Dawn comes with Lightning for songbird

A season of anxiety and introspection, resulting in a unique, and creative period of production.

This tale could not have been written any better for Grenada-born, Barbados-raised singer-songwriter Leigh Phillips who recently released her single Lightning from her upcoming project, Darkest before Dawn.

Speaking with Barbados TODAY soon after her single release party at The Spirited in Holetown, she said that even though the COVID-19 pandemic presented many obstacles, her creative process went in a different direction that highlighted the relationships in her life.

“The most positive experience that I learned from COVID was that we need people [and] we need each other and that the relationship with yourself, your friends, the other relationships are important. Sitting down in a house really gives you a lot of time to reflect…. If there are things about you that you don’t like, and if there are things you need to work on, all of that – the good, the bad and the ugly – will come out when you are cooped up alone in the house.

“I had a lot of time to spend alone and it was a beautiful experience for me. I did a lot of writing and creating over the pandemic, and that is kind of how I spent my time. It showed me how to value people, and to continue reevaluating the relationships that are present.”

It was with the newfound appreciation for relationships in her life that this new project, beginning with Lightning, was born.

“Nothing was open when I wrote the song, so it was definitely the coming back out of the pandemic that made me decide, ‘Oh I have this track, do I believe in it enough to release it to the world?’ I think getting back into the studio after going through the lockdown, after going through having COVID myself and having to build back my voice, all of that was pretty interesting,” Phillips said.

The Sunrise and B.O.M.B songbird also said she was more than pleased with the turnout for the release party, stating that the experience was one “full of love”.

“That was like a breath of fresh air for me. My heart was super full from the experience. I had taken a break from performing consistently, so to come back out and perform and do my own show, putting everything together, curating with my team, and getting all of the sponsors was definitely an experience.

“The response from my lovelies was very positive…. The room was full of love, to be honest. Everything came together perfectly to give the audience an experience I want the audience to have whenever they see me going forward. When you come to a Leigh Phillips show, I want you to leave happy, leave feeling inspired; I want you to feel like you need to be at the next one,” the singer said.

Though there is no timeline on when her full project will be released, Phillips teased that fans of her music should keep on the lookout for some exciting releases soon.

shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb