“One of indie music’s most compelling rising voices”

                                    -Austin Sher, We Write About Music

 

New York City born and bred singer-songwriter Leo Sawikin will release his new EP, The Edge of Everything, in early 2026. The EP will be Leo’s second outing with legendary producer Phil Ek (The Shins, Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses). Just out is the first single, “Jumping from So High,” which We Write About Music says “pulls the listener into a place of euphoria where emotion and melody intertwine.” “Jumping” and the EP’s three other tracks, Leo says, are about “finding the courage to let go and take emotional risks, about allowing yourself to step into the unknown, in love and in life, heart exposed.” 

 

The EP represents a sonic shift for Leo, who brought in some new collaborators for the project. Drummer Max Yassky provides a punchy, driving backbone to the music. And William Sawikin, Leo’s brother, designed all the synths and added keys on several tracks, creating a grittier, more distorted soundscape. Leo also turned over lead guitar duty on the record to Vin Landolfi, who brings a pop sensibility. “I got lead guitar out of my system on my last record,” Leo says, “With Vin, there’s more give and take now between lead and rhythm.”

In writing the EP, Leo found inspiration in the work of legendary artists like The Cure and Radiohead, as well as contemporaries like George Clanton and Dora Jar.  He considers “Jumping from So High” a blend of Clanton and Coldplay. The upcoming single, “Where I’m Running,” a rocking fantasy of escape from a quiet life for something more exciting and possibly dangerous, has essence of Echo and the Bunnymen, while “Let Go of Your Love” is “a little bit Beach Boys and little bit Beach House.”

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In 2024, Till You’re Somebody Else, the title track off Leo’s last album, reached #1 on the Mediabase A/C Independent Artists Chart and #26 on Billboard’s AC Chart. Another highlight of that album was Leo’s most streamed track to date, “The Same Mistakes,” which still resonates with fans globally, from the U.S. and U.K. to Brazil to Indonesia. Celeb Mix raved, “…a low-slung, softly gleaming guitar topped by Sawikin’s oh-so evocative voice, at once tender and wistful…rolls into a delicious, throbbing rhythm.”

 

Leo spent much of 2024 on tour opening for Jon McLaughlin, playing dozens of venues across the country, from the Troubadour in Los Angeles to New York's City Winery, just a few miles from Leo's home. Earlier in 2025, Leo and the band went into a Brooklyn studio to record live versions of selected tracks from Till You’re Somebody Else and The Edge of Everything. This session resulted in a live EP and several videos, now streaming on all platforms.