Leni Ward

A trained poet, Leni grew up in an almost totally music-free home. On finding an abandoned practice room in the bowels of her high school, Leni taught herself to play the piano in free periods and lunch breaks and an obsession began. When, at university, she found herself without a piano, Leni picked up an acoustic guitar and within six months was being booked to appear at venues around the country. Leni now plays numerous instruments and her recorded work is made in her own studio, on which she is the sole writer, performer, recording engineer and producer.

Leni's early recordings met with good support from key figures at radio. Invited to perform at Tom Robinson's first Fresh On The Net session at Riverside Studios and featured on Steve Lamacq's Radio 2 show, Leni was later booked to perform on the inaugural BBC Introducing stage at last year's T In The Park.

In her live performances, Leni didn't want to be another solo artist with a guitar. Instead, she made use of her multi-instrumental talents and her technical knowledge to create an unusual stage show. She recreates the fuller sound of her recorded work very closely, playing two keyboards simultaneously and triggering samples and effects with her feet. This has earned her a dedicated fanbase at gigs and always draws attention.

In keeping with her "one woman band" attitude, Leni set herself up as a "one woman industry". From her earliest recordings, Leni singlehandedly took control of all other aspects of making a career in music, from artwork design and setting up distribution right down to coding the website and even taking her own promotional photographs.

For her latest material, Leni has developed a new system. Realising that there were many other talented creative young people trying to break into their respective fields, she decided to tap into that resource. Tracked down via the internet and word of mouth, Leni now has a team of photographers, film makers, costume designers and more working with her on her new material, a sort of artistic community for the 21st century. "I learned that it's not always about how much money you have but what other things you can offer. Creative people want the freedom to create and want to be recognised for their talents. I work hard to support them in the projects we embark upon together and offer strong cross promotion, and they get high quality work for their showreels and additional exposure. The results are beyond anything I could have come up with alone and just go to show what you can achieve with hard work and the bravery to ask." Leni remains the only person working on her music, other than her mixing and mastering engineers, and continues to do a vast deal of work herself, right down to making costumes and painting sets.

This coincides with a new approach to songwriting. Upcoming album, "Hope", was inspired by a the breakdown of Leni's seven year relationship with her partner. Rather than retreating, she used the impetus of the breakup to push herself forwards, creating an album which focuses on joy and new-found freedom.

The first single from "Hope", "Opening Doors", was released on August 2nd 2010 to critical acclaim. Second single, "I Want My Heart Back" will appear on November 1st 2010 followed by the full length album, "Hope", on November 15th.