Leif Vollebekk, Photograph supplied
Leif Vollebekk’s fifth album, Revelation, is an album of longing and acceptance, of letting go and of mindfully appreciating what you’ve got.
Released in September 2024, it’s also the Montreal-based musician’s most expansive release to date. Vollebekk channels the influence of country, folk and Americana with the backing of string arrangements, which accentuate the songwriter’s candid self-exploration.
The album features backing vocals from Angie McMahon, continuing a collaborative partnership that stretches back half a dozen years. On the eve of Vollebekk’s Australia tour, he and McMahon released a cover of The Eagles’ “Take It to the Limit.”
I caught up with Vollebekk to chat about working with McMahon, his favourite covers, and performing Revelation live.
Check Check: You and Angie McMahon have been collaborating for half a dozen years now. You’re on her album Light, Dark, Light Again, she’s on Revelation. What’s it like working with her, and what keeps you collaborating?
Leif Vollebekk: It’s really effortless. Everything she sings comes from an incredibly touching and musical place – her tone, her choices, her intuitiveness. When we worked on my record there was no ego. I like to think, when I’m working on her songs, that I’m leaving my ego aside, too. Whatever is best for the songs, you know?
You and Angie recorded “Take It to the Limit” last time you were in Australia. Whose idea was it to cover the song?
It was a song I’ve connected to deeply since I was just a kid. I think the first time Angie had heard the song was the day we recorded it. You wouldn’t know it – she sang it so naturally like she’d sung it her whole life too.
What are some of your favourite covers by other artists – perhaps covers that you like more than the originals?
I still can’t believe that Jeff Buckley cover of “Hallelujah.” It’s still good. Go and listen to it. It’s just sublime. Come to think of it, I like Jeff’s version of “Lilac Wine” and Dylan’s “Mama, You Been On My Mind.” He introduced me to Nina Simone, Leonard Cohen and that Dylan song.
But perhaps the greatest gift to music is Ray Charles covering the Beatles with his orchestra. His versions of “Yesterday” and “Something” are somehow so deeply connected to the meanings of those songs. I read somewhere that McCartney originally wrote “The Long and Winding Road” for Ray.
Revelation is an album of songs about searching and finding, and of acknowledging how fleeting things can be. What feelings are conjured up by playing these songs live?
A lot is about the audience. They kind of guide the show. But the overall feeling is gratefulness that I get to play music for a living.
Despite the lush arrangements on Revelation, a lot of your music depends on a certain amount of poise, space, quiet. Is that ever hard to get across in the live environment?
I’ve been very fortunate in that the people who come out to the shows are usually familiar with the records. So they bring a lot of that space and warmth themselves. It allows things to be stripped down when it needs to be.
I also found that synthesisers can be used almost as a way of painting a gauze of sound over the stage, almost like tape hiss. Makes things feel closer.
Do you ever feel burdened by the success of “Long Blue Light”?
Ha! That’s so funny. It’s an unexpected child that went on to do long distance running. I’m just happy for that song to have resonated like it does. Of all my songs, it’s perhaps the one I understand the least. Playing it live has given me a chance to get to know it better.
Leif Vollebekk
Tues 6 May – Rechabite, Perth WA
Thurs 8 May – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
Saturday 10 May – Crowbar, Brisbane QLD
Sunday 11 May – The Croxton, Melbourne VIC
Tickets Handsome Tours
