Growing up with lovely but unfortunately, non-musical adoptive parents, Leda knew her passions and talent strive from somewhere else. At the age of 7, she wrote her first original piece, a poetic ballad titled, "Another Peanut Butter Love Song". In search of her biological roots and acquired musical skills, she soon discovered that music indeed ran in her blood. With a gifted singer as a mom, accomplished pianist and bassist graduate from the Manhattan School of Music as a father and a veteran percussionist for the Boston Symphony as a grandfather. Previously performing under the name, "Michele Jusko", some may recognize her work on many popular indie TV tracks including; Shameless, Supergirl, Charmed, Madam Secretary and Shark. Additionally, she has made it as a finalist in both the pop category for the John Lennon Song Contest and Billboard World Song.
“Standstill” is equally as astounding as her previous works. A lovely contemporary piece with captivating lyrics and amazing melodies. She expresses her hardship and journey coping and struggling with a 7-year illness. I love her pure vocals and pop-indie infusion with harmonious piano tones. Although, expressing the singer's story her lyrics can be easily be applied to any personal battle where one is stuck in their own thoughts. She has such a gift in her ability to tell and evoke powerful emotions and empathy. Leda's vocals are powerful and give off a Lady Gaga like vibe. Gifted with a unique story to tell, we look forward to the future of Tali Leda and can't wait to see what's in store for 2020.
Listen to "Standstill" here.
Hi Tali and welcome to BuzzMusic! Your music has been featured on so many TV shows, which one was the hardest to create and why?
As far as creating songs, I'd say one of the most challenging songs to create was "Free Free" which I had on shows such as Shameless and Charmed. Previously, I had been writing mostly in the singer/songwriter and pop genres but this song was more trip-hop, chillout and downtempo. It was the first time I had used electronic sounds and a drum loop instead of live drums in one of my original songs. I had to find the right sounds and instrumentation to convey the vibe I wanted for this. I was fortunate to work with a great producer Mitchell Sigman who really brought the track to life.
Another Peanut Butter Love Song” was one of your first songs, how does it compare to your current work? I wrote that song when I was 7 years old so I think my interests have changed quite a bit since then. I am a lot deeper! LOL. Life seems so simple when you're a kid. I write a lot of metaphors and imagery in my lyrics now and think some of my hardships have really influenced my writing in the past few years. What or who is your biggest inspiration that has helped shape your career in music? Some of my biggest inspirations are bands like Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles because I love the songwriting and connect so much to their lyrics and their universal emotions they convey. They also wrote such amazing, unforgettable melodies! I'm a huge fan of Fleetwood Mac's harmonies and that has always been a big part of my sound. I am also very influenced by The Cure and Peter Gabriel because they were trendsetters creating such unique and fresh sounds but still writing really meaningful and incredible music. What lessons did you learn while working through your illness and how was this translated in your single, “Standstill”? I was so frustrated with my illness because it dragged on for 7 years. So many times I would get my hopes up because I started feeling better and then I would take a turn for the worse again. I think writing the lyrics for Standstill was a good way for me to work through all my frustrations. It was like a great therapy session but cheaper! For example, the lyric "On an endless treadmill" really captured the feelings of my illness and feeling out of control. Or the line "Running in reverse" is how I often felt. For those 7 years, I was moving backward instead of forwards. Thanks for chatting with us. You have such a talent and unique ability to connect with the audience. Do you have any planned tours? What's next for Tali Leda?
Thank you so much. I haven't set the dates for a tour yet but I'm working on releasing some new music in the earlier part of 2020 and then hopefully a tour to follow.