Leo Abrahams
I’ve known Leo for a long time. I was trying to put a band together back in 2004 to play my record Angels In Drag at a show in Belfast, and every time I asked people who should play lead guitar, I heard the same thing, “Oh, you’ve got to get Leo,” “Have you asked Leo?” Eventually I just threw my hands up and said, “Who is this fucking Leo?” Turned out he was just one of the most beautiful human beings you could ever hope to meet as well as a ridiculously talented musician. When he set up his guitar gear in my studio in Wapping for the first rehearsal, he started to play and the sound came out was the sound I had always dreamed of but could never achieve. Quite a bizarre experience. It was like finding the missing spiritual half of my being.
We’ve been great friends and collaborators ever since. It was lovely to get the chance to redo the site after building his previous one back in 2014. I felt a clean and simple refresh was what was needed – lots of white space, just letting the artwork from the countless albums he has played on say what needs to be said.
He’s also got a great eye for photos so it was nice to give them a chance to be seen.
Leo works out of his own wonderful studio in north-east London, The Shelter. We built a page to showcase the delights of the place and convey its peaceful feel. I co-produced Sanju by the phenomenal Anglo-Irish trad band Flook, and we recorded it there in November 2024. It’s a lovely place to work and just be. You don’t ever want to leave.
