Exclusive Interview with LEIF COFFIELD

Prepare to fall in love with Glasgow, Scotland’s up-and-coming Pop artist Leif Coffield, who is giving the genre a new, strange, and wonderful twist. His newest single ‘I Wanna Love’ cements him as one of Scotland’s most promising rising talents.
He gained popularity in Scotland thanks to his ironic TikTok sketches, which have attracted more than 60,000 thousand followers and 200 million views. The newest weapon in Leif’s arsenal, an 80s-inspired, synth-driven beat with all the makings of a number-one hit song, keeps the audience spellbound.

I Wanna Love is a gateway to the conclusion of an 80s teen drama that is just short of being scientifically proven. The song “I Wanna Love” is a synth-heavy, retro-infused modern-pop ode to feeling utterly inadequate toward an unreachable lover. It is the offspring of a Max Martin pop, Morrisey soul, and sultry The Weeknd love triangle.

It’s not surprising that Jack Saunders of BBC Radio 1, Clash Magazine, and Phoebe I-H of BBC Radio 1 have all expressed interest in Leif’s music, and “I Wanna Love” is certain to follow in their footsteps.

1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?

LEIF COFFIELD: So I’m from a town called East Kilbride, just south of Glasgow, Scotland, and it’s where dreams go to die. Not really, but it definitely has that small town vibe. Music was my first love ever since I was young, and we’ve always been surrounded by instruments. Easter for us as a family was always a big Irish catholic throw-down with all extended family getting together to just play tunes, drink, and eat good food. We also have a cooking competition which I guess you could say if the music didn’t work out, I’d always have the prestigious title of 2018 easter cooking competition winner? But yeah, music is one of the most important things in our family so it’s just natural I guess. However, I was introduced to dance music through Dubstep boom in the late 2000’s/2010 from the likes of Skrillex, Noisia etc, and from then on became obsessed with dance music. I then properly started producing music on Ableton when I turned 18 and never looked back!

2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?

LEIF COFFIELD: I’ve always found any kind of formal training quite tricky. I did go to college for sound production when I was 18 but much like school I was skipping classes and found YouTube to be the best teacher. So I’m self taught for the simple reason I learn at the pace I want to learn at, can learn what I want when I need it, and don’t need to be subjected to several hour long lectures which I will absolutely not concentrate on.

3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name ‘LEIF COFFIELD’?

LEIF COFFIELD: It’s quite hard to pin-point exact influences. Growing up I used to listen to Led Zeppelin on repeat for hours, The Gorillaz too. But as I got older and started to really appreciate dance music more, Skrillex was a massive influence. His production is just next level and is so multifaceted as an artist. Kanye West always has to get a mention here.

Leif Coffield just so happens to be my birth name.

4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?

LEIF COFFIELD: I think synths and emotion probably define my music best. I’m an absolute sucker for a thundering drum beat as well so if I can make those things all work together, I’ll probably use the track. I’d describe my sound as if Max Martin was the bosom, Morrisey the areola and Kanye the teat, it would be the nutritious milk provided. I’m just the baby suckling for dear life.

5. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as ROCK?

LEIF COFFIELD:

Absolutely, I think emulation starts with inspiration and the historical back catalogue of phenomenal artists is a bountiful one. There’s been plenty times I’ve heard a track on Spotify or the radio and immediately wanted to produce something that makes somebody react or feel like how that thing made me feel. Taking elements from something else and reshaping it into something that fits you or your brand is part of the beauty of art.

I think there’s constant development in being an artist. You can’t be stagnant and stuck in your own world. You have to move with the times and listen to whats around you while still retaining originality. So I’d like to think of my development as just evolving as an artist as much as I can and creating the music I’m inspired to make at the time while staying true to myself.

6. What’s your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles – and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?

LEIF COFFIELD: Music can literally be anything you want it to be. If you have something to say about society, culture, politics, you can say it. People don’t need to like it but you can say it. Personally, I prefer to explore those themes in photoshoots or music videos, and have the track as a Pop foundation. For example, right now I think it’s interesting expressing themes of femininity within masculinity. We can see examples of this hundreds of years ago in Greek and Roman statues where they’d be presenting in an almost feminine manner, or even as recent as in the 70’s with bands like Led Zeppelin or The Rolling Stones where Robert Plant and Mick Jagger would be strutting around effeminately in skin tight trousers with long hair. It’s just the cultural shift that changes our perception of what we deem ‘masculine’.

7. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process

LEIF COFFIELD: It really depends, sometimes I’m inspired by a tune I’ve heard and want something to have the same rhythm, or BPM, and in that case I’ll usually start with the drums. Other times it could be a really nice chord progression and then bass, then drums, then vocals. Vocals usually always come last as I like to fit them rhythmically or syllabically around the rhythm of the rest of the track. I collaborated with David Forbes, a fellow Glaswegian and trance producer, on my latest single ‘I Wanna Love’ which is the first collaboration of my upcoming EP. The next single is a collaboration with again, a fellow Scot, called Wuh-Oh, and that tune RIPS!

8. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?

LEIF COFFIELD: SENDING OFF PRESS RELEASES. It’s the worst. Sending emails into the unknown. Into the abyss. Hoping they catch the attention of the person you’re sending to. But it’s a necessary evil.

9. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?

LEIF COFFIELD: So far it’s got to be my show for BBC Introducing Live when they put on a show in Glasgow. It was just an amazing night and the two other bands on the bill were phenomenal, everyone knocked it right out the park. Getting played on BBC Radio 1 isn’t too bad either. That’s pretty cool.

10. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?

LEIF COFFIELD: Fortunately I don’t get a lot of it or pay much attention to it either. But if someone leaves a comment on my TikTok that is just a typical hater comment, it gets deleted so rapidly even the speed of light would be jealous. It’s not even for any other reason than it’d take more energy to engage with it than delete. Mike Tyson put it excellently when he said “Social media made y’all way to[o] comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the face for it.”

11. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?

LEIF COFFIELD: Both. Easy. The creative work is exactly that, it’s work. You’re just working away at your craft, and then taking it to the live audience is the pay off. It’s such an amazing feeling when you’ve spent hours and hours working on something, envisaging it in a live setting, and then finally taking it to that place and playing out that vision.

12. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?

LEIF COFFIELD: That’s just part of art isn’t it? People are so diverse and have experienced such a variety of things, so they’re always gonna interpret art based upon their own life experiences whether it be with films, poems, music, or visual art.