Dave Lebental is not slowing down, he is leveling up! After his 2024 release The Long Player pulled in over one million combined streams on Spotify and YouTube, Lebental returns with something even more exciting. His new album Stylus steps away from Americana and dives deep into the melodic, piano-driven rock he has always loved.
Drawing inspiration from The Beatles, Elton John, Supertramp, and Elvis Costello, Stylus feels both timeless and fresh. Recorded with his live band Karma Train, the album blends classic rock, blues, and rock and roll with playful grooves and lively energy.
Tracks like Addition by Subtraction and I Can Always Count on You deliver powerful vocal moments, while Mulberry Drive and Hopium bring drama and theatre. Race to the Bottom and Mindy Please add warm rhythms with touches of reggae and funk.
Stylus is a celebration of great songwriting, and it sounds absolutely alive!
Listen to Stylus below
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Dave, Stylus is out now, hot on the heels of The Long Player’s million+ streams. What fired you up to dive deeper into piano-driven rock for this one?
I’m not a stylistically monogamous artist. I “sleep around” with different styles of music. When I started writing my 2nd album, for some unconscious reason, I was drawn to my piano and my love for piano rock. It just sort of happened. I didnt want to fight my own inspiration. Had I been with a label they probably would have demanded I make a follow up in Americana genre.
The title Stylus is genius – needle on a vinyl, writing tool for songs. When did that double meaning click for you, and why was it perfect?
The title was a happy accident. I had completed the 10 tracks and was looking for a title that would say something related to my love of vinyl albums. I was staring at my turntable and remembered the needle is held by the “stylus”. I considered how it related to the 10 songs as well as the the title of my 1st album and I was hooked.
You call it forward-looking, not nostalgic. How does Stylus deliver that fresh sense of discovery for fans of classic piano rock?
Part of my songwriting style is to look for a chord or melody movement that is unexpected and a bit challenging. I intentionally seek these moves because they insure my fingerprints and songwriting DNA is unique. Listeners can feel the influences but the song is something new to their ear.
Melody, emotional clarity, songs built to last – that’s your mantra. Pick a track that nails that formula perfectly and tell us why.
I suppose I would nominate “Hopium”. The song touches on our “all too human tendency” to not admit when something we really wanted has failed. The emotional clarity along with the unexpected melodic movement makes it a good candidate to evaluate me as an artist.
Shifting from Americana to full piano-rock. What freed you to lean into this sound now, after all these years?
I have a wide range of musical tastes and piano rock is definitely among my favorite styles. One of the advantages of being an independent recording artist is I can write, release and perform whatever material I desire. I am not curtailed by a record company seeking to pin me into a specific genre for marketing clarity and fanbase growth. I might not have the clout, money and leverage that label artists have, but I do have my freedom.
Karma Train brings Stylus alive – who’s in the lineup, and how do they amp up your songs on stage?
Karma Train features drummer Gary Ferguson (Etta James, Cher, Gary Moore, Eddie Money), guitarist/keyboardist John “JT” Thomas (Billy Sherwood of Yes), bassist Mick Linden (Chunga), and saxophonist Dan Boissy (Macy Gray, Pitbull, Larry Carlton).
I’m not trying to make the live performance of “Stylus” to be an exact replica of the studio album. Each member of Karma Train is encouraged to “intrpret their live part” so it is fulfilling for them to play and works best for the stage. I celebrate the fact that the arrangements are different than the album. Both are great listening experiences and different from each other.
You’ve shared stages with legends like Mick Taylor and Leon Russell back in the day. How does playing with Karma Train today compare?
The past was great and exciting but so is the present. I’ve learned to appreciate the small things more as I’ve aged. Aim low is my new motto! I remain optimistic about how I can continue to grow as an artist. Memories are nice but living in the moment is much more exciting to me.
From 90s bands like Sunflower and Placebo Royale to solo LPs now – what’s kept your passion burning through decades of indie hustle?
I’ve asked myself that same question many a time! The answer I come up with is that I just love making music more than anything other pursuit. The artistic cycle of creation is very exciting to me. It’s a thrill to write a song, arrange it, record it, release it, and then perform it. Each stage of the songs’ journey brings unexpected twists and turns that keep it surprising and quite interesting.
As an older artist dodging fads and “kiddy pop,” what keeps you creating from pure love of great rock songs?
The personal challenge I take on is “can I release material that in my own mind, lives up to the quality of the artists I admire”. That’s the benchmark I hold myself accountable to. To achieve that personal goal, I have created my own “rules of engagement” that serve to make my songs unique and valid.
My 1st rule is: if I melody or chord pattern can be placed with an existing song from any era, then it must be discarded. No direct lifts allowed! I’m OK with a melody, chord pattern or groove that has a detectable influence. Every artist has has influences.
Plus, listeners and critics alike need a reference point to communicate what that artist sounds like. So having influences is natural and acceptable. But my songs must stand on their own as unique and valid.
Stylus resonates across ages, especially with folks craving real rock. What’s the best fan story that’s shown you that lately?
Rather than focus on a particular individual fan, I’d like to answer your question by discussing the faceless unknown fans & listeners who stream my music on Spotify. Did you know that Spotify provides artists with daily data showing us how many people streamed each song, their age bracket and their gender.
Although Spotify does not let us connect directly with our listeners, they do inform us of their existence and whereabouts. Today (March 11th, 2026) Spotify details that 4,791 people streamed my songs multiple times this month. When someone streams me more than once, it means the listener liked what they’ve heard and wants more.
I find that exciting! 1374 listeners have averaged 7+ song streams in my catalog this month. These are real people! Most exciting are what Spotify classifies as “Super Listeners”. Apparently, I have 108 of these type of fans who have averaged 42+ song streams of my music this month! These people inspire me to keep writing, recording and releasing independent music.
You write, produce, and release it all yourself. Walk us through crafting a song for Stylus – from piano spark to full band groove.
My writing process for “Stylus” was a multi-phase development cycle. Phase one starts with me sitting at the piano. I start by exploring notes and chords with no preconceived idea or direction. It’s a free association exercise. I try to get into a trance where I am listening and imagining music. After a little while, I develop an initial musical section. Then I seek to create another musical section to join with it.
Once I have 2 or more musical sections, I start to scat melody over it. I” free associate” words and melodies. Half of the time, something I scat during the free association leads to a lyrical direction or idea which I further develop. The other half of the time, I use the scat as a bookmark of melody and syllables. I complete phase one by recording the sections with me scatting onto my cellphone.
Phase 2 is a listening stage where I review the cell phone recordings of the various ideas I created. The ones that standout to me are taken to Phase 3 where I sketch them up on my recording software. I lay down the piano part and add in a drum groove, a bass and sometimes a guitar. In Phase 4 I develop the lyric. I’ll write a 1st draft of lyrics and record them over the music tracks. I listen back and start trying to refine the lyrics.
Once I have a lyric that I like, I put the song down for at least a month. When I come back to it in Phase 5, my ears will be able to hear the song closer to what a listener hears when they get their first play. Which bring us to Phase 6 is where I start producing the recording of the song for release.
Vinyl ritual lover meets modern streams. How do you balance that classic album feel with getting heard in 2026?
Great question! In the case of “Stylus” I recorded tracks that were meant to be together as an album. Great LPs are what excites me as an artist. My main objective is my own artistic satisfaction.
You are right that modern listeners prefer consuming individual songs as opposed to listening to full albums. I address that reality by releasing most of the songs as singles with visual content and promote them on social media.
2026 tour incoming! Which Stylus tracks are you most pumped to unleash live, and why do they shine on stage?
Small club audiences tend to get off on up-tempo songs. That’s because those venues don’t have much seating, so people are standing and want to dance and boogie. For that reason, I’d say “Addition By Subtraction”, “I Can Always Count On You” and “Mulberry Drive” get people excited.
For listeners grew up on Elton or Supertramp and want more – where should they start with Stylus?
They grew up listening to full albums so I’m hoping they will start on side 1 song 1 and listen to the full “Stylus” LP just like they used to!
Looking ahead, what’s next for Dave Lebental and Karma Train after this LP drops?
We’re touring “Stylus” on the west coast as well as doing a monthly live stream on YouTube and Facebook. Our set is a full concert 75 minutes where we are playing the full “Stylus” album plus some cuts from “The Long Player”. After the tour, we will take a short break and then start arranging and recording songs for our next album.
