Ada Lea – the moniker of Montreal-based singer-songwriter Alexandra Levy – has announced a new album, when i paint my masterpiece. The follow-up to one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden lands on August 8 via Saddle Creek. It’s led by the single ‘baby blue frigidaire mini fridge’, which treats the passage of time like a breeze. “Yeah, everything comes at a price/ Waking up, and it’s fall again,” Levy sings. Check out the video for it below.
Reflecting on the inspiration behind the new single, Levy said: “The Chantal Akerman film where the camera moves in slow circular pans around her apartment. Then what if the frame quickly zooms out as far as it could possibly go? And in that wide pull back, what we recognize as universal is still ‘this chair, this window, this mountain view.’ Then, move out again, even further. What we are left with—three things: ‘our old time souls, this old time moon.’ Two things, I mean.”
The new album was recorded in rural Ontario in the final weeks of 2023 with Tasy Hudson on drums, Chris Hauer on lead guitar, and Summer Kodama on bass. It was produced alongside Here We Go Magic’s Luke Temple. “For me, that looked like resting, extending my creative reach, going back to school, studying painting and poetry,” Levy explained. “Taking a step away from music as guided by industry expectations. Simplifying things. Getting a job, starting to teach. Engaging with the process rather than the product.”
Last year, Ada Lea released the notes EP. Check out our track-by-track interview with Ada Lea, breaking down one hand on on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden.
when i paint my masterpiece Cover Artwork:
when i paint my masterpiece Tracklist:
1. death phase of 2024 (rainlight)
2. moon blossom
3. baby blue frigidaire mini fridge
4. something in the wind
5. midnight magic
6. it isn’t enough
7. snow globe
8. everything under the sun
9. just like in the museum
10. bob dylan’s 115th haircut
11. diner
12. there is only one thing on my mind
13. dogs playing in the backyard
14. down under the van horne overpass
15. i want it all
16. somebody is walking in the water
