Phoenix by Lea Lu

Lea Lu's new EP Phoenix follows the album I Call You with the two singles Wolf and Fire, which have gathered up over two million streams. Phoenix tells the story of letting go and ultimately overcoming a painful event. The melancholic, beautiful and bittersweet songs, all come from Lea’s pen and soul. They offer an insight into the last few years: flying high, crash landing, and finally getting back on the move.

The journey began with a stay in New York, where she was introduced to the secret basements that harbour the city’s jazz scene and rose up to sing on the rooftops accompanied by only the birds and the moon. In New York, she made deep friendships with musicians that prompted, The City Where No One Says Goodbye. The song Sun is also about such interpersonal connections. Arranged together with CARM (Bon Iver, Paul Simon), whom she met in a small bar in Brooklyn.

The EP also touches on euphoric musical moments, such as supporting Bon Iver in Milan. Justin Vernon hugs Lea backstage in excitement after her performance. This is followed by the fall, the loss of control over one's own body. Exactly at that moment, when nothing was moving anymore, the song Phoenix came in one go - “it wrote itself as if by itself - I know you'll find me in the darkest spot of my song - but you can't define me” sings Lea. Deep inside, there is always an ember that never stops flickering and from which ultimately arises the strength with which you can soar and sing again. The EP Phoenix is about nothing less than the miracle of life, which shows itself again and again, changes and goes on.

The EP was produced by Lea Lu and Claudio Strueby in Zurich in their studio in Pas D’Oreilles. Musicians from all over the world took part via remote sessions, such as Matt Penman on bass from New York or Jack Daniel on guitar from France. Lea’s velvety, textured voice touches the heart and at the same time has a purity that brings in the light. You can feel Claudio Strueby's drum beats in your body. Complex arrangements of backing vocals, analog synths and piano cradle Lea’s voice. The songs are further carried by a string quartet, which lets the songs float gently like spreading wings. The string arrangements - recorded in Paris - come from film composer Lucas Suarez (BIRDS, PHOENIX), Richard Sears (MY BLUE) and Lea herself (SUN, THE CITY WHERE NO ONE SAYS GOODBYE).

The trombonist Andreas Tschopp takes part in two songs and takes over the narrative thread with his deeply emotional playing. The EP was mixed by Francesco Donadello (Rick Rubin, Nils Frahm, Efterklang) in Berlin and mastered by Mika Rangeard (Billy Idol) in Paris.

The songs on the EP:

The mid-tempo track SUN is about the magic of deep encounters. In Lea's eyes, this is the most valuable thing we can experience. Also about the imprint they leave on you, even if we never see the other person again. Something stays and something changes in your own personality. Only the sun always remains the same.

MY BLUE is a song about letting go of someone you love and the contrasting feelings that arise as a result. The song is a painting of different shades of blue and describes the complexities of this pain.

The orchestral title track of the EP PHOENIX is about overcoming rigidity and returning to movement. Lea wrote the song on the piano when there was no going forward or going back. In the chorus the dark curtain opens and it becomes clear that the situation can be overcome. In the second verse, Claudio Strueby's dark drum beat lays the ground for the Phoenix to take off. The deeply moving string arrangement was penned by film composer Lucas Suarez from Barcelona. The violins become the wings of the Phoenix and give it lift.

In the fragile ballad BIRDS, Lea and the listeners find themselves in the solitude of dark, lonely trees, only to realise that they are not alone as deer are quietly approaching. Together they look into the slowly dying fire. At the end, the birds falling from the treetops turn and fly into the light of the sky.

THE CITY, WHERE NO ONE SAYS GOODBYE is a letter to the musicians in New York. Lea spent six months there and was allowed to explore the secret basements of the jazz scene. She sailed on the sea and sang on rooftops with the birds to the rising moon. During this time, Lea made deep friendships that never end because -
‘...you never say goodbye: - people get close through music and suddenly they're gone... after a while of dancing in this rhythm, with the city and its musicians and stories, you become a part of it yourself and leave, also without saying goodbye”

The EP PHOENIX is released on Lea Lu’s own label LL Records. The cover photograph was taken by NY Times photographer Reece T Williams on a rooftop terrace in New York just after the sun set behind the rooftops of the Lower East Side. Lea Lu is a singer- songwriter from Zurich. She has released three albums with Sony Music as well as two EPs and an album on her own label LL Records. She has played concerts around the world and supported Coldplay, Prateek Kuhad, and Bon Iver.