There is no doubt that Russell Leonce,  the  vintage clothes loving  minister with a hip, urban look and a John Legend-ish type voice  has the right mix of  talent, astuteness (his management says they are not looking  for a record label but a distribution deal) and sex appeal (dare I say that, he is a minister after all) to take his neo soul gospel album, the Culture of Love, to a place where no Trini songwriter/ vocalist has gone before.

At the Corner Bar, a funky drinking spot on Ariapita Avenue, Leonce debuted his album with a live band and groovy background chorus presenting 4  of the  14 tracks to an enthusiastic crowd. 

Leonce’s  album is impressive.  And so too is the  album’s design and packaging, so outstanding in fact, that after the crooner’s session I did not go in search of the man of the moment, but after  Christophe Pierre, the Trini-born, British-based graphic designer responsible for the look and branding of the Culture of Love. 

Pierre is passionate about design. Blood, sweat and tears passionate, the kind where you put in unpaid hours because you believe that a product should be able  to compete on aesthetics. Unlike many other local CDs the design and packaging of the Culture of Love just plain rocks. Firstly, there is the symbol of the heart in a square (this took on a life of its own in a Pierre-designed new media campaign), the bold use of red, black and white to communicate Leonce’s source, the layout and graphics  make you want to linger with the CD in your hand.

Go to  any music  store this week, you’ll see that the Culture of Love does not stand out, it fits snugly in design-wise with all the other  big name, big buck, internationally produced music gracing the shelves. This makes the look and feel of the album very competitive.

It is clear that Pierre knows that design is everything and more increasingly it’s about whether a business, and in this case a musician, has a sensational appeal or a look that says: Made in Trinidad; will remain in Trinidad. 

Clearly Pierre means for the CD to have bigger ambitions.