Leah Speckhard

Leah Speckhard is a ballad-driven, pop-synth songstress and the daughter of a United States diplomat who reportedly spent her tender teen years abroad in the countries of Belarus, Belgium and Greece. In fact, it was in Greece that she was signed to their major label Legend Records.

She released her debut disc Pour Out Your Heart Like Water on the above-mentioned Legend label garnering great reviews from both Athens’ well-known newspaper Proto Thema and even People Magazine. In her songs Speckhard mainly focuses on attempting to communicate, “decipher and emote the complicated nature of romantic relationships.”

Her musical material is oft’times “inspired by a rather diverse assortment of other artists and genres, from the likes of Marina and the Diamonds and La Roux to 1960s Motown music. Her first North American release, the EP Sleepwalker, recently premiered on ArtistDirect.

Her new music video, "If You Died In The Morning", is a fun, effective visual presentation that compliments the EP’s opening number. The song is basically about a being wronged in a relationship and eventually coming out of it all right ready to begin again. The lyrics are a bit hyperbolic but it is all done for a specific reason and everything works together to stress her point.

In a brief e-interview Speckhard discussed both the song itself and the music video:

"The song came about really organically in that my producer and friend were teasing me about being terribly melodramatic. I tend to write a lot about heartbreak and the feeling that someone did you wrong. They were making fun of my tendency to be a bit harsh, and we started riffing on that. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling of wishing an ex would just sink into the ground and metaphorically ‘die’ and just thinking you'd be better off without their lying, cheating self.”

Speckhard recalls: “I saw some of the director Chastity Corset's work through my friend Benji Banks, an amazing creative director and stylist, and we felt like she would get the humor in the song - of course you don't really wish something terrible would happen to someone you once loved, and I wanted to work with someone who got that tongue in cheek vibe. Benji helped us flesh out the scenes, using bright colors to get that happy vibe to really match up with the real core message of the song: ‘if you died in the morning/ I would be alright’. “

She adds: “In a very weird way, it kind of ends up being a positive ‘I'll get through this!’ kind of song, though it follows me and my lecherous on-screen boyfriend through some negative things. I wanted to focus on that positive idea - I'll be fine! But first I'm gonna just show you a little bit (via the video) how I got this mad in the first place.”

Speckhard concludes: “In the end, I always want my songs to be empowering to myself and to other women. Everyone needs a good cathartic break up anthem now and then - I'm hoping this song can join the ranks as a good one to shout when you're feeling mad."

She is currently a semi-finalist in the Unsigned Only Music Competition in the Pop Category competing against other solo artists from across the globe. It’s produced by the same people who created the International Songwriting Competition (ISC).

Speckhard is hard at work playing a series of gigs to promote her new material. In fact, her next appearance is on July 27 at Rockwood Music Hall, Stage 3 in New York City, New York. - AXS

Exclusive premiere of new EP Sleepwalker on February 24, 2015. - Artist Direct

Text all in Greek (in Greek edition of the Magazine). - People Magazine

Article one of a two part series about new EP Sleepwalker. - Music Historian

Part two of an article about Leah Speckhard's new release, Sleepwalker. - Music Historian

In Greek in both print and digital versions. - Glow Magazine

I love learning about other musicians, especially if they are influenced by Alanis Morissette, Lauryn Hill, Ben Folds, Lykke Li, Robyn, Marina and the Diamonds, La Roux, and 60′s Motown music. The only musician that I know of who’s music is influenced by such a diverse, yet distinct roster of artists is Leah Speckhard.

Leah was born in Washington, D.C. and has lived in 4 countries. Her début album, Pour Out Your Heart Like Water, is full of catchy melodies and lots of love. Speaking of love, Leah also draws musical inspiration from her love life and the complicated nature of romantic relationships. - Mike Veny