Album Notes

Was It Blue?, an adventurous new CD created by progressive pop artist Leslie Berry, incorporates elements of electronica into Leslie's unique brand of piano-pop.

Ranging from ambient to pop to classical to electronica to Celtic, the songs on Was It Blue? are all connected thematically and share a reflective but melancholy mood. Atlanta's Creative Loafing describes Leslie's music as simmering with "understated unrest." Indie-Music.com calls her music "piano-driven pop storytelling led by a vocal that is delicate and magical, dancing over notes like a ballerina, blending harmonies that are positively ethereal."

"Writing the songs on Was It Blue? was a cathartic experience for me," Leslie says, "and a diversion from much of my previous work. After years of performing in mostly acoustic settings, I decided to create a CD that was entirely electronic and keyboard-based. These songs are also very personal and honest and so I feel a strong connection to them." Leslie also includes "Boys of Kilkenny," an arrangement of an Irish traditional song that she originally recorded for the Converse College Dance Ensemble. In "Chopin Interlude," Leslie includes excerpts of the "Ballade in F minor" by Frederic Chopin, recorded by Leslie during her senior year of college. The piece takes on a new life as she adds ambient sounds to create a spacy effect.

Originally from the metro Atlanta area, Leslie has been playing and singing in ensembles for over twnty years. She holds a degree in music performance and has appeared with symphony orchestras, the Spartanburg Repertory Company, Theatre Converse, and at the Brevard Music Center. Training to be a concert pianist, it wasn't until after graduating college that Leslie's love for pop music convinced her to change her direction and begin writing her own songs. Leslie's original songs and those of songwriting partner and producer David Berry are characterized by "layers and textures in both the music and the meaning of the songs," according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.