Prinz Leo-Lift Your Head Up Till Your Neck Is Sore | Exploration

Prinz Leo is a an Austrian artist based in London making quality, expressive music that divulges more about character and the troubles of the thought-seeking mind. His new album is called Lift Your Head Up Till Your Neck Is Sore. It features all the tracks he has worked on in the duration of the pandemic. Let’s open the book of secrets and see what we find.

Searching for sound-and meaning

Teaching the guitar how to sing with Seeking, Prinz Leo selects a vibe for the song to imbibe and follows through. His first track is a spaced out musical fantasy. The reverberating guitar, flowing synths and his own narrator style singing tells a story. Quite successfully, might I add. The chord structure follows the pop pattern, but his proficiency in molding the song to his desired outcome is prolific. I asked Prinz about his process, and as expected, it was to be an album birthed from isolation.

I wrote these songs while isolating in a small room in London at a time where I strongly felt how overwhelming and lonely it can be to follow my dreams.

It surely is, especially when you’re detached from society unwillingly. It might channel in a new source of thoughts, and morality helping others through your art form. When I Am There Who Else Will Be has more of a Depeche Mode style delivery, with a techno tune dominating the background, and Prinz Leo comfortably shifting garb to New Wave. This progression is one of my favorite to lean back into, has a hopeful, cheerful vibe to it. For all intended purposes, Prinz hits the right notes to make it his most popular & listened to track.

I asked him about the possibility of switching and exploring genres and testing new waters. He said- Definitely. I want to start making some hip hop beats and see how I can make them sound like me. I also want to start using some rare instruments, instruments that we’ve never heard before or simply forgotten about.

Psychedelic standstills

With Zwischngspü, Prinz dives into the deep waters of psychedelic synths and related sounds. It might just be an interlude, but creates a vortex of time with the echoing, resounding effects. In a sound chamber of possibilities, it translates the notes into glimmers of hope, something I didn’t know could incite such irrevocable feelings in me.

Prinz believes in the state of flux, space to be moved for more to be created. It is reflected in his production style as well, making work as progress so that new ideas can be incited and take the place of the void.

I just keep writing. Sometimes I don’t come up with great ideas but I’ll just write it down anyways. I feel like this helps moving forward and makes space for better ideas.

Places I’ll Never See is a lament of temporary discomfort. It is the yearning of a mind that wants to wander, with the soul. Uncharted lands, and places that will change the state of thought the mind is in. With the chorus and intro sound, the phaser/reverb effect is Prinz’s strongest tool. Not only does it feature itself as a regular, but creates a signature swirl that he knows how to use. Prinz has big plans for the future:

I’ll be performing an “EP release show” on 18th December. It was scheduled for the 5th of November but we had to postpone it because I got COVID last week. I’m fine though! And I got lots of ideas for new music!