Get Physical's Roland Leesker announces debut album
It's a long time coming for the polymath who has been at the heart of the Berlin-based label for almost 15 years
Roland Leesker - producer and A&R at the helm of Get Physical for nearly 15 years - has announced his debut album, 'Searching for Peace', set for release on August 30.
Dubbed his most "complete and deeply personal body of work", the record is inspired by his early days whereby finding danceable tracks from the early years of electronic music "made me feel very happy and peaceful".
After years of putting efforts into the career of others, he adds, "I thought it could be nice for a change and a change to produce a few new tracks myself, focusing on what got me here in the first place: Music and the joy it brings, creating it. So this is me, 'Searching For Peace'."
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Sonically, the record leans into house elements, kicking on with playful cut 'Keep On' to set the tone. 'Summer House' follows a track with rousing strings, and 'Let It All Go' - a collaboration with Dan Diamond which incorporates spoken word with swinging claps and a swirling synth motif - particularly stands out.
Elsewhere, Leesker captures the atmosphere of house parties and smoky rooms through melodic riffs, shimmering broken beats, jacking drums, Chicago basslines and beyond. The nine-tracker closes with 'Afunukuthula', a moving piano, synth-driven affair featuring Xhosa vocals from Sobantwana telling the tale of newborn life.
"When it came to writing and recording my debut album, ’Searching for Peace’, I wanted to connect with the things that originally motivated me in this scene; music and the joy it brings as both creator and listener," Leesker tells Mixmag. "I am hugely grateful for the help I got along the way with this, especially from Sobantwana, Jacinto and Dan Diamond for their features and Greta Levska, Robert Hood, Radio Slave, Terry Grand and DJ Pierre for their remixes and of course my production partner Neil Barber."
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'Searching for Peace' by Roland Leesker is available to pre-order now. Do so here.
Niamh Ingram is Mixmag's Weekend Editor, follow her on Instagram