Ada Lea releases new single/video “midnight magic” | New album "when i paint my masterpiece" out August 8th via Saddle Creek
Ada Lea releases new single/video “midnight magic”
New album when i paint my masterpiece out August 8th on Saddle Creek
UK tour starts August 16th
Ada Lea—the moniker of Montreal-based musician Alexandra Levy— releases “midnight magic,” the third single/video from her new album, when i paint my masterpiece, out August 8th via Saddle Creek. Following last month’s meditation on love, “something in the wind,” “midnight magic” is set firmly in a shimmering dreamworld that could have been summoned by Judee Sill.
In writing the song, Levy took a surreal approach inspired by artists Leonora Carrington, James Ensor, Charlotte Salomon, and Maruja Mallo. What emerged was not only “midnight magic,” but also an accompanying painting. Levy and visual art collaborator, Clarice Hana, then brought the painting to life in a video in which “a giant creature woman births a candlestick holder, a cloud-sized egg, a piano, an enormous tube of paint and finally, she gives birth to me,” Levy explains. “The OBGYN has 4 eyes and uses 3-foot scissors to cut the cord.
Mirroring both the painting and video are Levy’s experiences while making when i paint my masterpiece. Reflecting on the song, she says, “I felt like I was taking a leap of faith with this surreal approach—and it felt good to trust that the song knew best. In an artist talk, Margaux Williamson said her new body of work took her 8 years to complete and said, ‘I am constantly needing to remind myself that the hand knows better than the brain.’ I nodded Yes. When it came time to record the vocals, a lot had happened since the initial recording session, the most significant being a second trimester pregnancy loss. It was grueling. As soon as I physically could, I started singing and resumed working on the album again. As I sang the first lines of this song, which go ‘angel, promise me this,’ I immediately burst into tears because I knew that the song was for my baby.”
Watch the video for “midnight magic”
when i paint my masterpiece is an epic, 16-track opus. It’s a kaleidoscopic exploration of the transformations art can bring: the vision of an uncompromising artist dancing bravely and freely between registers and across mediums. The album marks a reset — a quiet revolution. After years of relentless international touring, Levy felt an urgent need for community and renewal. Grueling road schedules with very little support left her wondering: who am I really doing all this for? The system was uncaring and broken, and so she envisioned a new healthy and healing mode of musical genesis. Levy went back to school to study painting and poetry, got a job, and began teaching.
The shapely, intuitive songs that comprise Ada Lea's third album are surprising, imagistic, tactile. They stand before us and we feel their brushstrokes. By the end of these sixteen songs, it’s clear: when i paint my masterpiece isn’t chasing perfection, it’s comfortable in the magic of being. These songs are alive with poetic specificity and a wide-open heart—deeply felt, often strange, and always reaching. There’s an optimistic and plainspoken wisdom in the lyrics, building on Ada Lea’s singular songwriting style of surprising harmonic and melodic turns—now with a newly rich, organic sound that rewards slow listening. The masterpiece, not a product, is the process.
Levy will embark on an extensive North American Tour in September following a string of dates in the UK. The tour will see Levy stopping in New York, Chicago, Toronto, Seattle, Los Angeles and more. A full list of dates is below and tickets will be available here.
Pre-order when i paint my masterpiece
Watch the video for “baby blue frigidaire mini fridge”
Watch the video for “something in the wind”
Ada Lea tour dates:
(UK dates in bold)
Fri, Aug 16 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Sat, Aug 17 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol w/ Allegra Krieger
Sun, Aug 18 - Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete's w/ Allegra Krieger
Mon, Aug 19 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice n' Sleazy w/ Allegra Krieger
Tue, Aug 20 - Chester, UK @ St. Mary's Creative Space w/ Allegra Krieger
Wed, Aug 21 - London, UK @ Lexington, Line of Best Fit w/ Allegra Krieger
Sun. Aug. 31 — Rouyn-Noranda, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, QC @ FME (Festival de Musique Émergente)
Wed, Sept 10 - Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean
Thu, Sept 11 - Providence, RI @ AS220
Fri, Sept 12 - Catskill, NY - Avalon
Sat, Sept 13 - Turner Falls, MA @ Brick House
Mon, Sept 15 - New York, NY @ NightClub 101
Tue, Sept 16 - Washington, DC @ Quarry House
Wed, Sept 17 - Durham, NC @ Pinhook
Thu, Sept 18 - Nashville, TN @ East Room
Fri, Sept 19 - Chicago, IL @ Judson & Moore
Sat, Sept 20 - Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
Sun, Sept 21 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Tue, Oct 14 - Montreal, QC @ Toscadura
Wed, Oct 15 - Hamilton @ Roony's
Fri, Oct 17 - Kalamazoo, MI @ TV Station
Sat, Oct 18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Sky High
Sun, Oct 19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Cloudland
Mon, Oct 20 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
Wed, Oct 22 - Butte, Montana @ Carpenters Union Hall
Fri, Oct 24 - Seattle, WA @ Ballard Homestead
Sat, Oct 25 - Vancouver, BC @ Kingsway
Mon, Oct 27 - Portland, OR @ Turn Turn Turn
Wed, Oct 29 - San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout
Thu, Oct 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble
Sat, Nov 1 - Salt Lake City @ The Pearl on Main
Sun, Nov 2 - Denver @ Hi Dive
Tue, Nov 4 - Lincoln, NE @ Reactor Coffee
Thu, Nov 5 - Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
