As Simon Bookish, he has made two albums for the London-based label Use Your Teeth and one for the German label TomLab:
- Unfair / Funfair (2006) - an abrasive and energetic sequence of songs whose subjects range from Euripides and Richard the Third to the invention of the Guillotine
- Trainwreck/Raincheck(2006) - a 'surreal electronic radio play' combining sound design and spoken word, concerning vibrant images of transportation.
- Everything/Everything - an album which blends experimental, classical and pop music through many scientific words, orchestral instrumentation and catchy melodies.
He has released singles on Tomlab and through Playlouder recordings, and has been asked to provide remixes for Franz Ferdinand, The Organ and Grizzly Bear. Leo is also credited with guest appearances on albums by Max de Wardener, Leafcutter John, Patrick Wolf and Saint Etienne.
Simon Bookish has presented over 50 solo performances since 2003. Venues have included the Whitechapel Art Gallery, Dover Street Market (comme des garcons store), Transition Film Lounge (Berlin), Nastyfest 2004 (Leeds), Capri Art Festival 2004, the Redgate Gallery, the Africa Centre, and the Vortex Jazz Club. His music has been broadcast on BBC Radio One and XFM, and he has presented shows on London's Resonance FM.
Leo was a member of the folk/experimental musician Leafcutter John's live band (as a vocalist). Performances in 2005/6 have included shows in Aarhus (Denmark), Berlin, Poland and Geneva.
John and Leo, together with Seb Rochford (drummer with jazz ensemble Polar Bear) and Mandy Drummond have also performed a live improvised set for BBC Radio Three's innovative show "Mixing it". (July 2006).
In 2001, he was a member of the 'Sound City' ensemble, which presented new work by director Heiner Goebbels as part of LIFT'01 at the Almeida Theatre.
He has also presented one-off performances and exhibitions, such as "MOISTURE and FUNERAL" (a spoken word and computer projection piece commissioned by the TwoSee Boutique, 2006), "Simon Bookish and C Loopseend present Fear of Music" (a deconstruction of the work of Talking Heads at Limehouse Town Hall, 2004) and contributed a piece to the sound art show "Off The Record" (Musique d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, 2004).
Invasion
Simon Bookish Lyrics
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When the alien spaceships arrived, no one seemed especially surprised, although the crowd did coo with some admiration at the massiveness of the vessels and the gracefulness with which they arced gently and exceedingly swiftly in and out of the atmosphere. They swung across the skyline as if suspended on strings, 'Devil amongst the tailors', two at a time, maybe eight in all, each one gleaming chrome, insect-shaped, miles across and utterly silent.
This fly-by was following by a sort of ceremonial landing/invasion. As the final ship slowly descended, it's angular edges allowed it to land flush against the surrounding skyscrapers, like the final piece of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.
The walls of the spaceship then concertinaed out magnificently, forming an instant chrome railway line on which the aliens trundled out in a little wooden tram.
This anticlimactic entrance, coupled with the alien's unexpectedly cliched appearance caused the crowd to erupt into cruel, mocking laughter.
The lyrics to Simon Bookish's song "Invasion" depict an alien invasion of a city, possibly Berlin or a city in the north of England. The arrival of the alien spaceships is treated with a sense of familiarity and lack of surprise by the people in the city. The spaceships are described as massive and graceful, with a shiny, insect-like appearance. The ships swing across the skyline, almost as if they are being suspended on strings. In total, eight ships are seen, each one miles across and completely silent.
The second half of the song describes a ceremonial landing of the final spaceship. The ship lands against the surrounding skyscrapers, completing a "gigantic jigsaw puzzle". The walls of the spaceship transform into a chrome railway line, and aliens with spindly, grey anthropomorphic bodies and bald, egg-shaped heads emerge in a little wooden tram. The appearance of the aliens is described as unexpectedly cliched, causing the crowd to erupt into cruel and mocking laughter.
The song appears to explore the theme of the mundane meeting the extraordinary, with the alien invasion being met with little surprise from the residents of the city. The mocking laughter at the end of the song emphasizes humanity's tendency to ridicule the unfamiliar, even when faced with the awe-inspiring phenomenon of an extraterrestrial invasion.
Line by Line Meaning
So, it could have been Berlin, I suppose, or perhaps a large city in the North of England.
The location of the events is uncertain, but it had a familiar greyness.
When the alien spaceships arrived, no one seemed especially surprised, although the crowd did coo with some admiration at the massiveness of the vessels and the gracefulness with which they arced gently and exceedingly swiftly in and out of the atmosphere.
The spaceships' arrival was expected, but the crowd was in awe of their size and speed.
They swung across the skyline as if suspended on strings, 'Devil amongst the tailors', two at a time, maybe eight in all, each one gleaming chrome, insect-shaped, miles across and utterly silent.
The spaceships flew gracefully across the sky like puppets, beautiful and silent, and resembled shiny, massive insects.
This fly-by was following by a sort of ceremonial landing/invasion.
After the fly-by, the spaceships landed in a ceremonial invasion.
As the final ship slowly descended, it's angular edges allowed it to land flush against the surrounding skyscrapers, like the final piece of a gigantic jigsaw puzzle.
The last spaceship fit perfectly between the skyscrapers, completing the puzzle-like formation on the ground.
The walls of the spaceship then concertinaed out magnificently, forming an instant chrome railway line on which the aliens trundled out in a little wooden tram.
The spaceships opened to create a chrome railway line where aliens, with spindly grey bodies and big, bald egg-heads, boarded a little wooden tram.
...spindly grey anthropomorphic bodies, big, bald egg-heads, beady eyes, disgruntled, puckered little mouths...
The aliens had skinny, human-like bodies with big, bald heads and small mouths, and looked annoyed and unimpressive.
This anticlimactic entrance, coupled with the alien's unexpectedly cliched appearance caused the crowd to erupt into cruel, mocking laughter.
The aliens' appearance and entrance were disappointing, and the crowd responded by cruelly mocking them.
Contributed by Adam V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.