Lean In

Lean In was born organically out of a weekly domestic jam session among three UNCSA alumni guitarists, Daniel Seriff, Luke Payne, and Colin Allured. They got together to explore West African music, Indian classical music, and structured improvisation. They also discovered that their voices made a nice blend for three-part harmonies. Colin and Luke began to write songs for the trio exploring their potential for vocal harmonies and guitar textures and the group began performing locally. An overwhelmingly positive response to the chemistry of the group and their original material has given them the momentum to create a considerable body of new music, steeped in African, Indian, western classical, folk, and soul sensibilities.

A new level of synergistic magic was achieved when John Wilson and Bill Smith were invited to perform with the trio. Wilson’s deep experience with the jazz and dance realms on the drums combined with Smith’s world music percussion expertise create a rhythmic texture that supports and encourages the guitar and vocal textures and weaves a rich tapestry of melody, rhythm, and harmony. The sound of Lean In has been characterized as “hypnotic” and “heart-centered.”