Name: Leah James

Nationality: American
Occupation: Singer, songwriter
Current release: Leah James's December EP is out via Swan.

If you enjoyed this interview with Leah James and would like to find out more about her music, visit her official homepage. She is also on Instagram, Facebook, and twitter. 



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?
 
I am fascinated by the human impulse to create. The unique, the poetic, the mundane human existence within and of itself - the very act of existing is Art. Brilliant art. Every single one of us on this planet is an Artist. Humans, animals, plants, the ocean, alive and breathing - all of us artists collectively painting on the same canvas.

Some days my medium is music, other days crying, other days climbing a mountain. So where does my impulse to create come from? I suppose my answer is breath. Breath, itself, gives me my impulse to create.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

Seldom do I envision my finished work before I begin. I know very well that once I embark on an expression and create the space and time for it to take shape, then at that very moment, the idea becomes its own entity with its own aliveness - and then my only job is to remove all judgment and watch it form.

The more I can take my hands off of it and allow it to shapeshift and contort, the more pleased and surprised I am with the outcome.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?
 
Not so much. The only preparation I need to do before creating is kill the critic in my mind.

Oh don’t get me wrong, she’ll be back - she always comes back - but she’s not welcome in the beginning. Conception is too delicate of a time to welcome her in attendance.
 
Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?
 
I imagine most artists have rituals to get in the mood … but my mood dictates the ritual, I suppose.
 
What do you start with? How difficult is that first line of text, the first note?
 
I always begin by picking up the tenor guitar and seeing what comes through - that’s the easy part.

For me the lyrics come later, with buckets and buckets of pain. HA!
 
When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

Lyrics usually come a bit more slowly for me. They grow and change and take their sweet time to form.
 
What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?
 
Personally, when listening to music, I pay almost no attention to the lyrics. They tend to move me the least.

If a lyric stands out to me on a song that I’m listing to, then it’s either a very, very good lyric - or a very bad one, in my opinion. They have to be one or the other for me to notice on first listen.  

Perhaps that’s why it takes me longer than most to write lyrics - they just don’t move me as much as the rest of the production has the potential to.

Once you've started, how does the work gradually emerge?
 
Sometimes the work emerges with a bang - the next thing I know, it’s finished. Sometimes it goes at molasses speed.

It’s up to the song really. I’m more of a midwife.
 
Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control over the process or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?
 
Free is the way to go for me.
 
Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

There’s such a dance that happens within the songwriting process. The song is smarter than I am, and I’ve learned that it will come when it’s good and ready.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I consider the act of being alive a spiritually creative state. Whether one is driving, cooking, arguing, songwriting. To be alive is to be in the creative state. It’s what I try to remember the most. My life is my own personal expression of spirit. Every act, every response - no one thing more spiritual than the other.

So my own personal key to the creative state is presence, I guess. The more present I can become in every moment of life, the more aware I become to my own purpose, and then I can create from a place of clear intention.
 
Especially in the digital age, the writing and production process tends towards the infinite. What marks the end of the process? How do you finish a work?

I am actually not that way. I like messy things. I like mistakes in my work and for it to sound honest. I prefer wrapping things up and moving on to the next, rather than dwelling on songs for a crazy amount of time.
 
Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practice?
 
I do like to let the songs lie and reevaluate them later on. It’s almost as if I'm listening to them for the first time, but rarely will I make a change to their origin form.
 
What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? How involved do you get in this?

This is my favorite part of music making. The collaborative nature, the endless creative options. I like a playful room - a safe environment to try weird things musically. Take risks and push beyond the comfort zone.  
 
After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?
 
No, I don’t tend to feel a sense of emptiness after finishing a piece of work, because there’s usually a collection of new things right on its tail that I’m eager to dive into.
 
Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?
 
If my life is lived with presence and intention, then there is absolutely nothing I can express in song that I cannot express while performing mundane tasks.