LEAO is a Samoan-founded indie-rock project based in Auckland, New Zealand. Spearheaded by guitarist/vocalist David Feauai-Afaese, LEAO debuted in early 2019 with their Ghost Roads EP. The band blends Pacific musical traditions with contemporary rock and neo-psychedelia – a “sublime melding of the traditional and the contemporary” as noted by The Rolling Stones magazine (AU). LEAO’s sound is built on a “fa‘asamoa spirit” - they infuse Samoan language, choral and string-band influences into modern indie-pop, earning descriptions like “Pacific neo-psychedelia,” “niu wave,” and even “hauntological South Pacific post-punk”. The group has been praised for high-energy live shows that feel like a “love letter to the Pacific,” celebrating diaspora identity and heritage. Presented with the support of Creative New Zealand Pacific Arts Strategy.