Leanne Brookes

The Doublecross featuring Leanne Jay Brookes - Gravel & Grain Live

A familiar place, a change of heart.  I'm free to be me, free of you.  You've been given too much credit, but I can't deny the effects you've had. 

Not because you're kind or loyal, Not because you're a stallion, because you're like the dregs of heroin left in the bag that I inject with a dirty needle. 

A change of scene, the breeze is new.  I'm free of your rot, free to be me.  Six months I lost my fucking mind. Not talking to my love, I turned to you in kind. 

Not because you're kind or loyal, Not because you're a stallion. Because you're like the dregs of heroin left in the bag that I inject with a dirty needle. 

M U K T H I 

I N S P I R E 

I discovered Prop Dylan earlier this year while streaming a DJ Premier mix on Spotify. I remember really digging 'Shock & Amaze', the song which Preemo produced. It was when '20th Hour' came on though that I really stopped and listened. It was one of those moments where you have to stop what you are doing and open your ears (at this moment in time, it happened to be cleaning the kitchen floor.) I repeated it a few times and decided to go and stream the whole album, 'The Cardinal Sin' which it was a part of. I instantly fell in love. My ignorance had me assuming that Prop Dylan was American but after a little Google research, I discovered that he is actually Swedish. I don't know why, but this made me even more intrigued. I had all of these questions in my head that I needed to be answered the more I listened to him.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find as much on the internet as I would have liked. I suppose in a way, we are now living in a society where we need to know everything about everyone, especially artists that we like. It gives a bigger picture, an image, an idea of their roots, influences and future.  I love to know people's stories. I find peoples life maps so interesting. 

I was moaning to my husband about how I needed to know more. I'm sure his reply was something along the lines of, "Just listen to his music, that's all you need to know" - Ok, he had a point but as usual, his logical point wasn't good enough for me. No, I wanted to ask Prop Dylan the questions that were on my mind. By this point I had bought 'The Cardinal Sin', 'A Garbage Pail Kid' and 'Crossing the Bridge' and pretty much had the three albums on shuffle every time I got in my car and turned the volume up to the max. There is something a bit soul destroying about being a creative person and having to drive to work to sit at a desk all day and work for someone else. I found that playing 'The Cardinal Sin, Pt 2' really did put a smile on my face and put me in a good mood.  I figured, if I email him or his manager and ask for an interview, where is the harm? I had a possible outlet for it on the web and had interviewed some bands in the past, as well as one of my heroes, Henry Rollins. I reached out to his contact email and his manager Mark Berryman was kind enough to get back to me pretty swiftly and it came to be that Prop was interested and agreed to an email interview.  I was a little bit nervous because I'm not an authority on hip-hop music at all. I just fucking love music, especially music which has depth, meaning, messages and intelligent lyrics. Perhaps this stems from growing up listening to metal and punk. It's probably also because I'm a vocalist and feel like if the lyrics don't mean something, I can't feel it and I can't sing it. I suppose for this reason, hip-hop is a genre that I need to explore even more. When I think about how many great hip-hop records are out there waiting for me, it gets me pretty excited for a treasure hunt. So anyway, the possible website which I was going to submit the interview too just wasn't good enough in my eyes and it would have been an absolute waste. Eventually, after a couple of recommendations from friends, I asked Wordplay Magazine if they would be interested and they most definitely were. I was pretty damn happy about that. They have a great reputation and product.  So, the interview is now out there and you can view it here

You’re a distraction A lie A solo vulture picking off my feathers one vile line after the next.

You’re a flash in the pan A cheap thrill A reinforcement of what I should already know.

I don’t have a reason I don’t have a clue You’re a minor key A crease in my cloth.

Your mouth is for rent Needy, not needed You tuck it, push it, fuck it.

You’re an easy target Weak flesh and bone A figment of your own imagination.

You need me to feel valid, I need you to feel alive.