Roland Leesker, known for his work as producer and A&R for Get Physical, has announced the release of his debut album, titled ‘Searching for Peace’, set to drop on August 30. Leesker refers to the release as his “most complete and deeply personal body of work”, recounting his early days of discovering danceable tracks, from the genre’s formative years, which filled him with delight and contentment.
After working on other artists’ careers for several years, Leesker expressed wanting a change of pace, which led him to create new tracks of his own, focusing on the joy that music has always brought him. “Searching For Peace” features nine tracks which embody the atmosphere of house parties and smoky rooms through their use of melodic riffs, shimmering broken beats, jacking drums, Chicago basslines, and much more.
The album begins with the playful rhythm of ‘Keep On’, establishing a tone indicative of the rest of the tracks on the LP. The song ‘Summer House’ follows, with a driving string arrangement, while the collaboration with Dan Diamond called ‘Let It All Go’, is a spoken word piece featuring clapping snares and a looping synth motif that stands out from the rest of the tracks.
Leesker expressed gratitude to the artists who collaborated with him on this project, particularly Sobantwana, Jacinto, and Dan Diamond as well as the remix efforts of Greta Levska, Robert Hood, Radio Slave, Terry Grand, and DJ Pierre. The album concludes on a touching note with ‘Afunukuthula’, a piano and synth-driven track featuring Xhosa vocals from Sobantwana, recounting the story of new life.
‘Searching for Peace’ is now available for pre-order, and Leesker says that in creating this album, he aims to connect with the roots of why he fell in love with music in the first place: both as a listener and a creator
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