In late January on a Monday night, I had the chance to speak with Vancouver native Kaleah Lee on a zoom call. Though soft spoken, Lee made it easy to talk to her – it was like making a new friend. Kaleah Lee is one of our chosen Emerging Artists and someone we feel deserves a spotlight. In our interview, we spoke about creating her single artwork for her newest single, “Out of Body” (she has a great eye), artists she’s inspired by, and our shared love for Searows. Her new single, “Out of Body” is tender and moving; it talks about self-reflection and how troubling it can be. Although she is only three songs old and has a humble nature, Kaleah Lee is a talent worth watching.

about emerging artists:

Get to know your favorite new and emerging artists right here. Artists that are putting out their very first projects or artists that are continuing to grow. This is the perfect space to pick up an artist that has not hit the mainstream yet. 

Read along to the interview here:

JULIA

I wanna say congrats to everything that you have going on. You surpassed 1,000,000 global streams, you landed on Spotify’s “Fresh Finds Class of 2022,” Tidal’s “Rising Best of 2022,” and acknowledgements from Taylor Swift, Maggie Rogers, Gracie Abrams, Lizzie McAlpine, and Bon Iver, so congrats. That’s dope.

KALEAH

Thank you. Yeah, that sounds so crazy.

JULIA

How does that make you feel?

KALEAH

It’s really weird. I think it’s hard for me to process it at times, just wrapping my head around what’s going on is so strange, and especially because everything’s sort of online too. Sort of not happening but it is happening.

JULIA

You can kind of dissociate a little bit from it because it’s not in front of you.

KALEAH

Yeah definitely.

JULIA

So I wanted to talk about your new single “Out of Body” which I love – what were some inspirations behind it?

KALEAH

Yeah that one I remember writing it pretty sporadic it was really randomly. But the gist of it is kind of based on those thoughts you have when you’re alone. Specifically, it was a kind of late-at-night thing when you just start spiraling and thinking about everything and those weird thoughts.

I keep saying they’re kind of like existential thoughts. Just all the things you don’t usually think about lightly kind of all hitting you. So yeah, that’s basically it.

JULIA

Plus night time just hits you so it’s crashing down in those moments.

KALEAH

Yeah exactly.

JULIA

I’ve noticed that it came off kind of like an excerpt from your journal.

Is that what you intended it to be like?

KALEAH

I think that just kind of happens with a lot of the things I write because that’s how it feels for me writing. It’s kind of just a way to like, cope with everything. Yeah, definitely shows through, so I’m not surprised that it felt that way. 

JULIA

I also wanted to ask how it is working with Gabe Goodman because I know he’s worked with Maggie Rogers, and you’re a fan of Maggie Rogers, so I didn’t know if that was a full-circle moment?

KALEAH

It was really cool. He’s the nicest and just the best ever. The first few songs I’ve done with him, we never met in person, so we did everything over the computer and just sent each other things back and forth. I got to meet him when I went to LA a few months ago. I got to actually sit in with him. It was so much fun. He’s honestly the best. A really good first experience with someone. I felt very lucky.

JULIA

Yeah that’s great. Sometimes you never know how it’s going to be when it comes to an online connection. It’s good when it happens.

KALEAH

Yeah it was amazing.

JULIA

How did you come up with the cover artwork for “Out of Body”?

KALEAH

That was funny. That day it was super rainy. I was by myself and was like, “OK I’m gonna do this.” Sometimes I’ll just be like, today’s the day, I’m doing something, so I’m gonna do it no matter what. It was foggy and pouring rain, and I thought this was the vibe.

So, I brought my little tripod to the beach and set it up. There was no one there, and it was pouring rain. I had about three jackets on. I took them off, ran in front of the camera, and used a self timer–which is my best friend. I had to put a zip lock bag over the camera so it wouldn’t get wet, but it kind of made it a little blurry. It was cool, I totally meant to do that.

JULIA

That’s very cool. That’s really smart actually and it came out great so it worked out. It’s a win-win.

KALEAH

Thank you. It worked.

JULIA

OK so aside from your new single what else do you have planned if you could say anything about it? I know sometimes people keep it a little hush hush and can’t talk about it. Is there anything you can mention?

KALEAH

I’ve just been writing a lot, and I started making these little demos on GarageBand. I’m having fun with that, so definitely working on stuff you know nothing–nothing planned super in-depth yet, but definitely still working on stuff.

JULIA

Plus you could ride the wave with the new single. Let it have its moment.

KALEAH

Yeah it’s fun.

JULIA

OK, so I know your sister was the one who pushed you to post your first cover before this all started.

Do you feel more comfortable now since you have some experience having posted online before?

KALEAH

Way more comfortable. At first I was crying like, in actual tears, so I’ve come a long way. But yeah, it’s fun for me now.

JULIA

Yeah, we have to shout out your sister for that one.

KALEAH

For sure.

JULIA

Is she holding it over your head sometimes?

KALEAH

She’s like, this is all me (laughs). No, she’s good.

JULIA

I know songwriting is private. Sometimes you’re like, I don’t want to show anyone this, let alone put it out there, but

is there someone who you’re like, “OK I’m going to show you this song,” and see how they feel about it before I want to take any more steps with it?

KALEAH

I kind of just write things, and I’m good with it. I’ll send it to my team and stuff. I usually am like, this is good enough. It is so personal getting someone else to see what they think, that’s for sure. Because it’s such a personal thing that I just feel like, when I know it’s right, I feel good about it.

JULIA

I’ve heard some people say, “I’ll show my mom and see what they have to say,” and I’m like, “Oh my God, I don’t know if I could show my mom.” That feels so personal. I’m close to my mom, but I’m also like…this is different. 

KALEAH

Yeah, I’ll send stuff to my sister, but she’s always really encouraging so I’m not really gonna get constructive anything (laughs). 

JULIA

Is there a specific song that took you a really long time to write, or do they just come to you? And do you have one that took the longest amount of time and one that took the shortest time to write?

KALEAH

I think for the most part anything that I’ll share, whether it’s through a TikTok video or Instagram, is something that I’ve probably finished or that I like. Usually those happen very quickly, which is strange. I don’t think it’s taken more than a few days at most. I feel like it’s hard for me to revisit things I’ve written before because once I’m out of that space, it’s hard for me to get back into it.

A lot of people can do that, pick things up later, but I find for me, once I’m writing, I kind of won’t stop until it’s finished. So yeah, most of them were done pretty quickly. I would say “Out of Body” was probably written pretty quickly. It’s short, but specifically, I remember writing that just in one sitting–not moving from start to finish.

JULIA

That’s cool. You know some people, it’s just a different technique. I always felt growing up that if you wanted to be a songwriter, you had to do it a certain way, and now I’ve learned that people have their own way of writing.

KALEAH

Yeah definitely.

JULIA

Who are some songwriters you admire speaking of songs?

KALEAH

I love Bon Iver – Justin Vernon. He’s probably the top of everything in my life. Yeah, just love their words and just the choice of everything is so unique, and it’s almost like in code.

JULIA

That’s a good way to phrase it.

KALEAH

Yeah the phrasing–it’s really amazing, and it’s super inspiring for me. I’ve always kind of gravitated towards not being super direct, but giving enough information that people know what you’re talking about. I really liked that kind of, you know what it means and everyone can have their own interpretation or take it however they need it style.

But yeah, definitely Bon Iver. Taylor Swift has just been a huge inspiration growing now, forever. Definitely Taylor as well. Just the honesty in her writing is very admirable, and I also love Dijon. I like a lot of writing that’s honest, just very honest.

JULIA

Yeah I tend to lean toward things that are honest, but also specific like in “Out of Body” you sang “by the river.” I was like, oh, it’s this specific thing sometimes where you wouldn’t have thought to say that or to write that. 

I have a feeling that the answer is independent, but do you tend to write with anyone ever, or is it just like…this is me, I’m going to put all of myself into this?

KALEAH

I try to do writing sessions with other people. It just doesn’t work for me…at least right now. It’s never the same. I don’t know if this is just a personal issue, but it’s hard for me to kind of get to the space I’m in when I write alone with other people, so maybe it’s a matter of time.

JULIA

Yeah I get that.

Because this is an emerging artist section we also want to ask if there’s anyone you want to put a spotlight on–any emerging artists that you know of that you want to put out there and wish for people to know about. There’s no limit. You could say 15, it doesn’t matter.

KALEAH

OK, I’m obsessed with Searows. Guard Dog, I have on repeat that album. He’s definitely amazing. That’s all that’s coming to my brain right now.

JULIA

That’s okay. That’s a good one, they’re really cool. I’ve been a fan of them for a while. What’s your favorite song from their new album?

KALEAH

It changes every day. I guess it was “Dragon.“ Something about it I just really love. “Coming Clean” is also so good.

JULIA

I also wanted to ask how it is performing live for the first time because I know – I watched your YouTube video. I did my research.

I had fun watching it, but also I know it was the first time since a lot of your success that you’ve had performing in front of a live crowd – how do you feel about it?

KALEAH

I was a lot less nervous than I thought I would be. It’s still weird for me, but I think overtime I’ll just get used to it. It was a lot of fun. Definitely something I’m looking forward to doing more. Prior to that, I did open mics in a coffee shop with not that many people, so I found that scarier because everyone’s right in your face and there’s not that many people. It’s too intimate.

JULIA

Yeah that’s fair it can be intimidating.

So since you brought up coffee shops, what’s your coffee order? That’s a big thing with us. 

KALEAH

I am not that big of a coffee drinker (laughs). I love matcha. I’ll probably…I like matcha with coconut milk or matcha with Chai in it. It’s so good. It’ll spice it up a little bit. 

Kaleah’s Coffee Order: Matcha with Coconut Milk

JULIA

Hot or cold?

KALEAH

Depends on the weather. Definitely cold in summer and hot in the winter.

JULIA

I’ve never really tried Chai, even though I’ve heard so many good things about it. I think I’m just, I don’t know, I’m afraid. I’m so used to the same thing. I’m afraid that I’m going to get it and go “oh I hate this.”

KALEAH

What do you get?

JULIA

I’m basic and get an iced vanilla latte with oat milk.

KALEAH

Can’t go wrong.

JULIA

I wanna vary it up, but at the same time I know I’m not gonna like it. As adventurous as I could be, there is a limitation to it (laughs). 

KALEAH

(Laughs) You don’t wanna mess it up.

JULIA

You get it. That is all I have for you. This was a lot of fun. I appreciate you taking the time out to talk to me. This was great.

KALEAH

Thank you, I had a lot of fun.

You can stream Kaleah Lee’s music on all streaming platforms as well as find her on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter,