Biography

ME AND YOU AGAINST THE WORLD is an album dedicated to Elliot Guy who was murdered on 19th July 2008, aged just 27, leaving a daughter of three months, Eleanor.

All the music on the album was performed, produced and engineered by Adriel Leff, Elliot’s best friend. Before he died, Elliot heard rough instrumental versions of all the songs on the album, which was his favourite project that Adriel had worked on. He encouraged Adriel to find a singer and finish and release the album, therefore Adriel thought it only fitting that he dedicate it to Elliot’s memory.

It took Adriel over a year to find a singer that he felt was right for the project, but once he came across the mysterious and enigmatic Ms Fortune he knew he had found what he was looking for – a strong, diverse soulful voice with a character to match.

However, due to international work commitments, Ms Fortune and Adriel had just four days together in which to record all the vocals for the entire album. Miraculously, not only did they manage it, but the time limit resulted in an authentic live feel.

The album mixes influences that were important to both Elliot and Adriel’s diverse musical tastes – soul, funk, hip-hop, house, disco, jazz, break beat and even blues.

Nine of the eleven album tracks are covers of lesser known songs by some of their favourite artists including Chaka Khan, Curtis Mayfield and Bill Withers, as well as contemporaries such as Royksopp and their personal friend, blues singer Sam Lewis (also K T Tunstall’s tour and studio guitarist).

The remaining two songs are original, with lyrics written by Adriel after Elliot’s death – ‘One Last Dance’, an ode to all the times he and Elliot shared on the dance floor, and ‘Me And You Against The World’, the title track of the album.

Adriel aimed for a traditional ‘wall of sound’ style approach to the album, combining lush orchestral sounds with modern beats and synths, as well as live instruments such as guitar, harmonica and clarinet – all performed by Adriel himself.

The entire album, including the vocals, was recorded, produced, and engineered by Adriel in his own Tower Studio in Hampstead, North West London – a second home to Elliot, who spent many countless hours there listening to music from his early teenage years right up to the days before he died.

The album’s artwork features the bench on Hampstead Heath where they often used to sit – now the site of Elliot’s ashes – as well as drawings of Elliot by Adriel.

Although containing touches of melancholy, it is by no means a sad album, reflecting Elliot’s ever-positive outlook on life and love for upbeat music.

Adriel has previously worked mostly within the genre of house music, receiving support from top DJs such as Norman Jay and Tony Humphries.