‘Story’ - single release November 16th
‘Telling Tales’ - album release December 28th, Digital album release November 26th.

While most kids are concerning themselves with High School Musical or games consoles at the age of 12, Leddra picked up one of her dad’s acoustic guitars for the first time, sat down and began to write her first song. Since that day the young singer/songwriter has never looked back. Realising she had a serious knack of capturing her thought provoking emotions in her lyrics, Leddra continued to write songs when the mood took her until she had enough quality songs together to get herself into local venues to play them live.
With a quintessentially English voice, it wasn’t long before she was being asked to play venues all over the country. After a frustrating period of being too young for most of the venues she really wanted to play, she finally hit the ripe old age of 15 and began playing bigger local shows the odd London acoustic venue when her
parents were available to accompany her. At the same time Leddra spent as much time as possible teaching herself piano and keyboards as well as learning to produce demos of her songs in a small home studio her dad built in a room at the back of the families garage.

Those early home demos became the songs that started to create more and more interest from people in the music industry and she was invited to play Britain’s premier new music showcase - Manchester’s ‘In The City’ Music Conference. Leddra played a 30 minute set to a packed out crowd at the Warchild Acoustic Showcase and was subsequently chosen as a ‘Best of ITC’ in Music Week magazine.

The young Miss Leddra Chapman is now attending the London College of music and has also had two of the summers of her life performing shows as part of a deal she has with clothing company Quiksilver as one of their European brand ambassadors. Staying at the Quiksilver house in the South of France during the Quiksilver Pro France surf championships is one of the highlights of Leddra’s year. “I get to perform and play my songs to big crowds every night…hang out with some really cool people…play in poker tournaments and generally party. By day I learn to Surf and chill on the beach watching the world go by, what more does a girl need?”

Following months of writing and pre-production sessions with the producer Leddra favoured over everyone she had worked with - Peter Vettese - Leddra Chapman and Peter got stuck into her debut album. The digital release date for TELLING TALES is now set for SUNDAY November 29th and Leddra will be playing shows across the UK and Europe into 2010.

In October and November 2009 Leddra will be supporting Roachford on his UK tour where, with Leddra on guitar, keyboard and minipiano, she will joined by her band on cajón, violin and bass.

The Album

For once so young, this is an accomplished debut album. Chapman has a pure vocal quality that comes through with great clarity and authority. The opening song, ‘Story’, reveals a a young singer/songwriter who is sensitive to melody, and able to write lyrics which one feels are a reflection of what she sees and experiences. The brass dominated instrumental arrangement couldn’t be much better and while pop sensibility is very strong, it is not of the disposable kind that usually bombards the charts. Production on this and other tracks is superb, with the most adept separation between voice and instruments which provides both with ample space to breathe and be heard. A strong start. ‘A Little Easier’ is a more upbeat number tinged with a lighter shade of darkness created by drums and guitar. Orchestral strings add to the drama while Chapman is provided with the opportunity to give her voice a real workout up and down the scale, and with great expression.

‘Edie’ is one of the standout tracks here with its reflective tone, strong melody, lovely expressive vocal and excellent, emotional lyrics (”you take his breath away as you move… you paint the lines beneath your eyes, to hide the pain beneath the lines…”). A simple piano chord lies underneath to add to the song’s poignancy. ‘Summer Song’ is predictably light in tone and bounces along pleasantly enough, accompanied by sweet backing vocals. ‘Picking Oranges’ is a wonderful slice of folk-pop with perfectly judged wandering guitar and piano notes underpinning another moving, contemplative song.

‘Can’t Keep Saving You’ adds to the subtle diversity of sound that dominates this album. This time there’s a beautiful cello solo passages to add a degree of darkness to the song. Chapman’s natural vocal talent is underlined here. ‘Wine Glass’ is another standout track with its stripped-down guitar backdrop and another reflective, expressive vocal as she describes watching someone that she has feelings for… (”sometimes I wish you weren’t so far away…”). The album closes on another two standouts. ‘Fooling Myself’ is a moving song about loving someone but watching them with someone else. There’s some delicate vocal harmonies that add a wistful ambience, and a melody that drives the song home. ‘Wrap me Up’ opens with firmly struck piano notes that provide a moody vibe to another bittersweet and emotional musical journey.

What I admire about this album is that it is good enough to reveal a naturally talented British singer/songwriter with the potential to develop into an internationally-accepted one. Chapman treads the delicate path between pure pop and something more serious almost perfectly - quite an achievement for one so young. This opens up her music to a much wider audience while showing the potential to become a singer/songwriter of note; able to translate into music observations and personal feelings as well as the very best around. Chapman is an exciting prospect, and this a surprisingly accomplished album.

4/5

www.myspace.com/leddrachapman