Despite having no real online presence, Lebeaux has been gaining ground on the local scene: anyone who’s witnessed a concert will understand how it is that the band is already booked on the main stage of a certain local festival. For everyone else, we thought we’d pin the frontman, Turrell Lebeaux, down for a chat to get to the bottom of all the excitement, and to find out when we can expect some material.

How many gigs have you played so far with the group as Lebeaux?
So far, we've done two. Such a small number, I know, but I've been so happy with the turnout. I was expecting 10 people to turn up to both of them, however we filled both venues up. The support so far has been awesome – I'm very grateful.

Before Lebeaux, what were you doing, musically?
Well, throughout secondary school and college, I was obsessed with doing projects. Graphic novels, plays, choreography, I was doing it all! As far as music was concerned, I just wrote LPs. Back then, I didn't have Logic or Ableton, so I just made do with a piano, pen, paper, and a voice recorder. I left with around 4 LPs worth of material.

Did you progress from a solo act to the group?
Although I've collaborated with a lot of people in the past, I've always considered myself to be a solo act. Since being with Lebeaux, I still kind of see it that way. I'm like a soloist accompanied with an incredibly supportive and talented team. I still say 'we' though, because they are equally important to me. I wouldn't be here without them.

You’re a very confident performer. Where did you learn this, or does it come naturally?
Thank you very much! I've always been like that – for as long as I can remember. Studying music theatre at BRIT definitely helped hone my performing skills though.

Why don’t you have any recorded material out?
Ah the BIG question – I get this all the time. In all honesty, it's been a combination of fear and being a perfectionist. I could've put stuff out ages ago, but I was never truly happy with the result. Every time I came close to releasing something, I'd pick out flaws in the production and my vocal, then convince myself to cancel. It's pathetic, I know, but I've learnt the difference between perfection and excellence now. I’m not going to hold any recordings back anymore.

Tell us about some of the gigs you’ve got coming up.
We have a few more to confirm, but here are some of the ones we're definitely doing: We're supporting Normanton Street at Patterns on the 15th April. Then we're supporting them again at Birthdays on the 22nd. Dead Good Arts is having us performing at the 'Funk My Life' event at the Synergy Centre – April 30th. Headlining back at Patterns on the 12th May. Lastly, we are playing at Funk The Format festival alongside Soul II Soul and Norman Jay MBE on the 29th May. So excited!

Some of these are big appearances – how do you explain this? And how do you feel about the reaction to your music?
Yes they are. Everyone's reaction to the music has had me seriously humbled. It's mostly thanks to Normanton Street. They heard what we were about through Jono, the drummer. It was funny, because I didn't know who they were until after the performance was done. They gave us one performance to get it right, and they were satisfied! Since then, it's been opportunity after opportunity. I love that they care and nurture other artists that are trying to come up. They see community, instead of competition. We need a lot more bands like them around – check them out.

Let’s talk songwriting. How far do you direct the process, and how much comes from your band?
Admittedly, it's me most of the time. I usually come up with the ideas; tempos, time/key signatures, chords, melody or lyrics I present to the band. Then we work out how we're going to bring it to life. When the song starts coming alive, we vibe off it so much. When they play, the band have me dancing all the time. I dance more than I sing sometimes. But every song we do has a different level of input, of course some of the ideas stem from them.

Is melody or lyricism more important to you?
Oh that is such a difficult question! Well, for my songwriting, the melodies disguise the meaning behind the lyrics. It's those top-lines that keep people interested in my music, even if they don't understand the words. So even though the lyrics mean a lot to me, I'm going to say that the melodies are most important to me!

What lies at the core of your lyrics?
Exploring possibilities: what would happen if I do this? How do you feel when you do that? I'm quite playful with my writing. I like to play games; setting myself a theme, giving myself restrictions, writing from a different perspective – those being a few examples. Behind the games, I'm always trying to prove some kind of point. Whether it's personal, political, or social, I tell it like I see it. Maybe not in the most obvious way, but oh well.

What’s your philosophy in terms of a live show? What do you set out to do?
All or nothing – that's my philosophy. I put my all into every performance I do. I care a lot about giving people a great show. If I can't entertain them in the best possible way, then I wouldn't be very happy about it. I have some big plans for the future in terms of live shows; but a lot of them require more knowledge, money, and balls. I am lacking in all of those things!

Is there an EP or album on the cards?
Oh, there always has been one on the cards, it's just about finding the right producer to make it special. Searching for one is like searching for a soul mate – very hard, if not impossible. Until I find one that we can gel with and hone a great studio sound with, an EP/LP release will remain in the pipeline.

Anything else we should look out for?
Despite no recordings coming out, I will be releasing a few videos next month. All of them will be collaborations with other artists, and bands around the area. One of them will be quite interesting, as our genres are quite different, but you'll have to wait and see how it turns out. In the meantime, come to our gigs and explore what we're about.

Facebook: facebook.com/Lebeaux-533293416827688