Biography
Janel Leppin works as a cellist, vocalist, composer, and multi-instrumentalist whose music fuses jazz, Indian and Persian classical traditions, folk, and indie rock into an experimental, textural sound. Early recognition arrived through her partnership with guitarist Anthony Pirog, her husband, on the album Where Is Home, which drew widespread international praise. Additional sessions have placed her alongside Eyvind Kang and Marissa Nadler. Her independent releases include Mellow Diamond and Songs of the One-Armed Woman, Songs for Voice and Mellotron, both from 2016, followed by American Gods in 2017. The self-titled debut of her large jazz septet Ensemble Volcanic Ash appeared in 2022, with To March Is to Love following in 2024. At the same time she and Pirog issued the second duo album New Moon in the Evil Age.
She entered the world in 1981 in Vienna, Virginia, and spent her formative years in the D.C. metropolitan area. At George Mason University she completed a cello performance degree while also minoring in dance and world music, then began immersing herself in the region’s active punk and creative music communities. During those years she established an enduring collaboration with Anthony Pirog under the name Janel and Anthony, issuing several ambient indie rock albums. Her recording résumé further encompasses work with Beauty Pill and numerous other artists spanning multiple genres.
Mellow Diamond, her first solo effort, surfaced in 2016 and merged avant-garde pop elements with ambient textures. That same year she completed Songs of the One-Armed Woman, Songs for Voice and Mellotron, an album tracked in 2015 during recovery from an elbow injury that prevented cello playing and instead featured her voice alongside Mellotron and Prophet 5 synthesizers. American Gods, released in 2017, layered synth and cello on a set of politically charged material shaped by the preceding year’s presidential election. Ensemble Volcanic Ash’s 2022 instrumental album highlighted the full group—guitarist Pirog, bassist Luke Stewart, harpist Kim Sator, drummer Larry Ferguson, alto saxophonist Sarah Hughes, and tenor saxophonist Brian Settles—while blending jazz and classical influences. After touring and a brief hiatus, the musicians minus Sator reconvened to produce To March Is to Love, issued in June 2024. Both that record and New Moon in the Evil Age appeared on Cuneiform.
She entered the world in 1981 in Vienna, Virginia, and spent her formative years in the D.C. metropolitan area. At George Mason University she completed a cello performance degree while also minoring in dance and world music, then began immersing herself in the region’s active punk and creative music communities. During those years she established an enduring collaboration with Anthony Pirog under the name Janel and Anthony, issuing several ambient indie rock albums. Her recording résumé further encompasses work with Beauty Pill and numerous other artists spanning multiple genres.
Mellow Diamond, her first solo effort, surfaced in 2016 and merged avant-garde pop elements with ambient textures. That same year she completed Songs of the One-Armed Woman, Songs for Voice and Mellotron, an album tracked in 2015 during recovery from an elbow injury that prevented cello playing and instead featured her voice alongside Mellotron and Prophet 5 synthesizers. American Gods, released in 2017, layered synth and cello on a set of politically charged material shaped by the preceding year’s presidential election. Ensemble Volcanic Ash’s 2022 instrumental album highlighted the full group—guitarist Pirog, bassist Luke Stewart, harpist Kim Sator, drummer Larry Ferguson, alto saxophonist Sarah Hughes, and tenor saxophonist Brian Settles—while blending jazz and classical influences. After touring and a brief hiatus, the musicians minus Sator reconvened to produce To March Is to Love, issued in June 2024. Both that record and New Moon in the Evil Age appeared on Cuneiform.
Albums
Ensemble Volcanic Ash: Pluto In Aquarius
2026
Slowly Melting
2026
Ensemble Volcanic Ash: To March Is To Love
2024
Ensemble Volcanic Ash
2022
Singles
