Formed from a Pacific heart, LEAO is a Samoan musical project formed up of guitarist/vocalist David Feauai-Afaese, bassist Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, steel guitarist Levi Gemmell and drummer Rāhana Tito-Taylor. With a deep adoration for the Pacific musical reference and a desire to contribute contemporary musical ideas, LEAO synthesises non-traditional tonalities with a fa’asamoa spirit, creating what some have called ‘niu wave’ and ‘Pacific neo psychedelia” music. The project’s genesis came in the early-autumn of 2019, nigh the initial establishment of Noa Records. It was then that Rāhana Tito-Taylor met with Feauai-Afaese and proposed the idea of creating an alternative Samoan project in lieu of the South Pacific Glamour / Slacker Rock styles that Feauai-Afaese was making at the time. What ensued from then was months of experimenting and cultural invigoration; hours of vintage Samoan pop references from the likes of the Five Stars, Punilava’a & The Samoan Surfriders; all of which would eventually materialise into the creatively potent EP, GHOST ROADS. GHOST ROADS was met with immediate critical acclaim in the local alternative scene, seen as both a leap in Pacific composition but also as an inspiring curiosity as to the potential horizons of Pacific music. A creative enigma and phenomenal live act known for their effortless play between the high-octane and the emotionally lush, LEAO has continued to expand and experiment upon its vision of Samoan music. In 2024, following NZ shows supporting prolific Tuareg Blues band, Tinariwen, the Pacific outfit released long-awaited new music in the form of double single TAEAO / MEA UMA. Two unique singles, recorded at Roundhead Studios, that saw the band enchantingly incorporate unaccustomed sounds of New Wave and Psychedelia into the wider Pacific music reference. Since its humble beginnings, LEAO has been a project of cultural celebration, celebrating Pacific music as well as Pacific diasporic realities. As the year 2026 comes into it’s spring, the band is ready to step further into creative potentialities and bare proudly their ever-deepening commitment to contemporary Pacific sound with the release of a new full-length album.