Under the name of MBG, an Alt-Rock recording project, Leena is a multi-instrumentalist that writes, records, performs and has very recently produced her music in her bedroom studio out of Brampton, Canada. She is self-taught on drums, guitar, and bass by commuting every day after school to the local music store to practice until closing time because her family couldn’t afford music lessons much less the instruments themselves. Now a graduate from the Independent Music Production program at Seneca College, she’s continuing to develop her new skills as being the producer and sole songwriter of her music. New in the songwriting game, she has explored in between the genres of classic/punk rock and blues to folk and jazz. Her debut EP “Have a Alright Day” reflects on not only bridging in between those genres but also her skill in production and playing all of the instruments in her songs. Over the past year, she has solidified her sound and has gone back to what got her to pick up the guitar in the first place, being a one-woman rock band.
Included on MBG’s debut EP is her debut single “Make My Day” that features an uplifting soundscape and an impressive melodic progression. From a songwriting perspective, MBG has done well to make this widely accessible. “Make My Day” can be interpreted and related to depending on each individual’s outlook. “Make My Day” talks of the negative impact of feeding the fire. That hook gets to you, the performance is passionate and the higher melody and united musicality give off a sense of brightness that undoubtedly leaves you with an aura of optimism above all else. MBG truly showcases her skills as a solo artist, powerhouse producer, and well-rounded musician! We can’t wait to hear more from MBG.
Check out “Make My Day” here and keep scrolling for more with MBG!
Welcome to BuzzMusic! Loving the song “Make My Day”! What prompted you to write it?
Thank you for reaching out I really appreciate it. Yeah 'Make My Day' was quite a spontaneous song that just started with me noodling around on my guitar, coming up with this cool guitar riff and everything just kind of fell into place lyrically and next thing I know I had a full song. Usually 99% of the time when i'm writing I kind of just zone out and once I have somewhat a finished song, I zoom out and see the bigger picture and figure out what exactly am I writing about so I can fix it later.
What do you hope your listeners take away from your music?
That they're absolute BOPS through and through and that whatever situation the listener is in that my music can get them dancing...or moshing their problems away or feel less lonely in the world. So far I've had people messaging me saying how Brick By Brick has been the song to help them go through a tough relationship which just warms my heart.
Is there a new, longer project on the way, and if so, what can we expect from that?
Yes there is! i'm currently in the midst of recording another EP this month. This time it wouldn't be in my bedroom, it's gonna be in my basement ha ha quite an upgrade eh? My parents started to realize how crammed my room was getting with all my gear and instruments so all of my stuff as been moved downstairs which is cool because the room has a walk in closet which I've turned into a vocal booth/guitar room. You can expect more rock tunes on this EP than the last one for sure and maybe even a sad folky song in between all the electricity.
What’s the songwriting process like for you, how do you get started – and how do you know when a song is truly finished?
Oof! it varies. Some songs take days or maybe even months to finish, especially for someone like me that has all these little small ideas collecting in my voice notes on my phone and never getting around to finishing them completely because either i'm too tired from working my day job or just not in the mood to write. And some songs miraculously finish in like one hour tops without me even going back and fixing it and those are my favorites haha! because I've been songwriting for only two years, I don't have quite the discography under my belt yet. Recently I HAD to write songs to fill out a 45 minute to an hour set when someone offers me to play a show! I don't know how these artists can have hundreds of songs that are fully written it's incredible.
I usually start writing on my guitar playing random chords or riffs. Melodies come first and lyrics come after...sometimes even way after. I could have a catchy melody for days but lyrics come separately weeks later. If I'm really dedicating a day to songwriting, I usually just word vomit along to the melody and if it makes sense I'll scribble it down and once I have a cohesive song, I go back and do some small fixes whether it be the arrangement or the lyrics itself. I know when a song is finished that I can play it through and through and all the rhymes and Syllables fit through the arrangement and the lyrics makes sense.
What are your plans creatively throughout 2019?
To write more songs obviously ha ha and also learn more in production. I find the process of making your song come to life and figuring out how you want your song to sound like is very exciting to me. Self-recording and producing my debut EP has definitely been a learning curve for me. I knew enough coming into producing my EP having recently graduated from Music production school in college but during the production I was learning all these new tips and tricks from YouTube videos and other local producers that I didn't learn in college. That's what's so cool about making music there's no right or wrong way it's all trial and error. There's always something new to learn!