Montreal singer-songwriter and folk artist Leif Vollebekk is heading to the UK for his biggest live shows to date.

He'll be performing at Islington Assembly Hall on April 3 which also includes a set from Gregory Alan Isakov.

The multi-instrumentalist will showcase his debut album and recently released follow-up 'Twin Solitude' which explores death and heartbreak in a starkly honest way.

His second record meant he was faced with the 'difficult second album' which is somewhat of a cliché now when talking to artists about their writing and recording process.

Leif tells us: "I tried to keep things simple and not second guess things. If it felt good, it was going to be on the record.

"That was the criteria. I also decided to spend the first day of recording working only on the sounds. Once the drums, piano, bass, guitars and Wurlitzer sounded just right, then we went home. We came in the next day and just played, knowing it was then just about playing music."

This change in the album's development comes from a need to control, which is the case for many artists during the creation part.

As Leif says: "I used to try very hard to make records and found the process stressful. I realized I needed to remove the obstacles that made it that way. I was one of those obstacles."

He also prefers an authentic recording experience, choosing to perform the track in one take with a live band and no rehearsal to give the finished piece an infectious imperfection.

But he says this helps: "You grow to love their flaws just as much as their strengths, like anything or anyone you truly love, really."

The record was introduced to listeners with the first release 'Elegy', a melancholic song which taps into growing apart from a lover as life goes on.

He tells us his inspiration this time around was from a biography, entitled 'The Voice Is All' on writer Jack Kerouac, also a French-Canadian wanderer who fell in love with English-America and was, "in the scene, but not of it."

He adds: "I really connected to that. His friends called him 'Memory Babe' - he could recall details of something that happened years prior.

"I thought that was just beautiful. It really seemed to tune up my heart. Things like that really influence a record."

Similarly, this ability to recall a memory or a minute detail is something Leif did during the album's creation - whether it was intentional or not.

As he puts it: "There were many songs that came to me the way I'd only heard about in songwriting lore.

"Almost like they were written by someone else, out of nowhere."

He name checks penultimate track 'Telluride' as part of this saying: "I had no expectation of that song, but when we played that day, it just felt so light.

"It felt so free. I'd never felt that way about a song before. And whenever I play it live, it feels the same way. For me, it's the sound of letting go of everything"

On what tracks he is particularly looking forward to showcasing on these lives dates he says: "It seems to change every night.

"'Michigan' was a song I almost left off the record and then a few people started telling me how much they liked it and I started to hear things in it I hadn't before.

"But 'Vancouver Time' seems to have its own little thing, it loves to wander that one."

'For me the best part is to have a person's life connect to mine'

Leif's tracks also have a way of wandering into people's consciousness, a quick look at YouTube comments show how well his music has connected with listeners.

However he tells us he tends to avoid any Internet comments - good or bad: "Sometimes I hear about a song finding its way into someone's life in a totally unexpected way but for me the best part is to have this person's life connect to mine.

"It's a very strange, beautiful feeling."

This upcoming tour is also stopping off in the likes of Manchester, Nottingham and Edinburgh as well as London.

It will be his biggest tour this side of the Atlantic to date and it kicks off in Brighton on March 25.

On performing in the UK Leif says: "Every place has its own way of listening to live music.

"And I find that people here don't beat around the bush. If they don't like you, they'll tell you. But if they say they like it, you believe them. It's quite honest like that.

Plus there's one other thing he enjoys in the UK: "And, I love your bacon sarnies."

Leif Vollebekk is performing at Islington Assembly Hall on Monday April 3 and tickets are priced at £19.25 on AltTickets and Ticketweb .

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