The Introspective Music of Will Leigh

When talking to Will Leigh it is easy to see how his music came about-his introspective output is a pure reflection of his music-and rightfully so. This 15 year old boy of Hamilton Virginia approached music for the same reasons the majority of artists approach their respective craft; self expression. "Everyone has something they do or someplace they go to sort their whirl pooling cauldron of emotions out. For some it is simply sitting on a mountain, and letting their thoughts work themselves out as they take in, and put out the beauty of the nature around and in them. I do this through my songs." Will experimented with different forms of expression before stumbling upon music; "It just happened to be the way it worked out. They are all just paths, perhaps going to the same place, the root of my being," he says. Although Will's family had no musical background, it perhaps this reason that made its pursuit all the more magical to him and why he "chased after it with such luster".

Seeing as young Will is solely employed by his own lone classical guitar and quavery yet beguiling voice, it would seem justifiable to cast him into the singer/songwriter bin, especially when considering his self professed influences are like minded such troubadours (Woody Guthrie, Elliott Smith, Daniel Johnston, and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco) but Will is reluctant to categorize himself and says, "I do not know how to classify what I play. That is something others do on their own". Will also mentions the Smiths and "although I sound nothing like them, who isn't influenced by the Beatles, they came before us all."

Will's music has a strong impact on the listener. This can be attributed to the sources of his inspiration, which reveal the personal, introspective and relatable qualities of his lyrical musings for they are a true reflection of his life and experiences. Of this Will offers, "All my inspiration comes from the people I have met, the feelings I [have] felt, and the thoughts I have thought". Elaborating more on this Will brings up a good point, explaining why his music his so relatable; "but truly how different are the people I have met form the people you have met? Do humans not feel the same things century after century? [I think] we can all find ourselves in each others words". In one of Will's songs he states; "maybe some mysteries are better left untold"-a perhaps universally acknowledged philosophy that is a reflection of his personal experiences-manages to provoke meaningful questions and personal insight, and invites the mind to think and wander. It is thus, undeniable, that the beauty to Will's songcraft is his poignant subject matter, and irrevocable charm.

To email Will Leigh, click here.