Leela Gilday
Artist Story
Songwriting is how I tell my stories and express my creativity to the world. I think the music I write is an expression of these stories both melodically and lyrically. I have studied classical and sang jazz, soul, rock, R&B and spent some time learning traditional music. The unique parts of who I am are in there.
In my music, I talk about what I know and have experienced as a person on earth. Part of that is being a northerner and being Dene. I like to really think about the world and people so there is a range of the human story – birth, death, life and love. I try to just write what I know and capture something that actually speaks to people’s hearts.
I started singing when I was a baby: my parents raised us all singing. I taught myself how to play guitar when I was 22. I love the solitary environment of songwriting and then the collaboration in the recording studio, but what I love the most is being able to be on stage sharing the energy of my stories through music. When I do that I get to this point where I lose myself and it is just the music. It’s like yoga or meditation. People respond to that and share their energy back with you and I think that is a beautiful thing. People respond to music in the most primal and open way: it’s just real.