Los Angeles-based electronic artist The Album Leaf has returned with his new single “Breathe” a personal efort that honors those close to him who he recently lost.
“Breathe” is a sparse and haunted piece that has elements of a film score with ambient airy arrangements combined with emotive piano chords. It packs more power than a song with vocals ever possibly could.
Speaking on the song, The Album Leaf’s Jimmy LaValle explains
“When I created Breathe, it was not about death or loss. But over the time period of finishing it, I’ve lost some close friends and family. Some died of cancer or of COVID, and some took their own life. I started to think about what kind of mindset or headspace you might find yourself in before that moment. What do you do? The thought came from a friend who took his life, he and I collaborated on a still unreleased meditative song, he sent me his raw vocal stem, and within it, he took deep, deep breaths. Not around his words but during the breaks. I can’t imagine how he felt in his last moments, but his deep breaths in that performance gave me hope that in his last moments, he found some sort of inner peace with his choice, and I imagine he took those deep, deep breaths before ending his life.
Find “Breathe” streaming now below.
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