Alpha Leonis is the ambitious solo project of Atticus Reynard, a California transplant living Portland, Oregon.
Born in the Gregorian year of 1981 A.D., the name 'Atticus' comes from the Harper Lee novel To Kill a Mockingbird, after a character whose principles and moral values held steadfastly when confronted by some of the worst traits of human nature. It is through this example that Atticus describes the essence of Alpha Leonis -- as a tool for thoroughly examining and understanding an existence bound to the limitations of the physical world and era in which we subsist, and the complex relationships we enter as a result.
Entirely self-taught as a musician, and without any knowledge of even basic musical notation, Atticus professes ignorance to even the most elementary concepts of music theory and relies solely on intuition and pattern recognition to produce organized dissonance that some humans consider melodious. This quasi-reluctance to develop a structured knowledge of the art may be, at least in part, due his musical upbringing, or more accurately, complete lack thereof. Never having been forced to take piano lessons as a child, and realizing that the kazoo had been his only introduction into musical performance up until that point, Atticus decided to buy himself a high school graduation gift in the form of an electric guitar in the summer of 1999. Enabled by the rapidly expanding world of the internet, he taught himself to play whatever music inspired him, encouraged to regularly practice as a form of procrastination to escape the rigors of college life.
Shortly after graduating from college in Santa Barbara with a degree in Geography, Atticus took to recording music as a part time hobby between a wide assortment of temporary jobs, internships, physical pursuits, mental challenges and world travel, but always with the ultimate intent of someday self-releasing an album. Atticus does not view himself as a musician per se, a contention with which many would undoubtedly agree, but a student of the world in every aspect imaginable.
Shadows of Men will be the first full-length Alpha Leonis release, and the first Alpha Leonis release of any kind with the intent of reaching a mass audience. Shadows of Men is a concept album of sorts, unified by thematic and compositional elements and does not necessarily represent the future of Alpha Leonis, but rather a present approach to composition.
All music on the album was written, recorded and performed by Atticus intermittently over the course of several years in various locations including the Californian cities of Santa Barbara and Rancho Cucamonga as well as in Portland, Oregon. The album represents a small proportion of Atticus' experimentation with sound, more of which may be released in the near future if circumstance allows the opportunity.
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