Lia Pappas-Kemps has shared a brand new video for “Catch Release, the track is off the Toronto singer-songwriter’s brand new album Gleam, oroduced by Nathan Ferraro (Beyoncé, Charli xcx, Carly Rae Jepsen).

“Lia is one of the best songwriters I’ve met in 10 years,” Ferraro says. “Making music with Lia feels more nostalgic than most of the records that I work on. We don’t use much technological help, most of the vocals are one take all the way through, with minimal editing. She wants everything to feel like it’s in the moment, and because of that, you might say it’s fearless. It’s refreshing and fun. I have a lot of respect for the process.”
To celebrate the EP release, Pappas-Kemps will perform a special headline show tonight at The Dance Cave in Toronto—get tickets HERE.
Gleam features previously shared singles “III-Intentions,” “Just The Thought” and “Switchblade,” Pappas-Kemps’ first new music of 2024, which Complete Music Update praised for her “delicate vocals, tinged with a malaise” that “capture the longing and malleability of teenage love while retaining an upbeat catchy energy.”

Pappas-Kemps music is Inspired by the raw lyricism and reflective storytelling of alternative mainstays like Alanis Morissette, The Strokes and Big Thief, Pappas-Kemps started sharing her songs and covers of other artists she admired—from Alvvays to Wings to Daft Punk—on social media in her late teens. In 2021 and 2022 the 20-year-old musician made her debut with a series of singles, including the grunge-inflected “Jinx,” which has accumulated millions of streams, and ballads “Sad in Toronto” and “Object at Best.” These songs broadened her fanbase worldwide, connected her with other musicians and helped bring her to the attention of Coalition Music and AWAL.

Lia Pappas-Kemps
Gleam
Tracklisting

1. Star
2. Switchblade
3. All Mirrors
4. Catch Release
5. III-Intentions
6. Just The Thought
7. A Thousand Times Over

We were lucky enough to chat with Lia about the new release and more:

Northern Transmissions” Can you tell us about the track “Sad in Toronto,?” What was the inspiration behind it?

Lia Pappas-Kemps: I was cooped up in my room during Covid walking the same few blocks every day and looking through photos of a long trip I had taken a couple years earlier. It was coming from a place of wanting to leave the city and I guess also reminding myself that it wouldn’t solve my problems if I left.

NT: Aside from your own unique sound, Your music has a strong 70’s influence. Were you exposed by family to those sounds, or was it a self-discovery?

LPK: The music I grew up on has definitely influenced me, intentionally and unintentionally. My parents mostly played music from the 70’s so there’s definitely that woven into my musical instincts. Joni Mitchell is a north star for me creatively, especially with how her sound changed throughout the years, while still feeling like Joni.

NT: How did Adrianne Lenker become such a strong influence on your music?

LPK: I started listening to Big Thief in middle school and I’ve always been really entranced by her songwriting. I saw her live recently too and was just so amazed at how much her personhood is reflected in her music. I just think she’s so cool.

NT: If any, what message does your new album hope to send to your fans of old and new?

LPK: I don’t know if I have a specific message – I think I just want people to enjoy the music, and maybe feel seen and relate to my feelings? That would be cool too.

NT: How did the “Catch Release” video concept come together? Are you always involved in the creative process, with your visuals?

LPK: Catch release has a lot of specific imagery in the lyrics so we used that as a jumping off point. And I worked with three awesome creatives Nolan Begley, Spencer Torok, and Kyla Mah to workshop the visual elements. I had a lot of sparse ideas for specific shots and they managed to incorporate all of them into the final thing which was really exciting.

HERE