05.05.09 - Volume 3, Episode #5 - Length 21:47
The electron is a subatomic particle that carries a negative electric charge. Love is any of a number of emotions and experiences related to a sense of strong affection and attachment. A theory is an analytic structure designed to explain a set of observations
What happens when you combine all three things? You get the mastermind behind Electron Love Theory, Jeff Leisawitz, an award winning songwriter and producer who has been named “Best independent electronic artist” from artistdirect.com.
Discover Electron Love Theory’s latest audio adventure, “In The Shadows of U2” an electronic tribute to U2 featuring 14 extraordinary female vocalists.
Sit back and enjoy your favorite U2 songs filtered through the subatomic particles of Jeff Leisawitz’s electron love theory.
AAC 19.9 MB
MP3 20 MB
(♪ Two Hearts Beat As One ♪)
Jeff Leisawitz: Electron Love Theory. Yeah, it’s the name of the band which the band is basically me. I occasionally work with drummers, guitar players, singers…you know, I’m basically the producer. I play guitar, bass, program the synthesizers, program the beats. It’s basically my trip as producer and a musician. I do a lot of music for film and TV. I put out a couple of original albums. The first album was long form electronic compositions and then I interviewed people and put their interviews into the music. I interviewed a heroin addict, a former prostitute, a woman who had a near death experience, a buddhist mystic; all these pretty intense stories. Cut the interviews up and put them into a nonlinear form within this music and the thing actually won best independent electronic artist in 2000, which I was quite psyched about, as you might imagine. I had realized at some point around then that every song that I had ever written has been about, in some way, about myself and my experiences. So, I wanted to create songs with stories that weren’t mine and at the same time I was interviewing a lot of rock bands for a radio station here in Seattle. I would listen to these tapes and I’d realize the power of the spoken word. So I said, okay, I want to find people with stories and record those and see if I can make some art out of it. I was starting to get into electronic music so, I just kinda’ did it on a whim. The first one was a young blind man. It was really intense. (laughter). I just put it together and sent it into this competition and the thing won.
(♪ Two Hearts Beat As One ♪)
JL: This record is a lot different than most records that come out. It’s not a live act. I’m not performing this. Most bands, really almost all bands, when they put out a record, the first thing the record company says is, “Get in the van” (laughter) Play these 200 shows and we’ll see you next year. That’s not going to happen with this because there is no band. It’s more of a recording than a performance. A lot of what’s going to happen, hopefully is, the word just gets out there. People who have heard this already are going ga-ga. Almost everyone is really, really responded to it. And that’s great news!
(♪ Bad ♪)
JL: In the Shadows of U2, I think I’m never attempting to eclipse the original. What’s there, what they have done is tremendous. This is a reflection of that. A reinterpretation of that. So in the Shadows of U2 is like, it’s just these guys and this music is great. I am just trying to add to it in some way of value.
Why did I do a U2 Tribute album? Well, one reason is I’ve rocked with U2 since I’ve been a kid. They’ve essentially been with me, musically, my whole life. That’s really cool to give back in that way. You know, I’m doing this thing as a tribute to U2 and how much music has effected me, their music, so really I’m just doing this and putting it out to the world in an attempt to turn people on to something I guess they already know, but in a different way. If you listen to some of these songs like, I still haven’t found what I’m Looking For, obviously a great song in the 80s or With Or Without You. You’ve heard it a million times (laughter) at this point. These are different. You’ve got the female vocalists, you’ve got electronic production. Some of these songs have a more soulful edge to them, some are rock, some are jazzy, a little bossa nova in there, a little bluesy, pop. Beautiful Day has a pop sound and a vocalist to it. It’s just reinterpretations of some of your favorite U2 songs so I just hope you dig it, really.
I am looking for this to be a career, and it is, in many ways for me. I’ve been doing film and TV music for about eight years now and I started that by sending some songs to MTV’s Real World and for a year I called them. “Hey, did you get my music? Did you listen to it yet?” No. Next month. No, we haven’t listened to it yet. Next month, finally I called them. “Yeah, we listened to it. It’s great. We want to put it on next week.” Oh, great! It took you a year to figure that out. And then the next thing was, well, we’re not paying for it (laughter). Okay, fine. So I did it anyway, but I signed up with ASCAP. A couple of weeks later it was on TV and very exciting. That was great and then I kinda’ forgot about it. About nine months later I go to the mailbox and there’s a check for $1,500. I was like, Whoa! And the next month, there was another check for $1,500 from this placement. Basically you can give it away for free and still get paid. Sounds crazy, but it’s true. So that was where I kinda’ started with that. And since then I’ve done a lot of that. I’ve had 400 placements or something. Various TV and multimedia and stuff like this. And put other records, like that one I was talking about with the spoken word, and then I put out a record which was originals songs. Normal electronica-based, down-tempo, mid-tempo, pop, female vocalists again. I got lots of great reviews on that and got it out there on the radio and stuff like this. Didn’t really sell. It was unfortunate. I tried really hard to get this thing going. And then at that point I realized that obviously music retail as an independent artist is extraordinarily difficult.
(♪ All I Want Is You ♪)
JL: Part of my vision for this recording was not to cover the songs exactly as they are. Obviously it’s heavy on the electronics, there’s acoustic guitar, but I wanted really different versions of the songs. I felt female singers would do it justice. I was happy with the way it turned out. I was really looking for a different sound and style for each song. So, for instance All I Want Is You is a real slow contemplative sorta’ sweet song, right? So I didn’t want the rock singer, I didn’t want the blues singer, you know. I found a girl who had this smokey, jazzy voice and I thought that would fit perfectly for that.
I did not think it would be as difficult as it was to find 14 great singers. I should have know, obviously. Was it worth it in the end? Of course, I’m really pleased. I worked with amazing people. That’s great. Was it great when I was pulling my hair trying to find the right singer for XYZ song. No, I was wishing I that I did it another way, but I’m glad I did it the way I did.
The most daunting part of this whole thing is the business part. It’s getting the record deal. I’ve managed to do it with at least two big, good companies and I’m looking for more, like I said, hopefully the UK will come in and Japan. The music biz is tough. It’s just tough, it’s just tough. Music fans and consumers I don’t really think have any real idea of what musicians go through to make it happen on creative levels, getting a band together levels, business levels. You have to love what you’re doing so much or else you’d be just nuts. There’s no way you’d do all this. Do I hope for a big financial payoff? Yeah, of course. I’ve worked really, really hard. Hundreds of hours. Maybe thousands and have paid thousands of dollars in various costs of recording and mastering and legal and all of this to make this thing happen. But at the end of the day, even beyond that, I can listen to my own record and I’m psyched (laughter). This is a record that didn’t exist before I made it and now I can listen to it and be psyched about it. I don’t care if it’s my record or anybody’s record, when I’ve got a great record that I love I am very psyched.
(♪ All I Want Is You ♪)
JL: You can take a song like New Year’s Day their version is just rock and raw and kinda’ stark in ways, but the grooves and the minor bass line and all this and that…that’s where I can take it.
(♪ New Year’s Day ♪)
JL: As of May 5th, 2009 it should be available in any record store in America. Any place you’re buying a CDs. If they don’t have it at your favorite local store just ask them for it and they’ll be able to get it or it will be on Amazon or whatever. It’s going to be widely distributed so anywhere you want to buy it they should be able to sell it to you. (laughter) So please, go for it!
The band is called Electron Love Theory and the website is lovetheory dot com. You can buy it digitally. It’s out there all over the place. Just search on Electron Love Theory in iTunes or in the Shadows of U2 on iTunes or really anywhere. It’s up on Rhapsody and Napster and all those places.
"I tried not to do music for a while and it hurt me more to not do it. It hurt my heart not to rock." - Jeff Leisawitz
Official Website
Offsite Purchase
Get the Album Electron Love Theory on iTunes.
Get the Album Color of the Galaxy at Amazon.com.
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