Leeds: Building a Legacy From the Golden Fields of Sheffield
- STAFF
- Jun 16
- 9 min read
By: Staff
In a world chasing algorithms and quick hits, Leeds is chasing something different, the truth. With their new album Golden Fields of Sheffield, the Yorkshire-based band invites listeners into a dreamscape of raw emotion, textured sound, and unapologetic honesty. In this exclusive interview, they open up about legacy, creativity, and why writing on paper still matters.
A Visionary New Release From the Heart of Yorkshire
There’s a certain kind of magic that only happens when instinct, fate, and artistry collide. Somewhere between the rainy hills of Haworth and the golden haze of imagination, a band quietly began building a sonic world that feels both cinematic and deeply personal. Their latest creation, an album whispered into existence over late-night jam sessions and handwritten lyrics on notebook paper, is finally here.
Blending raw emotion with soul-soaked influences, this release doesn’t just follow in the footsteps of legends, it stares tradition in the face and walks boldly in its own direction. A surreal dream, a keyboard riff in a rain-soaked room and more played a part. The result? A musical moment as unpredictable as it is unforgettable.
This is Golden Fields of Sheffield, and it’s more than an album, it’s a declaration.
We caught up with the band to talk about how it all came together, what it means to shape a legacy, and why this may be just the beginning of something massive.
Read on for the full interview.
Begin Interview:
Hello Leeds, we’re thrilled to have you here for this interview! We've had an amazing time exploring your music and diving into your creative journey. Now, we’re even more intrigued to get a deeper look into both your brand and your personal and professional inspirations.
Q. Let’s start with the basics — can you introduce us to the members of Leeds and what each of you brings to the table musically?
A: Robert:Ian Breadwater is the rhythm guitarist and lead producer, Sebastian D&Lyon is the bassist , Andrew Knight is the drummer, and I am the lead guitarist.
Ian: We all sing and write songs, who writes sings.
Q. The name Leeds is short, bold, and definitely memorable. How did you land on it, and what made it feel like the perfect fit for the band?
A: Robert: One day we were brainstorming and were selecting some names but we weren't convinced, until Ian came up with the idea of Leeds, short, simple and easy to remember it seemed perfect for us since Leeds is a city that we love
Ian: We were walking to nowhere, i remember i thought "it needs to be easy to remember" and i just came out.
Sebastian: Yeah, Leeds fit just like something meant for us
Q. So how did Leeds come to life? Walk us through how you all met and what made you say, “Yeah, let’s actually do this.”
A: Andrew:One day Robert and Sebastian were at Ian's house playing their respective instruments trying to play one of Ian's songs, i was in a band with Sebastian before "Leeds", called "Death Garden" were we met Ian beacuse he wanted to be int band, so Sebastian called me, he was like "Ey Up, i got a new band and we got something happening in here".
Q. How would you describe the kind of music you make? Do you stay in one lane genre-wise, or do you like to mix things up and pull from different styles?
A: Ian: I don´t really think that we want to fill an space and call it genre, it´s not our way to work, i really believe we are in a different point of music´s history were the genres no longer matter, we just really play what we feel in the moment.
Robert:I wouldn't describe that we have a specific type of music since we simply do what comes to mind at that moment without thinking about what we would like to sound like or who we would like to be.
Sebastian: It´s more about how we feel rather than how we sound.
Q. What usually kicks off the writing process for you — is it a lyric, a melody, a feeling? Where does the creative spark tend to come from first?
A: Ian Breadwater: I always start with an idea, a feeling, something i want to say or just a story to tell, have some fun, i start to put the feeling in some chords or in some rythm and it´s everything i do, once i know the feeling´s on the song i start to write
Robert:I feel like it could be a combination of the weather and feelings, as that could be a perfect starting point for creating a work of art.
Sebastian: I really don´t know i think i just got the melody from a moment to other and start working on it without thinking anything, really.
Andrew: I normally search for something to tell, i can spend months or weeks just finding the perfect verse, once i had it, the next and other 2 weeks, i take my time to write
Q. Your latest project, Golden Fields of Sheffield, feels deeply personal and also kind of cinematic. What inspired it — where did the vision for this one begin?
A: Robert: The inspiration for this project was more of an idea put together by the four members based on what an ideal place would look like to escape from a routine day. The main idea was to combine the classic rock of the Beatles with the modern aspects of today's music
Sebatian: Everyone has his own meaning for the project, i just think it´s a space to feel complete and whole, to connect with the people i love and my inner feelings.
Ian: It´s just a dream, nothing else, i didn´t make the song thinking a lot about meaning or about something really deep, i just start creating and the concept just fit somewhere in the collection of songs we did.
Andrew: I don´t know, i don´t care much about what it is or what we were thinking, i care more of how it make me feel now that it´s complete.
Q. With something so layered and expressive, what do you hope listeners take away from this project — whether it’s a lyric, a mood, or just a gut feeling?
A: Ian: I think we need to see how we need to sell everything to find value in it, after all, we´re not artists for the numbers, for grammys or anything like that, everything´s about the music, make music that make you feel something, and connected to everything, that help you to explore yourself and be a better person every day, that´s what i hope the people can see and keep it safe, nature, love sadness, life, everything.
Robert:It should be more like mixed feelings between love, happiness, sadness, euphoria... it must feel like a dream from which you never want to wake up.
Sebastian: Whatever they want to, anything they can take away from something made with that amount of love is good
Andrew: our passion, and our way to see love and arts.
Q. The album artwork is striking. Can you tell us about the vision behind it and what kind of emotion or idea you wanted it to evoke?
A:Ian: It all started from the album title, really. I once had this strange dream — proper vivid — where I was standing in these endless golden fields, and way off in the distance, there was this old castle.
Robert: Ian told me about the dream, and I just said, “Golden Fields of Sheffield.” It stuck.
Sebastian: That’s when we began shaping the artwork, letting the feelings guide us — nostalgia, calm, warmth.
Andrew: We wanted to capture all that — nostalgia, joy, longing, love… even a touch of sadness. It’s like we left a little piece of us in there.
Q. When you sit down to start a new track, is there one instrument that usually sets the tone? How does that guide the direction the song takes?
A:Ian: Most times, the song’s already in our heads — a feeling, a mood, so we start with whatever suits that vibe. Could be synths, piano or guitar.
Robert: Yeah, it’s never really about “which instrument first” — more about what the song itself needs.
Sebastian: Though bass usually creeps in early on.
Andrew: And drums normally come straight after to lock everything in.
Q. We heard a lot of this record came together in Ian’s room — love that. What’s your go-to creative space, and do you handle all the mixing and mastering yourselves or bring in outside ears?
A:Ian: I did the production, the matering, the mixing, just everything, though "Neon Lights" it´s not only produced by me, a friend of ours help us in that one
Andrew: About the inspiration...can strike anywhere — in the studio or even walking through the park. That’s the beauty of it
Sebastian:Yeah, or when I’m winding Rob up
Ian: But where it all truly comes to life is the studio — that’s where the proper magic happens.
Robert: Honestly, it’s not about the space itself. Any place is perfect if the feeling’s right.
Q. From the actual writing to release day, which part of the process tends to be the most intense or stressful for you all?
A:Robert: Promotion, no question. Filming stuff, figuring out what people wanna see, sorting social media bits — all that.
Sebastian: Plus when ideas overlap and you’ve got to rethink a song’s whole concept — that can get tricky.
Ian: The production side as well — finding what’s just right for each track, but i hate the promoting part more than anything
Andrew: Yeah, production’s the bit that keeps me awake sometimes.
Q. Let’s talk tech for a second. There’s so much digital stuff available now — some say it’s a blessing, others feel it’s overwhelming. Where do you land on technology’s role in making music today?
A:Ian: Honestly, we’re loving it. Best time to make music — so much freedom to create, experiment, try new things, but the easy part of making music seems not too good when you see the new artists fighting for the same you are dying for.
Sebastian: Ian’s like a kid at Christmas when he downloads new plugins — pure joy
Andrew: It’s proper handy — easy to use, great quality, loads of sounds to choose from. We’ve got the world at our fingertips.
Robert: It just opens your mind. Makes you feel like anything’s possible, really.
Q. If you could snap your fingers and hit the road with three dream artists or bands — past or present — who would you pick and why?
A:Sebastian: We’re not much into collabs, to be fair. We don’t really idolise other artists — for us, the music’s about feelings, emotions, honesty.
Robert: It’s the connection, the personal touch our lyrics can have with people that matters most.
Andrew: We love where our sound’s going — it’s pure emotion, raw sensation.
Ian: We’re Leeds through and through — and sharing that love for music, for the craft, that’s what makes us human.
Q. What’s on your festival bucket list? Any specific stages or locations you’ve been dying to play?
A:Sebastian: Glastonbury — no doubt. Wouldn’t mind Lollapalooza or Coachella either.
Ian: Glasto’s the dream for me.
Andrew: Lollapalooza’s my pick.
Robert: Gotta be Glasto. Always.
Q. We noticed you still write lyrics out on paper — we were literally just saying how rare that is nowadays! It feels so raw and real. Has that always been your style, or did it develop naturally over time?
A:Ian: We are used to, you know in haworth the people´s not too fan of smartphones.
Sebastian: And it feels way more personal writing in paper
Andrew: you can concentrate more easliy and more deeply
Robert: To be fair it makes it more honest and more romantic from certain point.
Q. We’ve read that you’re focused on building a real legacy. Why is that so important to you, and what moves are you making now to help shape that long-term vision?
A: Ian: With real legacy we mean more of return the music to what it is, not a product, not something to buy or something that you can use to dance and dance in your car while you´re drunk, we mean to feel, to love, to learn and to connect, we do make some song that touch some nerves in society, but we do it with all the respect and love we can
Sebastian: I want to make art again and stop making toy for the people
Robert:Nothing more important than that.
Q. Do you include any covers in your set? If so, which ones — and what made you choose those particular songs?
A: Sebastian: well, we focus on ourselves and in our sounds, we do like other artist but we do not play their songs on our setlist
Robert: we´re not very fan of it we are more of hearing, loving and feeling
Ian: Making covers is a tribute to the artist-but the best way to do a tribute to an artist for us is to make better music than him or at least try it.
Q. So, what’s next? Can you give us the scoop on any upcoming projects, releases, or shows fans should have on their radar? We’d love to help spread the word.
A: Andrew: Sure, we´re working in something special again, something with a lot of love and honest feelings like evrything
Ian: we have some song recorded, on of them it´s called "That´s Not Me" and we love it very much
Sebastian: Soon youll be able to hear the song everywhere
Robert: Thank you very much for this space, we love you very much everyone who´s reading this!!!
Sebastian: We´re very grateful with the cage and thank you again
Ian: We are Leeds and we hope to do something like this in the future with the cage again.
Leeds, thank you so much!
End Interview
We’re happy to have shared Leeds’s exciting journey with you and uncovered such inspiring insights about their creative process.
Now, click the links below to experience their incredible work firsthand!
