Premiere: Leah Sinclair “Aries Venus”
With her debut single "Aries Venus," New York-based singer-songwriter Leah Sinclair arrives with a clear sense of identity. Drawing its title from her own Venus sign, the track transforms astrology into a meditation on love and the intoxicating pull of the chase, wrapped in sweeping strings, cinematic synth-pop, and drum and bass textures. Written in a single night on an Omnichord after the end of a relationship, "Aries Venus" introduces the deeply personal songwriting that defines her forthcoming debut EP, Lock & Key.
REVERIE caught up with Sinclair to talk about writing heartbreak from a place of empowerment, finding magic in the Omnichord, and why an Aries Venus might just be the perfect muse for her debut.
REVERIE: For people discovering your music for the first time, who is Leah Sinclair? How did music first become your creative outlet, and what eventually led you to writing your own songs?
My name is Leah Sinclair, and I’m a singer-songwriter and actress based in NYC. I was always really interested in music growing up. I did some musical theatre when I was younger and learned to play the flute, guitar, and piano. Both of my parents are scientists, but I still grew up in a relatively musical home; we all played multiple instruments, and my parents have an egregious amount of vinyls and CDs. I was always big on writing as well; I wrote a lot of poetry, and creative writing like short stories and longer-length novellas. From there, I would make my own melodies and lyrics, but I didn’t take it seriously and pursue creating my own music until 2024. I always dreamed of being a musician but was more focused on theatre for a while. I started to meet more people in NYC who made music and learned how to do some stuff myself, which led me to eventually start putting out my own original music.
REVERIE: Your debut EP Lock & Key pulls together different arrangements like drum and bass, cinematic synth-pop, and even influences like Final Fantasy soundtracks. What inspires you most about Final Fantasy and what's your favourite FF game?
I really love the visuals and worlds of all the games, and I wanted some of my songs on the EP to feel like they could live in that world. One of the songs on my EP called “Something Better”, was heavily inspired by FF. I put a bunch of pictures of Final Fantasy game stills in a mood board for the visuals of the song, to help encapsulate that video game feeling. I think my favorite is 7 Remastered, but I have a bunch of the games and loved them! I rewatched Advent Children while making my EP, and it was inspiring for the music!
REVERIE: Can you tell us a bit about the story behind "Aries Venus"? We're also huge fans of Omnichord's -- where did you find yours and do you write on the instrument often?
“Aries Venus” came after a failed relationship, and then evolved into something a little bigger than just me and what I wanted to articulate. I felt tired of the sappy heartbreak songs, as I’ve written and released those before, but I didn’t feel like that’s what I wanted to express in the moment. Instead of being sad, I felt like I was reclaiming something in writing this song. I had also just watched “The Fifth Element” and the character Leeloo really stuck out to me. She didn’t feel weighed down or attached to anything, and that really struck me. So in writing the song, I wanted something that made me feel like that. I’m obsessed with my omnichord; I got it off a resale site, and I use it to write all my songs. There something really whimsical and magical about the sound of the Omnichord!
REVERIE: You trained as a ballet dancer before focusing on music. Do you still think visually or physically when you're writing songs? How has dance influenced the way you build emotion, movement, or tension into your music?
Yes, I used to do ballet when I was younger! I think that’s influenced a lot about me, in and outside of the music. I grew up listening to a lot of classical music, so not only do I essentially make it a requirement to have strings in my songs, but I think the visceral and guttural emotion you get from classical music, or dancing/watching ballet, is something that I’m deeply interested in. Ballet is so clean and precise, but extremely human and there’s so much tension in it. I'm really enthralled in capturing that.
REVERIE: Were there any artist's that you draw influence from or are inspired by when it comes to the sound and direction of your upcoming EP?
I’m really interested in 90’s alternative pop and trip-hop. This EP was really inspired by Bjork, Mono, Blonde Redhead, The Sundays and Portishead. I also drew from modern-day pop music like Lana Del Rey. I don’t feel called to stick to one genre or sound, and I really like mixing a bunch of things together and seeing if it works.
REVERIE: If you could have any zodiac sign narrate your love life, which one would you trust the most—and which one would you absolutely not let anywhere near it?
I think I would trust Saggitarius’ or Capricorns the most to narrate my love life, because I think they would be very honest about it whether I like it or not. I’m not sure how much I would want Aquarius’ to be involved in any sort of narration…
REVERIE: Anything else upcoming you'd like to share? Live shows in the works?
I’m finishing up some Shakespeare shows right now, but after that, some shows around the time of my EP releasing at the end of summer are in the works, so stay tuned for that!
