FEATURE: The Unearthing Of Lecia Louise

Words: Matt Innes

Success doesn’t come easily as an independent artist, but the hard work is paying off for Queensland singer-songwriter Lecia Louise.

Lecia’s latest single, ‘My Everything’ has found its way to the top of the triple J Unearthed charts across all genres.

“I was pretty excited,” Lecia says.

“It was in the charts for a few weeks and it hit number one on the triple J Unearthed charts. I’m really glad it had made it there, and that people had been streaming it and sharing it, and triple J Unearthed had given it some attention.

“Every artist likes when that type of thing happens,” she adds with a laugh.

It has been interesting to watch and listen to Lecia’s development over the past few years, from her early single ‘Per Te’ right up to ‘My Everything’.

As a songwriter, she can easily capture your heart in a moment; as a guitarist, she could blow your goddamn brains across the wall with a blazing solo or killer riff. She even has the personal testimony of legendary shredder Nita Strauss to prove it. Be warned.

‘My Everything’ is definitely of the former – a sweet, innocent love song for the time in which we live.

“I remember I was playing a gig on the Gold Coast [Queensland, Australia] and playing around with some chords,” Lecia explains of the song’s origins.

“I saved it on my phone in the middle of the gig then came back to it and finished it at home. I’d just come back from a tour overseas and I was away from a loved one, so the words stemmed from that.

“In this time, so many people are away from loved ones still with the pandemic hanging over our heads, it seemed like a suitable topic for many people at the moment.”

Adding a splash of ukulele, and Lecia has created a song that is sure to touch people thematically and musically.

“The ukulele brought a sort of happiness to it,” she says.

“At the end of the day, it is a love song and it’s got a real light production. I tried to keep things quite simple; Michael Flanders was producing it with me; 8 Ball Aitken did some production with me as well, but Flanders really helped guide the production through to be a light happy love song.”

Lecia believes ‘My Everything’ is the sort of song people need right now.

“Positivity is very much needed at the moment,” she says.

“There’s a lot of crazy things going on out there. If we can just keep things simple and positive, it’s going to help somebody I like to think.”

After the decimation of the live music industry courtesy of a global pandemic, Lecia is among a throng of musicians eagerly awaiting a potential return to live performances in 2021.

“It’s going to be better than 2020, so that’s a good start, Lecia laughs.

“I’m just easing back into doing live gigs; some people got out there quite quickly, and I had opportunities to do that, but I thought I’d wait a little longer. Also, because I’ve waited until I feel more inspired to play.”

Like so many other musicians who depend on gigs and touring to earn a living, Lecia was forced to cancel all her shows last year.

With that still fresh in her mind, Lecia says she is approaching her upcoming planned shows with a sense of caution.

“There’s some tours and festivals lined up for this year, but there’s always that thing in the back of your mind that it could be cancelled at any moment,” she admits.

“[I’m] just trying to keep that in mind and not put too much weight on these things because they may be cancelled. I like to think it’s definitely a step forward this year, but we never know what’s going to happen.”

The success Lecia is experiencing can only be attributed to the hard work and perseverance (not to mention personal finances) she has invested into developing her career as an independent musician.

“I’m committed to it,” Lecia says of the lifestyle she has chosen.

“I’ve made a lot of sacrifices over the years to keep having this life. It’s ongoing, all day and night. For anyone running their own business, it’s tough – you have to consider a lot of different aspects if you want to be in this game.

“At the end of the day you want to keep creative and making music because that’s what it’s about and you have to pull yourself away from all the other stuff – networking, marketing, promotion – just to sit down and work on a song by yourself with a guitar and bring it back down to what it’s all about.”

‘My Everything’ is available now. Visit www.lecialouisemusic.com for more information.

MADCAP Global Marketing & PR – We Start With The End In Mind.