“Alice Lee’s vocals…dart about, going from breathy to furious, and points in between.” – NYRock.com
“Damn this is pretty. Alice writes it all, plus plays piano and guitar. Chances are, you’ll dig her soulful, eclectic tunes as much as we did. ” – JANE Magazine
Alice Lee was born in Boston, MA, and trained early on in classical music by her pianist mother. Periods of sporadic nomadism landed her in California for the bulk of her childhood and to San Francisco, New York, and Australia for her nascent adulthood. She soon picked up the guitar and taught herself how to play and write songs.
The voice was the last element to fall in place. Plagued by shyness, she started to sing in cemeteries to bolster her confidence. “Two words why: no hecklers. I figured if I wanted to find out whether I could sing to wake the dead, might as well start in a logical place.” Finally landing in Washington, DC, she began playing open mics in the area, then busking in Europe, and a demo EP followed, finished in Virginia and Belgium in a couple of days of recording.
After moving to Brooklyn and playing solo gigs in New York, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, she found like-minds in bassist Tony Maimone (Pere Ubu, They Might Be Giants) and studio whiz Joel Hamilton (Shiner, Sparklehorse).
Her second release, The Quicksand EP featuring Matt Brubeck (Sheryl Crow, Tom Waits) and Maimone, skirts along the boundaries of what could loosely be called rock, encompassing bossa nova, bhangra funk, and electronic drum and bass.
Her EP, The Art of Forgetting, took her signature sound in a new direction, applying her intimate songs onto a canvas of electronic sounds coupled with live instrumentation. Recorded at Studio G Brooklyn, featuring Maimone and Yuval Gabay (Soul Coughing, Roni Size), these tracks comprise her first collaboration with Hamilton.
Her first full-length, Lovers and Losers, was the culmination of three years of home demos and work at Studio G Brooklyn. Inspired by writers Washington Irving and Henry Miller, singers Joni Mitchell and Nina Simone, the wounded fragility of the lyrics with the versatile live and electronic instrumentation gained her more followers.
Her distinctive vocal style and songwriting have seen increasing recognition and airplay internationally. She has been featured in Jane Magazine’s compilation CD and was a Semi-Finalist in “The American Music Awards® Presents The Coca-Cola New Music Award” 2002/2003 Competition. Her music has also been featured in dance pieces, fashion shows, independent film, and cable programming such as “No Reservations” and “The Real World”.
After a ten year hiatus spent sailing ships and living in Guatemala, she started to sing in bars in La Antigua. In May 2016, tracks began at Studio G Brooklyn’s new state-of-the-art facilities, culminating in another full-length release, The Wheel. Themes of life, loss, and political injustice are juxtaposed with insomnia, love, and a rueful perspective that came with the ten years of life in between recordings. Billie Holliday, Nina Simone, Amy Winehouse and Mary J. Blige were touchstones for this new set of songs.
“…lush, atmospheric…the Williamsburg soul siren hitches eerie and sensual guitar and keys to a hypnotic downtempo beat…” – NY Press
“Lee’s voice carries an innate spectre of danger and tragedy that suits her writing style perfectly. Distinct rhythm, distinct delivery, distinct style: lovely.” – Joseph McCombs, Starpolish.com
“Like a great cup of coffee with a shot of Bailey’s in a dark, intimate club – It’s hard to pinpoint Alice’s unique musical style, but hopefully it’s where modern rock is heading”. – Performing Songwriter Magazine
“Alice’s music is just beyond the confines of anything we could have imagined.. She is THAT good. See her soon.” — Mike Perazzetti, thefeveredbrainofradiomike.com
Alice Lee 