Leah Tolksdorf on the Reading scene, favourite gig venues, dream support acts, and UK exposure.

Meet Reading's very own Leah Tolksdorf as we talk about the music scene in both Southampton and Reading, favourite venues to have performed in, the lack of exposure for artists across the UK, and of course, the artists she would love to go on tour with. A huge thank you to Leah for her time in talking with us, a very talented artist on the rise in the UK female R&B scene. Be sure to go over to her page @leahtolksdorfmusic to keep up with all of her latest work and live event information.

Hey Leah, please can you give an introduction on who you are for anyone who isn't yet aware of your talents?

Hello, so my name is Leah Tolksdorf, I am a Lofi, R&B, kind of pop, singer songwriter. I am based in Reading, I studied in Southampton, so I kind of have a base there as well. I'm kind of known for being very honest with my lyrics, I'm very much a storyteller, I sing about situations that have happened to me.

A whole lot of respect, how did you get into music?

I know a lot of artists say this but honestly, I grew up always having in an interest in music, my parents and my family are quite musical. It was only when I was in college and writing music about boys, and music that I resonate with, that's when I knew I could actually do it because I was so bad at everything else, music's really been the only thing going for me.

For sure, who were you listening to growing up?

I used to listen to like really slow, depressing music, like Birdie, Lauren Aquilina, really random people with slow vibes, that was when I was finding my own music that I wanted to listen to, and then I got into more rap stuff and then I got into R&B.

What's the dream for you musically?

Honestly, the dream for me is to be able to do music full time and get paid to do what I love, do you know what I mean? Musically, I would love to have my own tour one day, the performing side of the music industry is inspiring. That's where I want to be, and just having a really solid brand that people really rate.

What more could you want! Do you think the UK music scene is missing anything at the moment?

I think the music scene in the UK is actually really inspiring, there's a lot of varied artists, I just think there's not enough exposure, especially for the people that are rising and doing their thing independently, I don't think there's anything missing just some more light on us.

What can we see from you next?

This year coming is very short term in terms of my plans, I've just focused more on the live music side of things, I've just fallen in love with gigging and putting on a show, I just think it's so much fun so that's my main focus at the moment. I've got a few singles that are in the works, I'm very excited about them and I've got a good feeling.

Have you got a favourite place to gig right now?

I've done a lot of gigs in Southampton but I'm more moving into the Reading scene. My favourite place to gig right now, I really like the show I did at The Loft, that's in Southampton, but I really like the scene in Reading because I feel like it's so unestablished and there's so much talent that is very inspiring. I feel like there's a lot more room for me in Reading but in Southampton there's a lot more rock music vibes.

I would love to support someone like Joy Crookes or Mahalia, obviously Jorja Smith would be a dream, anyone that's straight female R&B vibes, someone like Big Pig. I think in a dream world, Mahalia would be my first choice.

When writing your own songs, which parts are the hardest and which are the easiest?

This is quite a difficult question because I feel like every song is written with a different process, but when I'm writing it will start off as a freestyle, so in terms of the easiest part is when I'm on a roll but the hardest part is not being able to get into that head space or express the emotion of the story I'm trying to put across, it normally just starts of as me just freestyling and then I find an idea I really like and work on it.

Do you have any advice for someone looking to start music?

My advice to someone starting music would be, know your vision, stick to your vision, and work with as many people as you can because I think that's what's taught me a lot. You learn from peoples mistakes, you can always create something better with more people if you're all on the same level, I just think, you know what you want, go and get it.

Do you have anyone you would like to shout out?

I'd love to shout out so many people but the main people that come to mind are Leo Waves, Cr4gg, Archie, he's a producer and so lowkey but so sick at what he does, I've got some new stuff coming out with him. Other artists that are killing it in the game are, Lost Kid the producer, everyone in the band, you've got Dom on keys, Max on drums, James on base, Stephen on guitar, I work with so many creative people.

Thank you so much for your time, keep smashing it!