leo gillespie
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Bio
I met leo about one year ago when i was in norway. at the time he showed me documentary telling who he is. i was impressed by his life and the way he lives it. Leo is a busker musician, he travels through cities all over the world and brings to people in the street his poetry, his words and melody. last spring Leo stayed at my place in Paris. i had the chance to hear him talk about his life and his expectations. i find him a simple man don't misunderstand this, when i say that he is simple man, i mean that he goes directly to the hearts of things. He told me his stories about the boulevard back in the day and that he would sing to sartre, samuel beckett or Jean Badal. when he was telling me these stories he had that sparkling in his eyes, and i could see not the man, but the boy, the young artist eager to perform and share his work over and over. it lead me me to follow him on a saturday morning in what he calls one of the best places he knows: rue Mouffetard in Paris. i filmed him share his knowledge. i hope that you will be able to feel his voice and that the video doesn't fail in its purpose of grasping a moment of the man's life. the filming nor the editing are that great but i can tell you that listening to this man on the streets is a rare moment of freedom, he gives us the ability to sense time and feel alive for a bit. Thx Leo and i wish you a lot joy down the road. cheers to you Pierre
About
Hello everyone..Here is a kind of cocktail of songs I've recorded over the past few years, here and there, whenever I was with friends who happened to have any kind of recording device where I could get these songs out of my head before I forgot their structure.Some of it is autobiographical some is just words decorated with sounds and others are just observations that I noted on my travels and tried to turn into a story.. Tricks of the Fish was written when I was in Monsegur,in the Pyrenees..breathing the air of the Cathars...(With Nick Murray-flute,Dermot O'Connor-accordion and Gunnar Carlberg-bass..) The Dice was recorded at KK's place in Reykjavik and we just tried to implant some kind of rollin' dice sounds to help the words along.KK's bottle neck slide I think adds as much poetry as the text,and it was a pleasurable production on a windy day in Iceland. This world has wonder ,this world has beauty,it has it's balance in it's place amongst the stars. Just another sun going down was done at Gunnars Grappling studio in Timmele,Sweden.Those participating are Gunnar Carlberg-percussion,bass and guitar solo..Dermot O'Connor and Juliane Zeiren-backing vocals and me on the voice. Travellin' is so easy,dreamin' is for free,let your body take your mind where you want to be. . Devil Inside,is I suppose my autobiography,and I'm still living it.Was done in Reykjavik with my great friend KK spinning his magic all the way through the landscape of the Pyrenees. Each time I reach what 'm looking for,that demon inside just slams the door,throws me out on the road and then,starts me looking all over again . and . You can't take it with you is a song that my friend Lance "Doctor Harmonica" Wakely offered to me,and I was honoured to have him accompany me all the way through it ..Life is very dangerous and bad for your health. (leo/gunnar carlberg/lance wakely). .
Belfast Town was recorded in Iceland with KK and friends and is the story of what actually occured in Belfast town one day..
The same old dance is about the warp in evolution which which keeps repeating itself,and each time it shows its face it seems to be more confident of success...and we all say it can never happen again.(Live recording by Dave"skunk"Ochoa). From my Heart is a Gunnar Carlberg production with some sweet soothing mandolin played by the uniquely amazing Dermot O'Connor... Then in the end,it's down to the friends who catch me when I fall... . Paris is a reflection and a summary of those boulevards of Poetry.Thanks to Bent Jensen in Århus for the accordion flow.( A David "skunk" Ochoa production..) Maybe my generation was the one that came too late to appreciate the values of the hands that did create. Love Gives by John Prine is my humble interpretation and a sign of respect to one of the remaining masters of word structuring.(.With Gunnar Carlbergs magic guitar solo.) .
Passing through a peaceful little village in Northern France a few years ago,I sat and pondered the two world wars that had totally ravished this idyllic place and the total obscenity of all those young men who died.....A long way from Home.
These are mainly home recordings done with my good friends,not technically perfect....just looking for atmosphere to decorate the words with.Thanks for lending your ear....luv,leo.
PORTRAIT D'UN SINGULIER BALADIN
La nuit est tombée sur la rue Mouffetard, un soir glacé d'hiver.
Trouvère hiératique sous un improbable béret écossais, il cale sa guitare, vous toise un moment, se recueille mains jointes.
Et soudain une voix surgit, puissante : une basse profonde, rugueuse, à la fois chaude, rocailleuse et grave, qui transporte des paysages, des rencontres, des nostalgies, des féeries.
Oiseau solitaire, tapi dans la nuit au bord des villes, Leo Gillespie a buriné sa peau au soleil de toutes les routes, d'Oslo à Phnom Penh, sous les blizzards d'Islande ou la mousson d'Asie.
Il a écouté la plainte, venue du fond des âges, de mille coins de rues, d'un village du Cambodge ou d'un chemin des Pyrénées.
Le chanteur-baladin en a nourri ses chansons : des poèmes forgés à la main, incrustés d'images cueillies comme des fruits amers et délicieux sur l'arbre du bien et du mal.
Si les ballades qu'il égrène ont des accents de blues, c'est qu'elles viennent d'un c--ur vagabond ... avec son diable aux trousses.
Pas nécessaire d'être Khmer ni Lapon pour en sentir la déchirure. Pas besoin non plus de savoir si elles ont croisé les ombres géantes de Dylan ou de Léonard Cohen.
Leo, qui a quitté en 1965 les brumes britanniques, aime retrouver ses amis lors de ses passages dans les villes endormies où rôdent aussi des fantômes qu'il a connus. Et il a le sourire complice sous la moustache drue quand passent les enfants des mondes qu'il a rêvé au loin, sans vous.
Michel Ducoin
21/05/2007
THIS IS A LITTLE MOVIE OF DEVIL INSIDE MADE BY PIERRE VICARINI,IF YOU CLICK ON IT,IT WILL APPEAR...
<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1908988&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=1908988&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/1908988">Leo Gillespie "Devil's inside"</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/vicarini">Pierre Vicarini</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.
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