Janel Leppin

Cellist, singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Janel Leppin is known for her experimental and textural blend of jazz, Indian and Persian classical music, folk, and indie rock. Leppin first garnered acclaim as one-half of a duo with her husband, guitarist Anthony Pirog and released the duo set Where Is Home, won critical accolades internationally. Leppin has recorded with artists like Eyvind Kang and Marissa Nadler. On her own, she released both Mellow Diamond and Songs of the One-Armed Woman, Songs for Voice and Mellotron in 2016, and American Gods in 2017. Ensemble Volcanic Ash, the eponymous debut from her expansive jazz septet, arrived in 2022, followed two years later by To March Is to Love. Issued simultaneously was New Moon in the Evil Age, a second duo offering with Pirog. Born in 1981 in Vienna, Virginia, Leppin grew up in the D.C. metropolitan area, where she earned her degree in cello performance from George Mason University. While there, she also minored in dance and world music and began exploring the city's vital punk and creative music scene. It was during this period that she formed a lasting partnership with guitarist Anthony Pirog, forming the duo Janel and Anthony and releasing a handful of ambient indie rock albums. She has also recorded with a bevy of artists and bands from across the musical spectrum, including Eyvind Kang, Marissa Nadler, Beauty Pill, and more. As a solo artist, she debuted with 2016's Mellow Diamond, on which she mixed her avant-garde pop with ambient leanings. A second album, Songs of the One-Armed Woman, Songs for Voice and Mellotron, arrived the same year. Recorded in 2015 while Leppin was recovering from an elbow injury that precluded playing cello, it found her singing and playing Mellotron and Prophet 5 synths. With 2017's American God, she combined her synth and cello sound on an album of politically charged songs inspired by the 2016 American presidential election. In 2022, she debuted Ensemble Volcanic Ash, an expansive, jazz- and classical-influenced instrumental album featuring her band of the same with guitarist Pirog, bassist Luke Stewart, harpist Kim Sator, drummer Larry Ferguson, alto saxophonist Sarah Hughes, and tenor saxophonist Brian Settles. After touring and a short break, all but Sator returned to the studio, and the band emerged with To March Is to Love in June 2024. Simultaneously, Leppin and Pirog (as Janel & Anthony) issued the double-length New Moon in the Evil Age. Both recordings were released by Cuneiform. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi