Off The Record: Léa Sen

I want to create music that people can get lost in, and make music that I would like if I was the listener. There’s no specific sound to my music, I try to move around.

The journey has been really fun, but definitely quite difficult. Once you start there’s a lot more pressure. It can be a little isolating at times, learning all the skills and doing it by yourself. It’s also really rewarding because when you make a whole project by yourself and listen back to it, you can say you did that. It creates a state of confidence, because even if you then bring people in to work with you, at least you know what you’re talking about. It’s a really fun and useful skill to have, but can also be challenging as fuck.

When I initially met Joe (Vegyn), I didn’t really care too much about that song at the time. I had just put it on the internet, and he happened to like it. The collaboration happened organically and we ended up completely forgetting about it. About a year and a half later, my team mentioned: ‘What about that rework that you never did anything with?’, and so we worked towards putting it out. It wasn’t really that I needed a remix, rather it just ended up happening.

I guess the first time I released the song, I was by myself,  I didn’t have a label or a team. Then about a week later, I was on the internet completely carefree and Joe and I got speaking about doing a rework. I don’t particularly consider it as a single fully, rather something that Joe and I made for fun. 

Yeah, I lived in the outskirts of Paris before. Both places have affected the sound of my music so much. It reinforced a lot of things that I already naturally had, or that I was listening to. I think what’s different is that London is a lot more open-minded than Paris. There’s plenty of space to make music in any style, while in Paris, if you don’t make music in French, or in certain styles people are not as invested in it – it can be very difficult to make a living from music in Paris. But to be honest, London is also a lot more expensive and there’s a lot more pressure and competition due to the amount of talent, but it’s a lot more open. There’s so many more people, in so many different areas that you can meet at any time.

I had just moved to London, I’d been here for about a year and I was thinking of the challenges of trying to make music in another country – on top of the fact I was by myself and having to meet lots of new people. I went into full music mode, I wanted to be able to sit and reflect on the things I’d lost; the things I’d ruined; the things I had. I was so mentally exhausted, I needed something to get me out of that. At the time I was a bit sad and scared. The EP is called ‘You Of Now, Pt. 1’ and it was inspired by one of Brian Eno’s ‘Oblique Strategies’ cards. I realised when you make a project, there’s so much self doubt and comparison involved. There’s a real sense of lack of trust, and I realised no matter how difficult the emotions might be, or how scary it can be, you’ve still got to trust yourself. This is something that I have to remind myself every single day. No matter what I’m trying to create, I have to have deep trust in myself before anyone else.

I started recording this project in early 2021, and it took me around six months to make it. I can’t remember exactly how I approached it, but I recorded everything at home. Although it came out in May last year, I had recorded it a year before that.

That’s interesting. I think it’s important for people to stay connected, deeply connected, because we’re all connected on the surface. I’m realising more and more a big reason why I do this, not necessarily consciously, is because I’m trying to connect with people. If I’m not being honest I can’t connect with people, and it’s essential for me to feel like I have that. Especially because sometimes you can feel self conscious about what you sing. When I was younger I used to always sing in English, even though I’m French, because I didn’t want my family to understand. People are more able to connect with something that is honest, and raw. You can really appreciate where the artist is coming from because you actually understand. There’s probably a tonne of other reasons why being vulnerable and honest is good or useful in music, but that’s my reason.

It’s funny, because some people hear that question and do not want to even consider themselves as female musicians. I have different life experiences to that of a lot of my peers. I grew up with brothers and have always been around a lot of men when it came to music. What’s been difficult for me is not having as many girlfriends as when I was younger. As I got older and became more involved in my music career, I saw less and less women working in the industry. That can sometimes be a bit difficult because I connect differently with men. Generally speaking, I find it easier to connect with women, but I think it’s hard to sometimes find your place. As hard as it is, we’re in a world now where we really have to make up our own definitions of what it means to be a woman and work in the music industry, because it’s definitely not easy.

To do music that you deeply love. Don’t think you’re any less than anyone, but don’t be arrogant. Don’t think you’re any better than anyone or any more special. Just go at it with as much humility as possible. Really embrace everything that’s going to come your way and make sure to trust yourself more than anyone else. I know a lot of that sounds basic, but more often than not, when something is basic, it’s so true.

I’d love to work with Thom Yorke. I’d love to play live with him, his solo projects are some of my favourite things I’ve ever heard. I know at the moment he’s on tour with The Smile, and I love the music because it’s a bit different. I also love the electronic stuff he does. I’d love to be on the his tours and do nothing but take in the vibe.

I have some new music that I’ve been working on that feels a lot closer to the sound that I’ve been wanting to create. I think the first project was me trying things out and experimenting, but this one feels a lot more like how I want it to sound. There’s some cool features coming up with some of my favourite artists too. I’m really excited about it all, I’m going on tour with Nick Hakim in March too. This year I really want to connect with more people directly because I feel like I’ve always been isolating too much. As for collaborations, I definitely want to work with a producer, mixer, and other musicians in the future and I consider sampling as a collaboration. I think 2023 is going to be my best year yet.