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May 5, 2024

"I do not jump in suspenders from the closet"

With the soulpop hits "I could not care less" and "Told you so", singer Leslie Clio sang into our hearts and into the charts two years ago. Now she has come up with "Eureka", an album that is more pop than her debut - and made the audience on their tour visibly good mood.

In Hamburg, 29-year-old played on the Reeperbahn Festival Two acclaimed concerts - one in a church. Nevertheless, she still found time to chat with us about her style, her music and her longing.

ChroniquesDuVasteMonde.com: College jacket, Dutt, Lidstrich - you have a very cool style of your own. How would you describe that?

Leslie Clio: I do not worry so much about that. Privately, when I'm in the studio, I like to walk around in my sweatshirt and look fashionish in the 80s. On stage, of course, I look a bit different with high shoes and a blouse.

Leslie Clio shows her favorite parts for the tour

Where do you buy your things?

I'm a shopping mum, but I have a ritual in London where I work a lot: Whenever I'm in the studio and I've finished one thing, I go to Topshop and buy something nice. Actually, I have enough clothes, but if I like something, then I like to buy it several times. For example, I spontaneously bought a H & M pair of jeans on the tour and found it so great that I called several stores to get two more. It is similar with the collage jackets. I am looking forward to meeting my mother who wanted to bring me three new jackets.

Do you like hairstyles and make-up on the proven or do you like experimenting?

I already have my look, I do not need a stylist for Dutt and Lidstrich either, I can do it that way. But actually I feel like something new. I'll go to the barber soon - there I have not been for four years.

Will we recognize you?

That's fine - I stay blond, but I want to wear the hair more open and have a nice cut for it.

On her Instagram account Leslie shows pictures that she likes.

How important is the look for the career of a singer?

I think it's much, much too important. When I look at the profiles of famous female singers in the net and there are 300 of them 299 of them, then I think: Your look is a very big currency. What would happen if that went away? If you break your nose and she's forever as fat as a potato? Are you then worth less?

Of course, it's hard to get over it completely. Women have been defined for centuries about their looks, you can not change that in five years. But for me personally I wish that my music stands for itself. And for 80,000 more sold records I do not jump in suspenders from the closet.

As a vegan, you are also very consistent on the subject of food. Is it difficult to do vegan life on tour?

No not at all. We have our catering and that depends. My crew has to eat vegan, which I think is good. (Laughs.)

"I do not judge anyone because he does not live vegan"

Are you also trying a little bit to be an ambassador for vegan life?

I do that out of conviction and like to talk openly about it. But I'm not fundamentalist. I do not judge anyone because he does not live vegan - and I'm not always strict myself either. Once a month, for example, I have an incredible desire for Camembert due to the cycle. I just have to eat a piece, and that's fine with me. That's why I do not believe that factory farming is bad.

Your favorite vegan recipe?

In Berlin, I'm lucky enough to be able to go vegan, but if I cook myself I like soy bolognese, vegetable casserole or zucchini noodles.

"I want to make people dance"

You make a very good mood impression - matching your new songs. Did you want to sing with "Eureka" against the melancholy that was in your last album?

I took a very practical approach. I thought about where to start with the next album. And then it quickly became clear that I wanted to have more up-tempo songs - because it suits me the most, but also because I wanted more lightness for my live concerts. I want to make people dance.

You live in Berlin today, but have already lived in all sorts of places. Where is your heart at home?

Although I have an apartment in Berlin, it is permanently sublet. I will also dissolve them now - it is also time for something new here. I also love London, because it's great to work, but I have not arrived yet in my adopted home. I'm still looking.Maybe I'll find her in America, where I'll go first.

"I'm a bit like Madonna"

You were also in India - did this trip change you?

India has confirmed me in my basic livelihood. You learn there to deal with a lot less. Even if you have to sleep on a cardboard in the street, that's not the sinking. You can still be a contented person because peace and happiness are in yourself. What's next?

I am now going to North Carolina and have a look into nature. And with my head I'm back at the next record. I can well imagine that it will be completely different again. I'm a bit like Madonna doing one record after the other, always reinventing herself. Only Gothic and Metal, I exclude that.