Leo Chadburn
Leo Chadburn's music explores voice, language, place and time. Drawing on found texts, archival material, lists and speculative writing, he creates works that are by turns strange, dreamlike, playful and unsettling, embracing both the documentary and the imaginary.
Much of Leo's music is preoccupied with the musicality and theatricality of the speaking voice. It encompasses chamber music, vivid solo performances that merge his own voice with electronic sound, and music for film and installation art.
His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio 1, 3 and 6 Music, Resonance FM and internationally, and performed by ensembles including Apartment House, Britten Sinfonia, EXAUDI, Phaedra Ensemble, Quatuor Bozzini and The Marian Consort. His collaborations with visual artists have been exhibited at spaces including Matt's Gallery, Serpentine Gallery, The V&A, and the Whitstable Biennale.
His most recent solo album is Sleep in the Shadow of the Alternator (2025), a deeply atmospheric meditation on landscape, memory, nature and industry, combining radiophonic sound and a labyrinthine narrative.
His discography also includes the albums The Primordial Pieces and Slower / Talker, which comprise his distinctive music for instruments and voices, and The Subject / The Object, two extended, intensely focused drone and spoken word pieces. His albums have received praise from press and publications including The Wire, The Quietus, The Observer, Bandcamp Daily and Pitchfork.
Before releasing music under his own name, Leo worked as Simon Bookish, in which guise he created a body of subversive, investigatory pop and numerous remixes for international artists. Leo has also appeared on record and on stage with artists including Leafcutter John, Pulp, Saint Etienne, Serafina Steer, Patrick Wolf and Vashti Bunyan, and given solo performances across the UK and Europe.
For a detailed overview of Leo's work, spanning more than two decades, explore the full catalogue of works, listen to the discography and see the list of collaborative projects. Audio, score examples and programme notes are available throughout this website.
Leo welcomes enquiries about performances, commissions and collaborations.