Posted in: Articles
Monitor Audio shine a spotlight on gifted DJ Leanne Wright, as she tells us about her interesting journey across the music scene and what formed her musical palette along the way.
BIO: Leanne first moved to London from Canada in 1991, immersing herself deep in the underground music scene. London club culture soon became more than a passtime; it built a community, friends and family. Years spent creating visual identities with Robi Walters for people like Gilles Peterson, Benji B and Coop/West London massive, working with Patrick Forge on his Kiss FM radio show and behind the counter at Honest Jon’s helped to develop a broad appreciation and rich musical heritage.
This heritage when woven together with her intuitive nature make for beautifully fluid, genre-traversing sets - drawing from the heart and a deep awareness of the atmosphere of the moment.
She’s been a part of Worldwide FM since the very beginning and has also produced audio documentaries like Basquiat: The Gold Griot and Charles Stepney: Black Gold of the Sun. Her regular The Emerald Tablet show on Worldwide FM has included guests such as Cleo Sol, Mad Professor, Equiknoxx, Karizma, Stefan Ringer, Amp Fiddler and DJ Sotofett.
Leanne Wright: Instagram Worldwide FM
Music plays such a substantial part of most of our lives. We all have our own personal life soundtrack. A song comes on and it can instantly take us back to a specific moment and even trigger the emotional synapses connected to that memory. So to say that music has always played a big part of my life isn’t really a unique statement. But I do remember my relationship to it from a young age. I grew up in a very small town in Ontario (Canada). We had to drive miles to get anywhere. Music was a big part of these journeys. And we went on quite a few long driving holidays as a family - all of us singing along to Joni Mitchell and Roberta Flack. In my teens, I began tuning into college and late night radio shows and started making mixtapes, drawing, sewing and just staying up late making. I’m still a night person; it’s when I feel most creative.
I moved to London in 1991 so I was fortunate enough to have caught the end of the rave scene, jungle, broken beat and UKG. It was a golden era and we kind of knew it at the time. It helped form my musical palette and open my ears to their foundations (jazz, soul, reggae, rhythm and blues) but more importantly, helped me to experience the essence of what I believe music to be all about. There have been moments on the dance floor, behind the decks or just in my living room where I’ve felt the connective nature of music; music as communion. For me it can even transcend art form and language. There are moments when it has the quality/ability to melt everything else away and make you feel alive. Where your sense of self is no longer and the sounds seem to take over your body and connect you to some kind of higher force. I truly believe that this is why all humans love music so much.
It’s why I enjoy it as a DJ, as a radio host, as a dancer and simply as a listener and why I always will.
But because I go through so much music, I hadn’t been making as much time as I once did to LISTEN to music. When the pandemic hit and we suddenly had so much free time on our hands, I vowed to go back to listening to my vinyl collection and the full album experience again. There is something about the ritual of flicking through vinyl, picking out the right record for that moment, putting it on the turntable and then the satisfying moment of connection as the needle hits the groove. The physical action is soothing, nourishing and brings you into the moment. Sitting with a cup of tea, being still, not doing anything else but listening…
So I was beyond thrilled when approached by Monitor Audio to extend and deepen the practice even further using their audiophile equipment. The first thing I noticed is how much more I savoured the ritual of selection and of putting on the first record. It couldn’t be just any record, it had to be special. It had to be Alice. It’s the album I’ve listened to more than any other. And also to celebrate the intuitive prowess of the late, great Pharoah Sanders. As I placed the needle of the Attessa turntable on the first track and anticipated the first notes of Charlie Haden’s bass, I was taken aback by the clarity and depth of sound that followed. This record is so familiar to me and yet, it was almost like hearing it again with new ears. The sound that flowed from the Silver 100 7G speakers (objet’s of beauty) was crisp but warm - the notes and instruments isolated in clarity like little aural parcels that were united and harmonious at the same time. The joy of hearing this masterpiece like this was consuming and I sank into the sofa until it was time to get up and turn the record over.
I decided to select a few of my other favourite albums and singles; wanting to cover a range of sonic expression from instrumental to electronic; from jazz to dub to jungle. Carl Craig’s At Les (from More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art) sounded particularly magnificent - this electronic symphony sounding like it was being composed in the room with me as I listened again through this system.
Listening to music in this way, through this beautiful Roksan system, honours the music and the makers but also honours the experience of time and how we spend it. Time is precious. What a special way to be more thoughtful and intentional about the way I use my time. What a gift.
Listen on: Spotify