Breakup fuels creativity

Like the old song goes, breaking up is hard to do. Montreal singer Ada Lea found the best way to take care of herself was 180 days straight of journal writing, culminating in her debut album, What We Say In Private.

Lea, whose real name is Alexandra Levy, began writing every morning following a breakup as a way to organize her thoughts.

“That’s how I process things. I think it’s the most economical way to go through your ideas,” Lea told Exclaim! magazine.

Lea says she always tries to get to work on a song after her regular morning routine. “There’s a calmness to the morning before the internal chatter begins, and that’s always nice. To start the day by jotting down all of your ideas before you start judging yourself.”

Lea’s original plan was a concept album based on the sun and moon, but she decided to scrap the idea once writing songs about the breakup began.

“That’s when a whole bunch of new ideas came into the picture,” she says, “and when finally it seemed like, ‘Oh, this is what was supposed to happen.’”

What We Do In Private is meant to be a look inside someone six months after the end of a relationship, the artist’s website says.

The album has been receiving positive reviews from music news website Pitchfork and The Boston Globe. “These tonal and emotional shifts, as Ada Lea vacillates between timidity and aggression, are what make what we say in private so exciting,” says Margaret Farrell from Pitchfork.

Lea will perform in Toronto and Montreal in August, before a European tour in October.