VIDEO: Lea Thomas Releases New Single 'What Did The Music Sound Like'

"What Did the Music Sound Like," the newest single from Japanese American singer-songwriter Lea Thomas, will be releasing on April 27 on Spirit House Records. The song is dedicated to the music that served as a backdrop to the great shifts in her life, such as her move at 17 from Hawaii, where she was born, to New York, where she has spent the last decade. The track is anchored by steady, folk-pop guitar strums that vibrate beneath Thomas' calm alto and visceral storytelling.

Watch the music video!

Making the video was an unusual process. In the midst of the isolating global pandemic, Thomas kept the production simple, filming the video on her own with her phone. The video strings together "selfie" clips with vignettes of New York that hold nostalgic significance. "The song is an ode to the music that has offered me companionship through all the highs and lows and I wanted the video to reflect on the intimacy of that relationship, like a journal entry or a message I'd send to a friend, to share the excitement and uncertainty of change. It's a love song to the city I've called home for the last 13 years."

Born in Hawaii and based in Brooklyn, Lea Thomas started her musical journey early, first with piano and then moving to guitar at 13 years old. A self-taught engineer, she left home at 17 to attend engineering school in New York City. She released her first record, Want For Nothing, in 2017 through Tacky Records, and followed up with her Part of This Place EP and Blue of Distance in 2018 and 2019, respectively, through Spirit House Records. "What Did the Music Sound Like" is her latest release through Spirit House.

In addition to her work as a musician, songwriter and producer, Thomas is a visual artist with a focus on hand weaving and natural dyes. Her frequent use of indigo pigment is symbolic of her Japanese heritage, honoring a lineage of kimono makers and textile artisans in her immediate ancestry. She is also a long-time student of traditional herbal medicine and produces a seasonal line of wild, hand-harvested herbal products under the name All In All Apothecary.

Learn more at lealealea.com.

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