Swedish singer-songwriter Léon has come leaps and bounds since her 2015 single 'Tired of Talking', saw her career explode, catching the attention of celebrity artists like Katy Perry and G-Eazy. In March this year, the pop powerhouse released her first full-length album and it's nothing short of spectacular. To celebrate the new album Léon will be making her debut trip Down Under, playing three intimate club shows, kicking things off at Howler in Melbourne on December 1. 

We had the opportunity to chat with Léon ahead of her AU tour about the new album, her musical upbringing and what else she has in the works for 2020.

You come from quite a musical family, with your father a composer and your mother a concert cellist, how do you feel your upbringing has influenced your sound?

I think spending so much time around music growing up and I don't know, I feel like although they were more into the classical world than me, they've been great. Opening up my eyes to so many different genres. I think in general they just let me experiment a lot growing up, like everything from being in the choir to being in orchestras or just writing pop songs. They've been really inspiring in many different ways.

We hear you run your own record label, that's super cool! What's been the biggest hurdle you've come across since launching the label?

Not really, not yet. I feel like after I started my own label, I definitely had to be the one making way more decisions in general but that's also why I started my own label because I wanted to be apart of every decision and feel like I was in total control.

Who are some of your artists you're digging right now that you're drawing inspiration from?

When it comes to being inspired, I've always drawn heaps of inspiration from old Motown or rock bands, but right now I'm into James Blake, 1975 and I've been listening to a lot to King Princess's latest album, I think that's a really great album.

So let's talk about your upcoming Australian Tour. This will be the first tour you've done in Australia, right?

Yeah, I've never been to Australia before. It sounds so corny, but it's been my dream to go there, so yeah, I'm excited!

What have you got install for your shows?

The show is definitely longer, with way more songs than it used to because I put out my album earlier this year, so I think it's going to be a good blend of both old and new.

Do you have any pre-show rituals?

I feel like I don't really get nervous during the day until like 20 minutes before the show, so I think right before the show that's when I go into my weird zone and try to get in the right headspace and take it easy.

You dropped your self-titled debut album in March this year, what's your favourite song on the album?

I've always had a favourite on the album and it's actually the only song that my manager wasn't a fan of, 'Hope is a Heartache', so that's got to be my personal favourite. It just feels different compared to the other ones.

I'm probably jumping the gun a bit but is there any new music on the horizon?

When I'm not on tour I spend all my time in the studio so hopefully, I'll put out something pretty soon. But after this tour, I'm going to go home, celebrate Christmas because I love Christmas and then I'm just going to finish this new project I'm working on which I'm excited about.

Keen to catch Léon's show at Howler in Melbourne on Dec 1? Follow the link below for tickets.