Harvs Le Toad - Between Lilypads (Album) + 10 Questions

Harvs Le Toad’s "Between Lilypads" is an album about transition, the unstable, uncomfortable space between who you were and who you’re trying to become.

Written and recorded over two years at Melonskin Studios, the project documents a period where everything felt like it was unravelling. What started as a difficult stretch, with addiction tightening its grip and a relationship slowly burning out, turned into a full collapse. Loss, instability, and grief layered up. A job gone, constant partying, and family struggles all happening at once.

The studio became both refuge and trigger. Sitting in the same building as a live venue, it was impossible to separate creation from chaos. Nights blurred into mornings, moving between sessions and parties, trying to hold onto something steady while everything else slipped. For a while, music was the only constant.

Eventually, it caught up. Sobriety came in waves, moments of clarity followed by relapse, until even that cycle became too much to sustain. Leaving that environment marked a turning point. Since then, life has shifted into something quieter, healthier, more grounded.

This album lives in that in between space. Not the past, not quite the present, but the fragile crossing between the two.

Each track captures a different fragment of that journey. Dreams and Pearls drift through introspection. Indecisive (ft: Verbz) and Foundations (ft: MazeyJune) wrestle with uncertainty and rebuilding.  Heart Shaped Umbrella (ft: A Sunny Place For Shady People) and Blisters carry the weight of emotional fallout. One Shandy and Mad One (ft: Ceezlin & Tommy Jules) lean into chaos and excess. Mr Lonely and Nomad (ft: LFay) sit with isolation and movement. My Soul closes the loop, something quieter, more resolved. With heavyweight production from: Pitch 92 and BNMO, as well as production from Harvs Le Toad, The Melonskins and Don Drasstik, this project delivers on every level.

Listening back, Between Lilypads feels like an honest document of survival as much as it is a body of work. There’s a rawness to it that never feels forced, the kind that only comes from living through what’s being said. The production moves fluidly between hazy and hard edged, giving each track its own space while still holding together as a cohesive journey. The features feel intentional rather than ornamental, adding texture without taking away from the core narrative.

What stands out most is the sense of growth running underneath it all. Even in its heavier moments, there’s a pull toward something better, something clearer. It doesn’t try to tidy things up or pretend the process was linear, and that’s what makes it land. Between Lilypads sits comfortably in that honesty, capturing not just where things fell apart, but the beginnings of putting them back together.

Between Lilypads isn’t about arriving. It’s about navigating the distance between where you were and where you’re going, and learning how to stay afloat in the middle of it.

Harvs Le Toad sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:

1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?

I grew up in a really musical family. My mum is a singer who toured extensively when she was younger she’s got a powerful voice and is an incredible performer still to this day. My dad is also a musician he plays in a band called The Lost Hobos and used to run a hi-fi shop before I was born. He’s always had a finely tuned ear for sound and really understands how to get the best out of audio. He also writes songs, and I’ve always loved his lyrics.

My older cousin my mum’s twin sister’s son is the rapper and producer Dirty Dike. He’s a 11 years older than me, so seeing him performing all over and build something from his music while I was still in school definitely inspired me, especially after he came out of prison.

I think I always knew I wanted to perform and entertain, but it took me a while to realise that music was the path. I was about 15 when my dad gave me his old 8-track recorder and a microphone. I started recording beats off YouTube onto my PC and running them into the 8-track, then trying to freestyle over them it was terrible at first. A few years later, I started experimenting with making my own beats, and from there it just snowballed.

2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?

Atmosphere, I’ve always wanted to do a track with Slug from Atmosphere, I’ve got a track which I feel he would sound great on - maybe one day I could make that happen.

3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?

There’s more solo material on the way, along with some collaborations with Pitch 92 and BNMO for sure. I’ve also started a few tracks with Dylan Sykes.

I’m always making a lot of music, so it’s hard to say exactly what will come next, but right now I want to really push Between Lilypads first. I’m also part of A Sunny Place For Shady People, and we’ve got a lot of music in the works as well.

4. How would you describe your sound?

It’s jazzy, dusty hip-hop with a very British perspective. A lot of it’s just me narrating whats been going on in my life and the questionable life choices I’ve made. I try to add a bit of humour to make it a bit easier to digest or maybe it’s so I don’t cry who knows?

5. What's your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?

At the moment, it’s being able to make music with people I used to listen to the same ones who inspired me when I was first starting out. That still feels mad.

And releasing a project through VinDig is a big one too. They’ve got a seriously prolific roster and a strong catalogue, so being part of that is pretty dope.

6. Do you have any advice for our readers who may be trying to play the mad game of music?

Always remember why you started. There have been times when I lost sight of that when I forgot the point of doing this in the first place. Everything else that comes with it is a bonus.

I’ve let expectations get the best of me, and it left me feeling frustrated and deflated. But the truth is, the 15 year old version of me, the one with pure passion for music would be gassed to see how far I’ve come.

Your art isn’t indebted to you it doesn’t owe you success, attention, or validation.

7. Are there any artists on your radar right now that we should check out?

You should definitely keep an eye out for Samuel, the other half of A Sunny Place For Shady People he’s an excellent writer with some real gold sitting in his notes.

There’s also the producer Dylan Sykes, who Pitch 92 put me onto very dope.

And Kujo, who’s from North Wales, is someone I’m trying to give a push to as well. He’s a seriously talented performer with a lot of potential I think he’s got something special if he locks in and makes it happen.

8. What albums are on heavy rotation on your Spotify playlist currently?

Atmosphere - When Life Gives You Lemons Paint That Shit Gold.

D’Angelo - Voodoo, (rest in peace D’Angelo).

9. What do you like to do when you're not making music?

Ah… you wish to know how I, a distinguished toad of leisure, spend my precious hours? Very well… listen closely

I enjoy long, contemplative sits. You might call it “doing nothing.” I call it being. Find a damp rock, perhaps a suspiciously comfortable pile of leaves… and simply exist. Occasionally I blink. It’s a whole thing.

10. Name Three things you can't live without when in the studio?

A chair, my MacBook and electricity.