Written by Annie Barber
Photos by Holly Smith
“I’ve never been to a country club,” East London singer Leah Cleaver admits. For most people, this would not be much of a revelation. However, Cleaver has just released a song called ‘Country Club’, and it seems its namesake was more of an abstract source of inspiration for the artist than one might expect. Her experiences as a Queer Black woman are central to her music and activism, and this latest release celebrates both of those aspects of her identity, in a bold and empowering track that sees the former lead singer of ZEBEDE stepping into her own as a solo artist.
‘Country Club’ is an upbeat and loud celebration of Queer Black love. At 100BPM and drawing on 80s/90s ballroom dance music, the song is incredibly catchy and club ready. Cleaver and collaborator and producer Gabriel Gifford worked on the song together, and she says its name was popping up in her mind from the moment she first heard the beat. She says, “I just started thinking about Pose… there’s a scene where they’re at a country club, and for many different reasons, like they’re black trans women… they’re just completely not accepted by this one woman there. And that thought just got into my mind, and we kind of built the idea from there.” US drama Pose charts 80s underground ball culture in 80s New York, centring on the lives of iconic LGBTQ+ figures. The same sense of authenticity and defiance that is seen in the show’s characters shines through on Cleaver’s single. “I had a really gorgeous celebration on the night that the song came out, and it was like in honour of all my Queer Black babes in my life… There was like 30 of us and it just felt like such a beautiful collection of people, and I really wanted to make a song for them, and for all the Queer Black babes that [came] before me that allow me to make music like this so freely and honestly,” Cleaver reveals.
Community is central to Cleaver’s personal and professional life. She says, “I also have like such a strong core group of community that I always feel held by, and I do think that within the industry, there are Queer Black and Brown people everywhere.” This strong sense of connectedness is something that she has found within the music industry and also in her activism. Cleaver and her best friend Beth run an organisation called U Gd, Girl? that provides a safe space and an array of events for women and non-binary people. She elaborates, saying “me and Beth aren’t therapists, but when you’re holding space for people, I think you have to get really used to slowing down and letting the room do its thing, and putting yourself out there and making yourself vulnerable. I think all of those traits help so much as an artist.” The organisation has provided a close-knit community that Cleaver feels very connected to. In fact, some of its members starred in the video for ‘Country Club’, which is a fun tribute to Queer Black love and friendships.
Being based in Shoreditch, Cleaver is never short on inspiration: “being in East, you’ll literally go to a supermarket, and there’ll be a 70 year old woman that literally looks incredible. And I just think I’m such a people watcher.” She adds, “I think when you’re up Dalston, it’s kind of like punky, and there’s such a big like Caribbean-African diaspora up there, so I just feel like it’s such a melting pot of fashion, food, and music. So I think it’s all inspiring, everywhere.” Being surrounded by so many different cultures and communities has undoubtably contributed to her music’s unique sound. She notes that all of her favourite artists are “eclectic” and do not want to be boxed in by just one genre, two things that she can strongly relate to. Her hope is that, instead, people will feel connected to her voice and the messages she conveys with her songs. Judging by the reaction to ‘Country Club’, she is certainly achieving this dream.
Last year, Cleaver collaborated with Kae Tempest on a cover of George Michael’s ‘Freedom ’90’, reimagining it as ‘Freedom ’25’. The pair met at a dinner party in Hackney that Cleaver’s friend and stylist was hosting and when she spotted him, she could not quite place him at first. After spying a book in his pocket, she used it as an excuse to start up a conversation. As it transpired, the book was Tempest’s own novel and when he read an excerpt to her, she suddenly realised who the person speaking softly into her ear was. Once she showed him some of her music, he said he would love to work with her, and eventually invited her to record vocals for the track with him and Fraser T. Smith. Gushing about Tempest, Cleaver says “he draws from such obscure things and makes it so beautiful, [it’s] incredible.” The collaboration led to a strong friendship between the duo, who performed the track together at Brixton Academy with Scottish artist Jacob Alon.
Finally, we turn to the two staple Karma! questions. The answer to the first, ‘if you or your art were a colour, what would it be?’ is night blue. After she answers, she says, laughing, “I’m thinking about eight other colours, but you know what? We’re going to go with that.” Her song recommendation is MRCY’s ‘Man’, which she says is “so good” and “will be on repeat, on repeat, on repeat.”
With another upcoming release in September and a slot at Arts Emergency: Express, taking place at London’s Southbank Centre on August 23rd, Cleaver is booked and busy. Her strong sense of authenticity and genre-bending capabilities set her apart from other modern artists, making her a standout act and definitely one to keep an eye on.
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