Leon Majcen grew up in the town of Clearwater, Florida. He picked up the guitar at the age of nine and got his start playing open mics at local bars and coffee shops. Naturally inspired by the lyrical genius of artists like Bob Dylan, John Prine, Johnny Cash and Townes Van Zandt, Leon developed an affinity for songwriting and chose to live life with a pen and paper in hand.
In April of 2016, his single “Love and Misery” made its way onto SiriusXM’s The Coffee House Channel and captured the attention of folk music lovers across North America, helping him build a nationwide fan base. Following a couple tours in 2018 and 2019, those long hours spent in a van on a cross country journey ended up being the fuel behind the lyrics of his album, Back ‘till I’m Gone, an artistic creation that was recorded with the help of good friend and producer Andrew Boullianne back home in Florida.
In 2018 he decided to leave his hometown to pursue a music degree at New York University, completely absorbing himself in writing songs that capture the triumphs and heartaches that come with leaving home and hitting the road. In his own words, “songwriting is the only way to make sense of the world around me, especially when you’re thrown into a place like New York City where there’s so much going on. I was faced with the option to either go about the change by escaping my mind and troubles or using my troubles to create something worth sharing.”
Now, in 2021, Majcen released “World Gone By” — a tribute to the late John Prine, on the one-year anniversary of Prine’s passing (April 7). Below, Glide is premiering the video for “World Gone By,” where Majcen delivers his most guilty as charged Prinesque arrangement. Majcen sings with a strummy commentary that is candid, folksy and endearing while adding a splash of his own niche of Americana. While we’re constantly inundated with Stetson hat Nashville wannabees, it’s refreshing to hear a tell-it like its authentic songsmith like Leon Majcen.
“It didn’t take us very long to settle on a concept for the video. With the song touching on the subject of life and death amidst a worldwide pandemic, we saw a very clear path leading to the concept we chose. The world we knew before the pandemic won’t be the same once this chapter is through. It’ll be a new world, with memories of the ones we lost,” says Majcen.
“The first time I heard ‘World Gone By’, I could immediately see the tone and feel the emptiness. It’s a simple song and that’s what makes it so great. Our initial brainstorm lasted 15 minutes and we knew the music video concept needed to be simple, but with a twist. We saw amber colors, a shovel and a grave,” says director Dylan.
