LESLEY PIKE

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“I want to make music that moves people,” declares Toronto-based singer/songwriter Lesley Pike. On her new disc, Blink (out via Subciety/Fontana North), she does exactly that, and in dazzling fashion. The ability to capture life’s intense and important moments with unflinching honesty and then convey them in a way that every listener can relate to is a special gift, and one Lesley possesses in abundance.
Within the Canadian independent music community, word of Pike’s talent has been spreading steadily since the release of her 2003 debut, Night Visions. It notched glowing reviews and significant CBC airplay, while subsequent intensive touring across Canada confirmed Lesley as a charismatic and highly entertaining performer.
That buzz will surely become a roar with the release of Blink. It retains the spontaneous feel of Night Visions, while representing a quantum leap forward in terms of production and instrumental values. Pike teamed up with noted producer/guitarist Bill Bell (Tom Cochrane, Justin Nozuka, Jason Mraz), and they assembled a dream team of elite instrumentalists. That list includes guitarists Bell, Kevin Breit (Norah Jones, Cassandra Wilson) and Sean Ashby (Sarah McLachlan), drummer Davide Direnzo (Jacksoul, Diana Krall), bassist Pat Kilbride (Ian Hunter), and cellist Kevin Fox (Sarah Slean, Chantal Kreviazuk).
This talent-heavy troupe set up shop in Toronto’s Orange Lounge studios, where bed tracks for these 11 songs were, astonishingly, laid down in a single day. “We went with our instincts and what we thought sounded good,” says Lesley. “I didn’t want it to feel slick. I wanted it to sound like I sang these songs and meant them.”
Mandate fulfilled here. The clarity of the production and musicianship on Blink provides the perfect setting for Pike’s melodic and lyric-driven pop songs. Her own fluent piano playing and pure, unaffected vocal stylings are featured front and centre, and they prove the ideal vehicle for delivering her emotionally eloquent material.
“You took my breath away,” sings Lesley on the first single, “Dreaming Back To Life,” a song that does exactly that, thanks to its lush, swelling arrangement and her tour-de-force vocal performance. On the title track, Lesley captures that feeling of bliss we all crave with true tenderness. “I don’t want to blink, I don’t want to miss a thing…I just want to be right here with you in this moment.”
The flip side of such moments is explored on “This Fire,” but its sentiments are refreshingly devoid of self-pity. “It’s not a happy song per se but the message is ‘let’s take it, learn from it, and go forward,’” explains Lesley. On “A Million & One,” Pike delivers an infectious romp with a jaunty country-rock feel, proving she won’t be constrained by any artificial genre barriers.
Her songs may oft be introspective, but Lesley Pike is a refreshingly extroverted and witty performer who loves to cultivate a real connection with those at her shows. “I just love the human interaction, feeding off an audience, giving back, and establishing something unique together,” she explains.
Such an attitude has stood her in good stead, landing spots on stage with such diverse artists as Jason Mraz, Stabilo, The Devlins, Pilot Speed, The Cowboy Junkies and Danny Michel. It has helped make her a favourite on the campus circuit in Canada, and she’ll soon be showcasing her wares at colleges in the U.S. Lesley has experienced her share of campus life, as a graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University with an honours Bachelor degree in Classical Music. That academic background helps account for the precision and skill of her compositional, instrumental and vocal work.
A multi-tasking creative individual, Lesley Pike is also an accomplished potter. Here, she has sculpted a compelling piece of art. Blink. Don’t miss it.
Blink. Don’t miss it.
CONTACT:
info at lesleypike dot com