With her past three albums, The Passing Scene, Pretty Faces and Summer’s On The Ground, Australian-based folk artist LEAH SENIOR had been quietly developing her craft as a quality singer, songwriter of note. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard had also seen the gathering storm and took her under their wing, releasing her first 3 albums under their Flightless Records label. Leah’s distinctive voice also featured as narrator on their records and she collaborated with with the band, re-writing and performing the soundtrack to cult-classic Suspiria in 2020. Additionally, Leah supported King Gizzard on their most recent tour of America, playing iconic venues such as Red Rocks and The Greek Theatre. Leah Senior’s captivating live performances have seen her supporting international artists including Jessica Pratt, Jeff Tweedy and Bedouine and performing at festivals such as Levitation, Desert Daze, Port Fairy Folk Festival and Golden Plains.
Now Leah Senior emerges with her fourth album, The Music That I Make, in which the talented composer, performer transports the listener into a meditative state, delivering a beautiful collection of ruminative songs, the perfect soundtrack to contemplate life by. Created mostly in her sandstone shack in Anglesea, it’s such a warm sounding record, conjuring thoughts of early 70s works by folk legends such as Judee Sill, Sandy Denny, or Judy Collins. Leah is currently on the road, touring the east coast of Australia weaving her folk magic, playing material from the new record.
Australian Musician editor Greg Phillips caught up with Leah Senior via a zoom call to chat about the creation of her wonderful new album The Music That I Make.
MORE ABOUT LEAH SENIOR
Australian-based folk diviner LEAH SENIOR is currently on her first Australian tour in five years, The Music That I Make album tour, that will see her play shows across VIC, QLD, NSW and the ACT plus a slot at Winter Sounds this August and September (full dates below), with further shows to be announced. Leah Senior also shares her new single ‘Where Am I Now?’, an introspective song that questions the complex relationship she has to her creative practice. ‘Where Am I Now?’ is taken from Leah Senior’s new album The Music That I Make (out August 18 / Poison City Records), and is out everywhere now, stream HERE.
Some days I look into the mirror and see no reflection and so I find myself in song, it gives me direction. Lyrically cutting and introspective, ‘Where Am I Now?’ is late night piano balladry wandering into psych territory with a sensitive rhythm section, glassy harmonies and wiry guitar lines. On the single, Leah Senior shares, “This song was written at a time when I felt as though I was spinning out, feeling like I was losing my grip on reality. It’s about the complex relationship that I have with my creative practice. I find my way back to myself through writing and playing but at the same time some days I feel as though I am a slave to it, my self worth totally wrapped up in what I make.”
LISTEN: Leah Senior – ‘Where Am I Now?’
Cycling through vulnerable meditations on what it means to create, The Music That I Make shows Leah Senior at her most intimate, transporting listeners to her sandstone shack in Anglesea where old world folk meets late night AM radio. Across the album, she moves away from the springtime baroque pop featured on The Passing Scene (2020) and into deep hearted, masterful songwriting with her confessional lyrics and intimate vocals centre stage. It’s opener, also the album’s title track, could just as easily soundtrack a Saturday morning coffee at home as a late night melancholic moment; ‘Clearest View’ – her “cryptic hippie protest song” – showcases crystalline harmonies, while on ‘The Fig’ she recalls a friend who regretted giving her best years to pursuing a career in music. Calling in inspirations from The Bell Jar to poems by Emily Dickinson, Leah Senior muses on writing songs to show her the way back to herself (‘Where Am I Now?’), the redemptive nature of love (‘Greed Is A Cloud’), and how freeing our unconscious can be as simple as blurting things out quicker than you think (‘The Critic’).
Leah Senior silences audiences with vivid lyricism and a voice that soars with a disarmingly honest Sandy Denny-like clarity. Her unique style has attracted not only those in the folk world but the likes of many others including the infamous psych rockers King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard; her distinctive voice featuring as omnipresent narrator on numerous records as well as a collaboration with them re-writing and performing the soundtrack to cult-classic Suspiria in 2020. She recently released a beautiful cover of Grant McLennan’s ‘Easy Come, Easy Go’, and together with the first single from The Music That I Make, ‘Pony’, has seen additions, airplay and support from Double J (addition), Triple R (premiere), FBi Radio (B Rotation), PBS FM (Feature Sounds), The AU Review (Best Music), Music Feeds (Best Music), Pilerats (Best Videos) and more. Leah Senior has released three albums, The Passing Scene (2020), Pretty Faces (2017) and Summer’s On The Ground (2015).
TOUR DATES
Saturday 26 August – Dart & Marlin – Gunditjmara/Warrnambool, VIC
Saturday 2 September – Major Tom’s – Taungurung/Kyneton, VIC
Saturday 9 September – Seasonal Fruit Festival – Meanjin/Brisbane, QLD
Friday 15 September – Bridge Hotel – Dja Dja Wurrung/Castlemaine, VIC
Friday 22 September – The Great Club – Eora/Sydney, NSW
Saturday 23 September – La La La’s – Dharawal/Wollongong, NSW
Sunday 24 September – Smith’s Alternative – Ngunnawal/Canberra, ACT
more dates to come…
Connect with Leah Senior