A native of Frankfurt, Germany, Leonie Jakobi has made Liverpool her adopted home and is quickly becoming an artist to watch in the city. She is no stranger to performing in many of Liverpool’s bars and venues. Her aim with her music, in her own words is to “tell stories of the ages and to hold a place in the heart of her listeners.” She does just this with her latest offering; Walk to West Berlin.
This new song from Leonie is a truly beautiful piece of work. The song tells the story of a young couple, deeply in love but forced apart by the Berlin Wall. The accompanying video to the song sets the scene perfectly and brings the meaning behind the song to life.
There is no doubt that the song is a deeply personal one for Jakobi, as she has stated that the song’s story is inspired by her family’s history within the city of Berlin and her Grandma even features on the cover of the single. Furthermore, the video which features the song, taken from a collaborative German film titled ‘Zwischen uns die Mauer’ features Leonie’s school friend Lea Freund as the female lead. Her personal life is interwoven through the song and it truly adds a magic element to the track and allows her listeners to connect with it.
The vocals come in straight away with the sporadic echoing guitar. Leonie’s voice sits beautifully over the song and portrays such heartbreak. The opening verse is soft, cautious and beautifully fitting of the opening scene of the accompanying video as the two leading characters meet for the first time. The chorus is swelling with more guitar, drums and her signature evocative vocals. As the song moves on, the story becomes more devastating and this is echoed in the music, especially near the end when Leonie’s vocals drop down to almost a whisper. Throughout ‘Walk to West Berlin’, Leonie’s vocals haunt you and break your heart all at once. With this song, she proves she is a songwriting force to be reckoned with.
Leonie released her debut single earlier this year and it was given various radio attention, having been played on BBC Introducing Merseyside, as well as Mersey Radio. She is definitely one to watch and I for one cannot wait to hear her future releases!
‘Walk to West Berlin’ will be released on July 31 across all major streaming platforms and you can also keep up to date with Leonie by following her social media.
Follow Leonie Jakobi on Facebook and Instagram for updates.
Helen Maw
