I hadn’t felt genuinely moved by an album on a first listen in a very long time. Years, perhaps. And I think that happened because, before even analysing it, I was simply swept away by the music. It’s a feeling I know well as a listener, but one that has become increasingly rare in recent years: we listen, we judge, we identify references, we analyse production and arrangements, but we don’t always allow ourselves to be truly drawn into an album.
That happened with *Travelling*. What struck me most is that behind its ability to communicate emotion there is no random or accidental construction, but an extremely personal and meticulous musical process. Leonardo Trevisan conceived Elle Tea as a creative space in which he could give shape to his compositions without having to follow predetermined formulas, taking direct responsibility for the instruments, arrangements, recordings, vocals and artwork.
The result comes from a composition process that unfolds over a long period of time, with each song continuing to evolve even during the recording stage. Riffs, melodies, harmonies and arrangements are progressively layered, reshaped and refined until they reach their final form. This approach allows the music to develop without being forced in any predetermined direction, and it also explains the variety found on *Travelling*, where hard rock and progressive elements coexist with NWOBHM, folk influences, psychedelia and acoustic passages.
The influences are important and never hidden. Queen, Deep Purple, Diamond Head, Saxon, Dio, Virgin Steele and Manilla Road are all part of Leonardo’s musical background. But the point is not simply to recognise the references; it is to understand how these influences have been absorbed and transformed within a songwriting style that has become increasingly layered and introspective from one album to the next.
Perhaps this is where the musician and the listener ultimately meet: both are searching for something that cannot be measured by technique or confined to a genre. An emotion. I found mine while listening to *Travelling*, and that is what made me want to discover what lies behind these songs—and behind the person who brought them to life.
Interview by Beppe HM Diana
Hi Leonardo, and thank you so much for the time you are willing to dedicate to us. Let's start from the very beginning. I understand that you are a multi-instrumentalist, composer, musician, but also a graphic designer: in Travelling, you practically took care of every single aspect of the project. Do you feel first and foremost like a musician, or do you consider the visual and artistic dimensions revolving around your music to be equally important?
Hi, and thank you so much for your interest in this project! This journey stems from my passion for musical composition and, in particular, from the desire to independently record the songs I have basically always been writing. When I was very young, my goal was to become a good hard rock singer, but soon the need to shape the ideas and melodies coming to my mind led me down a much more specific and, for me, exciting path.
On the other hand, I started approaching drawing a few years ago, driven by the need to create the artwork for the albums I had recorded over the years and therefore release them independently.
You chose to carry on Elle Tea essentially as a solo and studio project. Why have you never felt the need to involve other musicians permanently, perhaps to turn these compositions into a real band? Is it a choice driven by the need to maintain full creative control, or do you simply imagine your music as something that is born and completed within the studio?
The point of this project is to give a name and a release to the songs and albums I make for myself; it is a private creative dimension that I decided to make public only in recent years.
To perform the songs live, on the sporadic occasions when the opportunity arises, I rely on my friendship with the members of Raways (which is a collective project) with whom I share the stage and many great experiences.
Therefore, like many other solo artists in the industry, a "bonus" live dimension exists where, thanks to a backing band, it is possible to bring the songs to the stage.
Nevertheless, it remains an artistic reality that is born and reaches completion in the studio and on the drawing board.
By playing different instruments, you inevitably have a rather broad vision of composition and arrangements. When you start working on a track, where do you usually begin? From a melody, a riff, a harmonic progression, or an atmosphere that takes shape little by little?
There is no single path; sometimes the song comes from a guitar riff or an emotional state that leads me to certain chords, sometimes from a melody I have in my head. The composition phase continues seamlessly during the recording phase, and so the track takes its final shape only at the end of this long process (usually a few months, sometimes a few years). This allows the song to develop in initially unforeseen directions, and it is truly satisfying when the mosaic finally takes shape.
Your music seems to look with particular affection at that period between the late seventies and early eighties, weaving together hard rock, progressive, and folk influences, without giving up a personal sensitivity. What are your main musical and compositional references? Are there albums, artists, or bands that have left an indelible mark on your way of writing?
Absolutely, there are several albums and artists that have greatly influenced my way of conceiving rock music. I can mention the great bands of the 70s like Queen and Deep Purple, who truly defined an era, or NWOBHM bands like Saxon, Diamond Head, and Angel Witch. Among other seminal listens, I could also mention Dio, Virgin Steele, and Manilla Road.
I also greatly appreciate multi-faceted artists like Elton John, Jethro Tull, and contemporary authors like Joe Bonamassa or The Darkness.
If we wanted, just for fun, to name three of the albums that had a strong impact, I could mention "A Night At The Opera" by Queen, "Living On... Borrowed Time" by Diamond Head (as well as "Canterbury"), and "Denim And Leather" by Saxon. But if I thought of three albums tomorrow or any other day, the list would definitely be different, as there are so many classics that helped shape my idea of music. I also really like Irish Folk and its blends into rock and punk.
Elements that might seem distant on paper, but find a meeting point in your compositions. How do you manage to make these souls dialogue without one ending up prevailing over the others? Is it a blend that comes about spontaneously, or is it the result of a conscious process of research?
I would say it is a balance between both things; I never try to force the song into a direction that doesn't feel natural to me, and at the same time, I like it when a composition enjoys a broad breath, free from preconceived constraints.
Fate Is At My Side, The Past From Which I Ran, and finally Travelling are three titles that suggest a narrative and inner journey, as well as a musical one. But when you conceived this trilogy, did you already have an overall design in mind? And in what way does the final chapter gather, develop, or close the themes of the two previous works?
These albums were born at very different times in my life and are the inevitable fruit of the emotional state I was in at the time. The first album (released in 2023) was recorded between 2015 and 2017 and also includes tracks dating back to 2012/13; the compositions tend to be more urgent and direct, with few more reflective moments. The second album, recorded between 2018 and 2021 (and released in 2024), instead begins to show more melancholic moments and acoustic influences, despite some direct and energetic tracks still being noticeable. The latest album, Travelling, is much more immersed in progressive and introspective atmospheres and is the result of the last 4 years of work (along with the EP Into The Fall), and it also encapsulates a bit of the soul of the previous works. The more fantasy-oriented themes of Fate Is At My Side return in tracks like the opener "The Eye Of The Storm", while the Hard Rock influences of the second album reappear in the melodic "One Crazy Life", for example. The real novelty is the introduction of tracks like the title track or "Vanish", which bring a more layered and deep sound thanks to the introduction of psychedelic, progressive, and acoustic sounds.
Travelling immediately recalls the idea of a journey, but listening to the record, it comes naturally to think also of a path through memories, eras, and sonic suggestions. What is the most personal meaning you attribute to this title? Is it a real, imaginary, or above all a musical journey?
The title of the album encapsulates the very nature of this project and, as you rightly noticed, it is as much a musical journey as an inner one, a journey into imaginary worlds and forgotten eras. In fact, it is also a reflection on the relentless passage of time and the inevitable change of everything.
In your records, the attention to detail seems to extend well beyond the music. From composition to recordings, right down to the artwork, everything appears to be part of a single vision. How much time do you dedicate to making an album and which, among all the phases of the work, is the one that involves you the most and which one instead puts you in the greatest difficulty?
Normally, behind every album released so far, there are a few years of daily work because the songs reach their final shape in their own time, and since I make music mainly for myself, I have no urgency to release. I would say that the most relaxed phase is the creation of the artwork because it usually comes when the record is already in an advanced stage of completion, while the most demanding one is recording the guitars and vocals, because that is where the track can truly change its skin the most.
I would like to focus precisely on your passion for drawing and graphic design. Where does it come from? Is it something that has been with you since childhood, or is it a sensitivity you developed alongside music? And how much do these two forms of expression end up influencing each other?
In fact, it is a passion inherent in me since the first illustrated history books I read as a child, which then grew stronger over time thanks to my passion for 70s/80s rock and metal, which is historically deeply tied to fantasy imagery and great traditional illustrators (Derek Riggs and Rodney Matthews, to name two). I also really loved the works of Alan Lee and John Howe for Tolkien's books. Learning to draw, however, was a recent choice driven by the desire to challenge myself with something new and to independently create the artwork for my musical releases. Today, these two creative aspects coexist and mutually influence each other in a positive way.
By personally taking care of the graphic aspect of your work, you have the opportunity to build a visual identity consistent with your sound. When you create an album cover, do you start from an image you already have in mind, or do you let the music and its meanings suggest colors, atmospheres, and visual solutions to you? How important is it for you that an album is also perceived through its packaging?
The cover illustration of a song or an album is a fundamental part of the experience; the great masterpieces of the genre would not be the same without the strong imaginative impact of their covers. There is nothing better than falling in love with a record at the shop (or nowadays online) and putting it on while scrutinizing every detail of its cover, living every note immersed in a fantastic or otherwise highly imaginative world.
Sometimes, while writing a song, I already have a clear idea of the cover in mind (with the color palette and main subjects), while other times I create an illustration that I discover fits well with the atmosphere of a track, which then binds to it in a coherent way. For me, taking care of the graphic aspect of an album is absolutely fundamental; with all the love an artist puts into their music, it is important that the visual imagery and its graphic presentation receive equal care and attention.
In an era where music is consumed mainly through digital platforms and playlists, you chose to also produce physical copies of your albums. What value do you still attribute to the CD? Is it a matter of collecting, of respect for the traditional format, or the desire to deliver a complete work to the listener, in which music and graphics are inseparable?
I am a big fan of physical media and I think that a beautiful object to touch, flip through, and keep brings great joy, contributing to creating a strong connection and emotional investment. CDs, like vinyl records, are colorful and interesting objects that remind us how concrete the commitment behind every album we love truly was.
On your Bandcamp page, the CD copies are listed as sold out. Are these intentionally limited editions, or did demand exceed your expectations? Are your albums still available through other channels, shops, or distributors? Do you plan a reissue for those who couldn't purchase the first copies?
The first two albums are indeed sold out at the moment, and I think that in the coming year, I will manage to find the time to do a small reissue in jewel cases; the CD and vinyl copies of Travelling are still available. It would be really nice to see my music on the shelves of some specialized shops, but so far it has only happened with a couple of stores.
Considering the care and professionalism with which you create your work, have you ever wondered if the time has come to rely on a record label? Not necessarily to delegate artistic choices, but to achieve wider distribution, reach new listeners, and give greater visibility to Elle Tea. Or do you prefer to maintain total independence, even at the cost of having to personally manage every aspect of the project?
Currently, I am not particularly interested in collaborating with external labels, but I do not rule out that in the future, given the right agreement, the conditions for wider distribution could be met. The only collaboration so far was with Fucking Kill Records for the production of the vinyl records, and it turned out to be a pleasant experience. But it was more of an extemporaneous situation to have my music on vinyl, a truly fascinating format!
How difficult is it today for an independent musician to get their music to the right people? Are Bandcamp and social networks sufficient tools to build an audience, or do you miss that network of magazines, specialized shops, and enthusiasts that once supported more niche productions?
In my opinion, today it is infinitely easier for an independent musician like me to reach enthusiasts in the sector; of course, we are talking about an extreme niche, but there are still several ways to reach passionate people and make one's project known beyond the geographical boundaries of one's local area. In the past, there were certainly other methods to be heard, but everything from recording to pressing physical media was much more expensive, and it was possible thanks to a few highly specialized figures who worked mainly with record labels interested only in specific types of music (often heavily influencing the authors' artistic choices). Today, it is possible to have complete control over one's ideas and bring them to fruition in one's own time and with total freedom. For today's bands, this is a fantastic strength that contributes to bringing enthusiasm to the scene. The problem is that, numerically, the scene is very small as attention has mainly shifted to very heavy genres and much more modern sounds.
Your music, by design and sensitivity, seems to address old rockers like myself, but it could intrigue younger listeners looking for something different from contemporary productions. Are you interested in reaching a new generation of fans, or do you imagine your audience mostly among those who directly lived through that musical era?
Certainly, my musical proposal more easily meets the interest of a mature generation of fans who grew up with the great classics, which always pleases me a lot because it is also the music I grew up with and that gave me so much. At the same time, there is a niche of new fans looking for those true and dynamic sounds, who look to projects like mine to discover new songs and artists influenced by the music they love. In Germany, in particular, I had the good fortune to meet many of these new fans who love the classics and follow new artists with great interest. I would also like to mention two better-known bands that I consider close to my musical philosophy: "Phantom's Spell" and "Freeways."
Looking back at the journey made so far, do you feel you have reached a destination, or does this conclusion represent above all the chance to start fresh from new coordinates? Do you already have a musical direction in mind for the next chapter of Elle Tea, perhaps exploring territories you have only touched upon so far?
At the moment, I am working on the next album, which will have the same musical soul as the previous ones, with a few new features. The work is still in progress and it will take some time before discovering its final shape, but it will be the natural continuation of the project's creative path. What I am certain of is that the journey will continue with the same care and passion as always.
To conclude, I would like to return to the most intimate meaning of this project. In a musical world that seems to continuously demand speed, visibility, and immediate results, you chose to patiently build a personal universe, taking care of every single aspect. What does Elle Tea give back to you today that no other activity could provide? And if you had to imagine an ideal listener for Travelling, perhaps sitting in front of their stereo system with the CD in their hands, what feeling would you want them to be left with once the record is over?
This project is indeed my life, it is what every day and energy revolves around, and I could not conceive my time without it; it brings me great joy and makes me feel complete, focused, it helps me get out of bed and face daily challenges as well as difficult moments.
One way or another, it has shaped my life choices, every compromise, and every major decision.
I feel it is the way I can truly make the most of the time granted to me and honor life to the fullest.
I really wouldn't know, each of us can draw something different from listening to a record; personally, I hope that the great work and emotional investment behind these tracks can shine through and prompt the eventual listener to pause with patience and the desire to fully appreciate its nuances.
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