Sleeping Problems, Human Acoustics + A Hundred-Year-Old Barn - Interview with Lee Reit

In the concrete jungle of Brooklyn, NYC, the strumming of a guitar breaks up the sound of the engines of taxis and the pulsing of ventilation systems. Floating out of a window and over the expanse of metropolis come harmonies. Today these harmonies are from singer-songwriter Lee Reit, who has just released his debut, self-titled album. Here are the details: 

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How long have you been working on this album?

The album was recorded by between May of 2013 and June 2014, mixed throughout the summer of 2014 and mastered in fall of 2014. Most of the music on the album was written in 2012 and 2013, but many of the lyrics come from earlier–as early even as 2009. This stew’s been simmering for a while.

Which songs are you most excited about?

There’s a wide range of styles on this album. “Dream Another Night” and “Wheel Within a Wheel” are the strongest pop songs I’ve recorded thus far, so I’m excited for those to make their way out into the wider world. Beyond those songs, “Visions of Eternity” and “Pleasure of the Fall” showcase lyrics that I am proud to call my own, and the string arrangements on “Thanks for the Lessons”– all the work of my producer, Jared Saltiel – are really exceptional. That’s a song I really hope will find its audience.

Who should listen to your music?

People who are likely to form a connection with my album are people who like to spend time thinking about lyrics, people who appreciate hearing primarily acoustic instruments being played by real people, people who look to music as a means of going deeper into themselves, people who like the tone of a classical guitar, people from religious backgrounds, people who have difficulty falling asleep, people who do not shun red wine or brown liquor.

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Where do you find new inspiration?

I like a lot of music from France, Spain, Brazil, and West Africa. I think you can hear that influence in my playing. I find inspiration in silence and in the sounds of nature, and in the tone of my guitar. My lyrics are inspired by a sense of obligation to form something permanent out of the blur of the passing months and days. All of my music is an attempt to halt time, or at least slow it down.

Where can people see you play live?

Over the next few months, I’ll be playing in New York, Toronto, and Montreal. Performance dates for the second half of summer and the early fall will be posted on my website, leereit.com, in the near future.

What are your plans for the rest of 2015 and 2016?

I’m recording a new single this week, and will release it, along with an accompanying video, likely sometime in early August. I’ll also be shooting a live acoustic performance of “Dream Another Night” in a one hundred-year-old barn in Ontario in the coming weeks. After that, I hope to record a new batch of songs to be released early next year as an EP.