Len Walston

Len Walston
Len Walston; July 2013
Background information
Birth name	Leonard Christophere' Walston III
Born	(1981-10-17) October 17, 1981 Anderson, Indiana; United States
Genres	R&B, soul, jazz, quiet storm, A cappella
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, composer, musician, producer, audio engineer, mixing engineer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keys, electric/upright bass, percussion
Years active	2001–present
Labels	Third Pocket Music Group, LLC.

Leonard Christophere' Walston III (born October 17, 1981), known professionally as Len Walston, is an American born singer-songwriter, composer, musician, producer, and audio engineer. In 2013, his independent release, "You Should Be Here" spent more than three months on the UK Soul Charts and was named 2013's #1 Song of the Year by the Soul Discovery Radio Show and Podcast on Solar Radio.^[1][2]

Biography

Len Walston was born on October 17, 1981 in Anderson, Indiana to Leonard Jr. and Harrita Walston. His appreciation for music began at an early age; playing the piano at age four and singing in church and school at age five. In the spring of 2000, Walston left Anderson to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA, where he majored in Music Business & Administration. After graduating in the spring of 2003, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to further his education at the Institute of Production and Recording (IPR) and pursue a career as a music producer and audio engineer. While studying at IPR, he worked hard to perfect his skills alongside many well-known producers, engineers, artists, and musicians including Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Paul "St. Paul" Peterson, Tom Tucker, and Prince.

Recordings

The breakthrough for Len Walston occurred with his independent recording, "You Should Be Here", which was written, produced, performed, mixed, and mastered by Walston himself. "You Should Be Here" was released August 13, 2013 on iTunes, CD Baby, Google Play, and Amazon. Within two days of its release, the single became a top seller on CD Baby's Urban/R&B charts.

‘You Should Be Here' was well received internationally, gaining its first notoriety in the UK. The single gained favorable reviews from online Soul and Jazz music reviewers. Sonic Soul Reviews said that Walston "lets his true destiny run free" and that 'You Should Be Here' is a "great song. . ." with "great production, great voice."^[3] During an interview with Walston and Soul Discovery's Mick O'Donnell of Solar Radio, O'Donnell refers to Walston and his song 'You Should Be Here' as "an amazing voice, amazing production and lyric content. You can't beat it."^[4] Roger Williams of SoulSorts on the HotFM called it "five and a half minutes of the finest soul music release this year".^[5]

Soon after the release of his first single, Walston teamed up with poet and spoken word artist Adrian Watson, known professionally as 7Hykoo to produce new material for Watson's upcoming project. Their first collaborative effort was co-written, produced, mixed, and mastered by Walston. "The Weigh", which also features Walston on vocals, was released March 3, 2014 on iTunes, CD Baby, Google Play, and Amazon. Soon after its release, 'The Weigh' quickly moved to the top of the independent sales charts. In its second week, it appeared as #1 on Jazz, #2 on Urban R&B, #1 on Smooth soul, and #8 overall on Cdbaby.com charts.^[6]

Discography

Singles

Collaborations

References

External links

• UK Soul Chart
• Soul Discovery

Reviews

• Soul Discovery's Top 20 of 2013 on Sonic Soul Reviews
• SoulSorts' Top 50 Songs of 2013 on Sonic Soul Reviews
• Sonic Soul Reviews – Len Walston's "You Should Be Here"