Stefano Lentini & Leléka Release A Vast and Atmospheric EP
- R.A.G.
- 8 minutes ago
- 5 min read
A breathtaking new EP release from Stefano Lentini & Leleka brings together elements of classical music, baroque pop, cinematic underbelly, and an almost alternative approach at times, creating something that really immerses you and surrounds you with these lush and emotionally backed soundscapes.
This is an EP that brings together such incredible elements to build something unique but without exactly reinventing the wheel.
The EP is called Anima Mundi, and it starts off with the track called "First Steps", which features piano, strings and instruments like keys that have a decimation or distortion effect on them. The vocals on this track are flowing and beautifully done, elegant, and dreamy. The way that they incorporate some of this distorted edginess on some of the instrumentation is brilliant because that's what leans it into the alternative playing field.
It's sound sculpting. I think that's part of what this record is about. Taking classical music approaches and making things feel robust and orchestrated, but also blending in elements of production that showcase their ability to sculpt sound and bring an edginess to the undertone of everything.
It's a brilliant combination, and once you get into this first song, there's no going back. This record is an atmospheric Escape that wraps you up in its aesthetic, and once you're there, you don't want to leave.
The vocals become very boisterous towards the end with big harmonies that feel culturally diverse, like an African choir, bringing out different vastness and tonality, creating a depth and intensity that the song builds up to.
This track is followed by "Forget It", which introduces itself with an almost rambunctious classical piano approach and gorgeous vocals. This one you sort of get swept up in. It's a bit of a slow burn, but it's meant to be that way.
It's during this song that you start to feel the theatrical presence of the production and how it can create visuals in your head as songs unfold.
You also have classical guitar in the mix and the textures between the piano, classical guitar, but it's nylon strings, and vocals, is impressive. It is very engulfing and can really swallow you up.
It's the third and final track of the release that really displays all of those elements in one.
"The River" brings out those glorious vocal harmonies, creating waves of intensity as the song plays through, live heavy-handed percussion adding an edginess, it's got guitars, piano, and really brings forth an arrangement that lets it feel alive and breathing.
There are all kinds of calm-before-the-storm moments, and the EP as a whole displays this as well, but this track, in particular, fixes on that.
This EP is one that you listen to all the way through, and in one shot. This is how you're able to really take in all of these textures and tones, layers, and emotion that it actually delivers.
As I do with most records of this nature, I would also suggest listening to this with headphones on so you are fully engulfed in its sound.
This was quite a brilliant release and one that feels experimental, but not in a way that's overdone. It's tasteful, again very elegant, and lets you get washed away with it.
Upon listening to the record, I wanted to have a chat with Stefano Lentini to find out how this all came to be, and what inspired it.
So, while you check out the EP, read the interview below.
Definitely don't miss out on this one, though.
Thanks so much for taking the time! Let's jump right into the Anima Mundi EP! This record had such lush soundscapes and vast undertones! Where did this song come from and what was it about? Is this a concept record?
It really started with a thought I couldn't shake, and from there it grew into a wider concept for the record. The thought was simple: we don't inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children. That idea carries a certain quiet weight. From there, the record began to take shape around what gets passed on from one generation to the next, what gets shaped, what gets lost, and what can slowly become a form of control. Children are shaped by the world around them, and sometimes manipulated by it. Every culture tries to hand something of itself forward, and that impulse is both beautiful and dangerous. The record doesn't ask for a final answer. It simply asks you to sit honestly with the discomfort.
I am hearing a few different styles on this single. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
The names that have shaped me most don't always show up in obvious ways — but they're always there, somewhere underneath. Chopin, Morricone, Jan Garbarek, The Mars Volta, The Alan Parsons Project, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi. Strange company, maybe. But it makes complete sense to me.
Are you performing live right now?
Viktoria is deep in Eurovision preparations right now, so the live side of things is still taking shape — but it's coming. We're figuring out how to bring this music into a room full of people, and that's a challenge we're excited about.
How did your journey as a group start?
I happened to hear Viktoria on the radio with her folk-jazz band, and her voice stopped me. There is something timeless about it, like it belongs to no particular era. I had been working on this project for a while and felt I was still missing one essential piece. When I heard her, I understood what that piece was. So I reached out to her and told her about the project.
Did you work with a producer on this album, or was this all you guys?
I produced the record myself, from composition and arrangement through to recording and mixing. But I also brought in other musicians, along with a choir and a symphony orchestra. So yes, it was something we built ourselves, but it grew through the contribution of some remarkable people. It was a collective act in the best sense.
What's next for you? Working on more new releases?
Absolutely. I'm already working on something new — something I've never done before. It's still too early to say more, but the direction excites me in a way that's hard to explain just yet.
What kind of advice would you give to other up and coming bands or artists trying to get heard?
Honestly, I'd be suspicious of anyone — including me — who sounds too certain about how this works. The people worth listening to are usually the ones who leave room for doubt, for complexity, for the unexpected. Trust your instincts. No one really knows how the mystery of music works, and that's probably exactly the point.
What would you say people can expect to hear on this track?
Something deeply personal — a way of shaping depth, colour, and space on our own terms, without feeling bound by someone else's idea of what it should sound like. It doesn't sound like anything we made trying to fit in. It sounds like us.
Before we go, what would you want to express to fans of the music?
The words people have shared with us have gone far beyond anything we expected — and they've made us ask ourselves whether this music would even exist without the people who listen to it. I think it wouldn't. Music is never entirely ours. We only borrow it for a while.
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