ADA LEA’S NEW LP, when i paint my masterpiece, OUT AUGUST 8, 2025 VIA NEXT DOOR RECORDS (CANADA), SADDLE CREEK (WORLDWIDE)
ADA LEA TO PERFORM AT MONTREAL’S PHONOPOLIS FOR AN IN-STORE ALBUM RELEASE PARTY - AUGUST 8 AT 6PM
WATCH / SHARE “midnight magic” HERE
BUY / STREAM “midnight magic” HERE
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR DATES BEGIN SEPTEMBER 10 - TICKETS HERE
PRE-SAVE when i paint my masterpiece HERE
Photo Credit: Tess Roby // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
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 8 via Next Door Records (Canada). 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 gruelling. 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 / SHARE “midnight magic” HERE
BUY / STREAM “midnight magic” HERE
“midnight magic” by Alexandra Levy
MORE ABOUT when i paint my masterpiece
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. Gruelling 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.
WATCH / SHARE “something in the wind” HERE
BUY / STREAM “something in the wind” HERE
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.
WATCH / SHARE “baby blue frigidaire mini fridge” HERE
BUY / STREAM “baby blue frigidaire mini fridge” HERE
Levy will embark on an extensive North American Tour in September following a string of dates in the UK. A full list of dates is below and tickets will be available here.
PRE-SAVE when i paint my masterpiece HERE
TOUR DATES
Aug 16 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club
Aug 17 - Bristol, UK @ Rough Trade Bristol w/ Allegra Krieger
Aug 18 - Edinburgh, UK @ Sneaky Pete's w/ Allegra Krieger
Aug 19 - Glasgow, UK @ Nice n' Sleazy w/ Allegra Krieger
Aug 20 - Chester, UK @ St. Mary's Creative Space w/ Allegra Krieger
Aug 21 - London, UK @ Lexington, Line of Best Fit w/ Allegra Krieger
Aug 31 - Rouyn-Noranda, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, QC @ FME (Festival de Musique Émergente)
Sep 10 - Burlington, VT @ Radio Bean
Sep 11 - Providence, RI @ AS220
Sep 12 - Catskill, NY - Avalon
Sep 13 - Turner Falls, MA @ Brick House
Sep 15 - New York, NY @ NightClub 101
Sep 16 - Washington, DC @ Quarry House
Sep 17 - Durham, NC @ Pinhook
Sep 18 - Nashville, TN @ East Room
Sep 19 - Chicago, IL @ Judson & Moore
Sep 20 - Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
Sep 21 - Toronto, ON @ The Garrison
Oct 14 - Montreal, QC @ Toscadura
Oct 15 - Hamilton, ON @ Roony's
Oct 17 - Kalamazoo, MI @ TV Station
Oct 18 - Milwaukee, WI @ Sky High
Oct 19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Cloudland
Oct 20 - Fargo, ND @ The Aquarium
Oct 22 - Butte, Montana @ Carpenters Union Hall
Oct 24 - Seattle, WA @ Ballard Homestead
Oct 25 - Vancouver, BC @ Kingsway
Oct 27 - Portland, OR @ Turn Turn Turn
Oct 29 - San Francisco, CA @ The Knockout
Oct 30 - Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble
Nov 1 - Salt Lake City @ The Pearl on Main
Nov 2 - Denver @ Hi Dive
Nov 4 - Lincoln, NE @ Reactor Coffee
Nov 5 - Davenport, IA @ Raccoon Motel
when i paint my masterpiece
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
PRAISE FOR ADA LEA AND one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden
“With immaculate tendrils of guitars and burbling percussion, one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden is a folk album that’s always pulsating, specific, and never boring.” — Stereogum, “Best Albums of 2021”
“‘Damn’...unfolds like a quiet epiphany.” — The New York Times
“Profound and dynamic, one hand on the steering wheel is a document of embracing your emotional truth.” — Bandcamp
“[‘Damn’ is] propulsive, unsettling and exquisite – and an impressive way to kick off an album.” — NPR Music
“[one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden] us[es] delicate, carefully crafted guitar pop and folk to connect her memories to a wider collective consciousness.” — Paste
“[one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden] glows with a particular late-summer energy, its precise, golden hour arrangements hinting at the wide-open chill of fall.” — Exclaim!
“[one hand on the steering wheel the other sewing a garden is] one of the most off center, but utterly compelling listens of the year.” — Under The Radar
“The magic of one hand on the steering wheel is how Levy somehow manages to speak volumes without giving too much away.” — All Music
