Leif Vollebekk

Leif Vollebekk doesn't know what the Hype Machine is.

For those of you living under an icy rock untouched by the clutches of global warming (or you're Leif Vollebekk), I will briefly explain what Hype Machine is. Basically, it's a blog that takes what popular music blogs are writing about and makes it accessible in one click. The "popular" section of Hype Machine is what any artist searching for fame would likely dream to be on. Here's the definition of popular from the blog itself, "Popular: The most popular artists, searches and blogs on the internet right now."

Recently, artists like the XX and Vampire Weekend (big names!) have graced this elusive "popular" list. But guess who else made that list recently? Our very own, (Canadian!) Leif Vollebekk.

After his captivating show at the Cameron House last Friday for his CD release party (Inland - Nevado Records), I mentioned this fun fact to him. He said something along the lines of, "Ya, people keep telling me, but I don't even know what that means."

At first, I was puzzled. It's kind of like playing the lottery and not checking the numbers. But then, this transformed into bedazzlement. If you're an artist, and you're constantly checking what is being listened to and what people are responding to, your sound will unconsciously be shaped by this in some way, right? This might not be a bad thing, but it might make you sound more like a product of the times than you inevitably will anyway. My hypothesis: the more old school the artist ("when was the hype machine invented?"), the more old school (but really it's new school) the sound.

I just heard this great story I had never heard about Brian Wilson (The Beach Boys). Just as The Beach Boys were rising to the top and being hailed as music geniuses, The Beatles decided to come along. Apparently, John Lennon showed Brian Wilson "A Day In The Life" and pretty much had a major breakdown and lost most of his song-writing confidence. And ya, The Beatles pretty much blew the entire world away (more than the nuclear bomb has yet), but maybe had Brian Wilson not heard this, he would have not lost his mind.

Now imagine having the power to constantly watch and listen to what other artists are doing and how totally stoked the whole internet community seems to be about them? Shit, talk about buzz kill.

So all you lowly mortals out there trying to create meaningful music. I say, revolt and devote. Revolt against the music internet machine, and devote your time to creating music instead. Capture the spirit of the times, but stay timeless. It worked for Leif.

Without even worshipping them, Leif Vollebekk is being blessed by the blog gods. And that makes him a hero. I think that (and his insane talent) will make his journey a long one.



You really need to catch him live, so keep your eyes peeled, he's going on tour soon.