What is a creation? This question is the reason music is constantly moving and evolving, constantly challenging itself to reach places beyond the realm of the conscience and allowing humans to explore the introvert and extrovert elements of our own existence. Italian musician LEON has created an album that strives to access the unfathomable reaches of the mind with a conviction of excursive creativity. ‘In My Factory’ is an album that is both a tentative approach and vast exploration of the nuanced components of electronic music. His production career has been highlighted with satisfying house tracks such as ‘Like This, Like That’ and ‘Body Monster’, which both confirm the power of his talent but this album strives to induce more than admiration of his technical prowess.

Born in Teramo near Italian capital Rome, LEON has been connected to the electronic music world for over 10 years. He recognises his early dance music influences Todd Terry, Danny Tenaglia and Laurent Garnier as spiritual guides for his own sound but his progression is rooted in a deep understanding of the music he composes. Consistently DJing across his homeland had established his reputation but his emergence as a producer in 2009 raised his profile to international status and since then he has played in some of the elite clubs across the globe (Ministry of Sound London, Zouk Singapore, Pasha and Cielo in New York). This album released on Steve Lawler’s universally respected VIVa Music label is the culmination of talent, experience, conviction and imagination.

Its opening track ‘My Dreams’ appears like a phantasm and it is apparent that the album will not contain a series of disparate tracks content to exist within a closed sphere of sound but instead form a cohesive project whereby each fragment compliments the communication of the artist’s expansive vision. LEON has enlisted various collaborative artists including Andre Butano, Lara Martelli, Coni, Stephano Testa, Mazu and Underground favourite Toky. The collaboration with a wide range of musical talent shows LEON’s ability to mould music to the benefit of those he is working with.

‘My Breath’ is a prime example of the music harmonising the vocal. Lara Martelli has a searing and lucid voice that has a feather light intonation, soaring and gliding alongside a crestfallen minimalistic house backdrop. This track has shades of Massive Attack yet maintains its own character and potency. ‘Follow Me’ featuring Toky uses its vocal in complete contrast to ‘My Breath’ by keeping the expression focussed on the uplifting glistening melody and bass line that creates an aura of rapture while the vocal binds the song together.

This album manages to offer more than thoughtful introspective lo-fi beats, starting with the midnight samba beats of title track ‘In My Factory’. Full of clacking percussion, tuneful whistles and ethereal chants, this track acts as a bridge to the drenched in funk ‘Seventies In My Memories’ featuring Mazu, which is proves to be a nimble and refreshing aside to the deeper attitude of the album. The first single release ‘Supersonic’ could be used to define its entire attitude. A blistering deep house number with chattering vocal inserts, plunging epochal bass line, taut hi-hat arrangement and rushing synths that lead to an exalted saxophone breakdown designate this track as the pinnacle of LEON’s creative production. ‘In My Factory’ is not merely a journey but a pilgrimage to the heart of deep dark house while LEON acts as your spiritual guide, leading you to dance music’s equivalent of utopia.