance ability manifested at a very early age with her singing solo regularly in her mother’s church and in sLeonie Casanovachool theatre and singing performances. She was part of different bands and groups through secondary school and also college where she sang in an acapella group and the gospel choir which she often credits as one of the highlights of her entire college experience.
Leonie Casanova's incredible talent was first discovered by Shamim Sarif and Hanan Kattan while she was playing at an underground club in London in 2005 as part of London’s acclaimed Bookslam which has been described as “an event that celebrates live storytelling in all its forms: from authors, poets, songwriters and comedians”. The night of her performance, she shared the stage with author Jonathan Coe.
At the end of the show Shamim and Hanan approached Leonie to ask her to write a song for their film The World Unseen which was still being developed. A surprised and somewhat suspicious Leonie agreed, expecting never to hear anything about it again. This however, was the beginning of dynamic and successful relationship that would see the song being recorded and used in the end credits of what went on to became an award winning film. Leonie also had her first film role in this film - a cameo - playing the part of “Doris”, the “coloured” waitress.
Further Success
editAfter the success of The World Unseen and the reception Leonie's music received, Enlightenment Records was born to promote and sell the soundtrack to the next film, I Cant Think Straight, which featured two of Leonie's songs and a song written by Shamim Sarif and performed by Leonie. As soon as Enlightenment Records was established Shamim and Hanan wasted no time signing Leonie as their first artist.
In 2009 Leonie’s singles Broken and Little Feeling were released on Enlightenment Records. One of the songs has also been used in the docu-film, The House of Tomorrow. The film/music collaboration between Leonie and the Enlightenment duo of Shamim and Hanan has continued as Shamim has directed music videos for two of Leonie's songs, Little Feeling and Broken.
Her Debut
editLeonie has completed writing the songs for her debut album, including some collaborations with other talented song-writers. Touring with some of these songs in cities worldwide, from London to Jerusalem to Mumbai has helped the songs evolve and helped Leonie evolve as a musician as well. Enlightenment Records will be releasing Leonie’s debut album late 2012.
Education
editLeonie attended primary school in Zambia and secondary school at Waterford Kamhlaba United World College of Southern Africa (UWCSA) in Mbabane, Swaziland. She later studied in England (at the London School of Economics) and the USA where she graduated with a degree in Economics and French Literature from Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania, before embarking on a career in finance with her first job on Wall Street.
Musical Influences
editLeonie is inspired by a diverse range of musicians and song-writers, old and new such as Nick Drake, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, Noisettes, Seu Jorge, Nina Simone , David Bowie, Feist, Prince, Bob Dylan, Regina Spector, Antony and the Johnsons, Ray LaMontagne, Grace Jones, Portishead, Cat Power, Billie Holiday, Cody Chesnutt, Planet Funk, PJ Harvey, Tori Amos, Hugh Harris, Anna Calvi, Belle and Sebastian and Miriam Makeba to name a few.
KickStarter Success
editTo raise the money to fund her debut album, Leonie and Enlightenment Productions used KickStarter, a fund raising website platform for creative projects, and amazingly after only three short days they reached her target and went on to raising more through the end of the campaign, allowing her and Enlightenment Records to start work on recording her debut album in summer 2012.