Old soul, new sound
Leon Bridges settles in for second album
Twenty-six-year-old Leon Bridges has a tale as old as Motown with a sound to match. Discovered while washing dishes at a bar in Fort Worth, Texas, Bridges has a crisp delivery and old-school sound that led to a label bidding war. Eventually settling on Sony imprint Columbia, Bridges now has a Billboard Top 10 debut with Coming Home and is already looking forward to his second record. Here’s the up-and-coming superstar talking about authenticity, writing his second album and why he’d love to collaborate with Kendrick Lamar: Q Your sound and style has heavy shades of Sam Cooke and Otis Redding. Are you comfortable with the title of revivalist? A It’s more than that. It’s very evident that I’m pulling from the past but I’m a singer-songwriter. It’s more than writing flashy, cliché soul songs. They’re truth: songs about family and life. It’s very clear that it’s “classic” music more than revivalist. Q
So you see it as more authentic? A The question I always ask is “what is authenticity?” I couldn’t say Britney Spears isn’t authentic. Who am I to say that just because it’s pop? But I do feel that a lot more roots and very good, meaningful songs are making their way back. And there are so many young people that are doing it, which I think is beautiful. Q Considering you’re on a major label with a Top 10 album, I imagine a lot of artists have been asking you to collaborate with them? A There have definitely been certain people that have asked for collabs. I love all music but I draw a certain line when it comes to certain genres. Even though I might like it. I don’t see myself having to stay in this indie or soul bubble. Or only do soul collabs. My records will always be what my style is and there won’t be some electronic R&B record down the road. But if Kendrick Lamar is like, “Hey, let’s do a song together,” I’m like “fine.” Q
Where is that line? A I wouldn’t collaborate with Young Thug or anything. Even though I like his music. It just depends on what the song is. I’m not going to go and do some pop song. Q You recorded your debut a while ago. Have you started working on the next one? A Yeah. When we recorded the session for this first album, there were 10 songs left over. So I’m taking some of those for the next one and I’ve already started writing new songs for it as well. I’m already ready to make it.