Leif has been involved with music for the majority of his life, beginning with an early singing career as a boy soprano in the Northwest Boychoir and a production at the Bathhouse Theater. From there, his love of singing as well as video games drove him to begin creating his own MIDI soundtracks throughout his school years. The music eventually found a home, accompanying several stage productions in high school and leading him to follow these aspirations to college.

Attending Cornish College of the Arts, Leif studied with many notable Seattle composers including Roger Nelson, Jarred Powell, Janice Giteck, and singer-songwriter Linda Waterfall; all aiding in finding a musical voice beyond just the synthesized melodies. During the final two years of his time there, he worked with many local ensembles including the Seattle Chamber Players and the Saint Helens String Quartet to find his way in acoustic writing.

Post-college saw an attempt to join both acoustic and electronic methods of composing and framing music with a flurry of original compositions as well as collaborations with choreographer Karen Brown. Since then, Leif has written music for several PC strategy games, instrumental song cycles, and most recently several collaborative tracks with Deprogrammed's Otto Cate on a digital album.