“I find that when I go into my own world to write, I’ll feel around for what’s there in that moment,” she says. “Sometimes it will start with one line or a word and then I’ll look at it and be like, ‘okay, what are we talking about?’ It’s a mix of trusting my unconscious self and tying that to more conscious thoughts.”

Although Lee admits to being a little nervous about the release of The Puppy Game, finishing this project has been a big goal of her’s so she’s trying to embrace her excitement. A few days before the EP’s release, RANGE connected with the Toronto-based singer-songwriter to learn more about her journey so far as a musician, being brave, and her dream Lilith Fair line-up.

Can you tell me a bit about your initial relationship with music? I read that you are a classically trained pianist but have you always had an interest in singing and writing songs as well?

I’ve always dreamt about being a musician but I never considered it as a real career. I think I was always intimidated by pursuing it head on just because of how hard and gruelling it is. I started with playing the piano and then I would play piano and sing and record videos of it. But it wasn’t until I came to Toronto for audio production school that I started to actually record, collaborate with people, learn about the whole music industry, and try to slip my way into it.

Did you have a specific moment when you started songwriting where you thought, “oh yeah, I can give this a go as a career”?

When I went to audio production school, I was actually hoping to learn more about music in film and get an internship in the television or film industry. I thought on the side I could learn to produce and put out my own songs. But while I was in school and recording with more people, there was a moment when one of my teachers, who’s in the music industry, heard some of the songs and he looked at me and said, “Do you want to do this? Because you could.” That was really, really awesome.

What’s the collaborative process like with ModMaxx?

I feel like it’s kind of different every time. A lot of the time, we’ll start a song together. We’ll sit down and either I’ll play something on keyboard or he’ll start with a guitar idea. That’s what has been happening more lately — he’ll start with a guitar riff and we’ll build off of that. Other times, I’ll have a demo idea that we’ll build off of but I would say most of the time, it’s just something that we make from the ground up.