Leif Vollebekk shares an unreleased song and acoustic re-work in ‘Rest’ double package | NME
Canadian singer-songwriter Leif Vollebekk has shared a double package of songs, linking back to his 2017 album ‘Twin Solitude’.
The two-part release highlights the beginning and end of the album, starting with a never before heard number titled ‘Intro’. The sparse acoustic track was written in a heavily jet-lagged state and was originally intended to open and ease into ‘Twin Solitude’. Instead, the album opens with a bang as he croons “West London alleyways, San Pedro’s valley’s haze” on ‘Vancouver Time’.
The second instalment is a re-worked version of the album’s closer, ‘Rest’. Vollebekk recorded this acoustic version while on tour in Australia, in what was a “spur of the moment” occasion with sound engineer Jono Steer. This was exactly one week before each country’s international borders were closed, after the outbreak of COVID-19.
Vollebekk was inspired to release these tracks “in a time of social distancing” after finding himself with more time to pause, reflect, connect and rest. ‘Rest’ echoes the “quiet introspection” he has been revelling in.
Last November, Leif Vollebekk released his fourth studio album, ‘New Ways’. The LP has since hit over 11 million streams worldwide and features additional vocals from breakthrough Australian artist Angie McMahon.
Earlier this month, NME Australia premiered a live recording of McMahon’s ‘If You Call’ featuring Vollebekk. The cut was pulled from her debut album ‘Salt’.
McMahon told NME Australia she is “such an admirer of him” and was a fan long before being his friend. “He lives on the other side of the world, but we have a really beautiful musical chemistry and a nice friendship.”
“[The newly recorded ‘If You Call’] feels like a really warm version. That was exactly how I wanted to end the record… to give the song another life with Leif’s voice and the harmonies.”
In a statement, Vollebekk said, “I fell in love with this song the moment I heard it. Angie’s whistling is like an orchestra to me. I felt the lyrics before I understood them and now that I understand them, I feel them even more. It’s such a generous soul that wrote them. And every time I play this song with her, I know I become a little kinder.”
