Leon Vynehall

British producer, composer, and DJ Leon Vynehall first became known for his house releases, but has never felt confined to the genre, producing work inspired by ambient, jazz, and experimental music in addition to club tracks. Releases such as 2014′s Music for the Uninvited and 2016′s Rojus (Designed to Dance) contain bright, melodic tracks that pay reverence to the foundations of house and garage while staying in step with the underground dance music scene. Following these lengthy EPs, he branched out with his ambitious debut album, 2018′s Nothing Is Still, an ode to his family that nodded to minimalism and contemporary classical music. 2021′s Rare, Forever was a return to the dancefloor, having more in common with left-field U.K. bass music than vintage house. Between production albums, Vynehall has contributed to the DJ-Kicks and Fabric Presents series of DJ mixes.
Vynehall got his start as a musician by playing drums and piano, eventually taking up synthesizer. He started releasing house tracks in 2012, beginning with the EPs Mauve (on Well Rounded Housing Project) and Gold Language (on ManMakeMusic). He started Laszlo Dancehall, a duo with Christian Piers (A1 Bassline) in 2013, and the project released three 12″s on ManMakeMusic. Vynehall released three solo 12″s in 2013: Brother/Sister on Aus Music, Open EP on Martyn’s 3024 label, and Rosalind on Well Rounded Housing Project. 2014 was Vynehall’s biggest year yet, highlighted by the release of the mini-album Music for the Uninvited on 3024. The ambitious seven-track set featured joyous, nostalgic club tracks and downtempo interludes, and was widely praised by the dance music press, landing on several publications’ year-end album lists. The single “Butterflies,” released the same year on Royal Oak, was also a success.
In 2015, Vynehall contributed “Midnight on Rainbow Road” to Rush Hour’s ambient house compilation Musik for Autobahns 2 (Ambient Race Car Music). A 12” of the track, including a beat-driven edit, was released by the label early in 2016. Vynehall’s second mini-album, Rojus (Designed to Dance), appeared on Running Back in April 2016. In addition to his club-oriented releases, Vynehall had been working on his debut full-length album, Nothing Is Still, since 2014. The record focused on minimalism and atmosphere to tell the story of his grandparents and their time spent living in America. Ninja Tune released the album in 2018. The following year, Vynehall mixed an installment of !K7′s long-running DJ-Kicks series, spanning a wide range of tempos and genres, including soul, industrial, IDM, and ambient. After his reflective, personal history-inspired debut, Vynehall’s second full-length album, 2021′s Rare Forever, focused on his present self, combining his ability to fill dancefloors with his ability to craft pensive, ambient pieces. Tapped by the label offshoot of London club Fabric, Vynehall then put together a volume of the Fabric Presents series, released in 2022 with numerous exclusives in the mix. ~ Paul Simpson