Toronto-based singer-songwriter Lia Pappas-Kemps has quietly been building a world of her own, one rooted in intimate songwriting, luminous guitar-driven arrangements, and the kind of emotional honesty that makes a listener stop in their tracks. Her debut album Winged, released in March via Coalition Music, is a sweeping and emotionally vivid body of work that captures her singular gift for transforming quiet, internal moments into cinematic songs.
Across ten tracks, the record explores the fragile architecture of relationships, memory, and self-discovery, moving fluidly between hushed acoustic reflections and slow-burning indie rock crescendos. Written between the ages of 19 and 20, Winged reflects on youthful freedom, naivety, and the regret that can sometimes follow both. Building on the poetic lyricism of her 2024 debut EP Gleam and singles like “Towers” and “Revolving Doors,” the album further establishes Lia as one of alternative music’s most compelling young voices. We had the chance to ask Lia a few questions over email about the making of Winged, her influences, and how growing up in Toronto shaped her as an artist.
STAGED HAZE: Winged captures relationships, memory, and self-discovery so vividly, was there one relationship that shaped the album the most? What theme revealed itself first when you started writing?
Lia: I think writing songs for me, at least in the moment, rarely feels like I’m exacting upon something in my life. It feels more like an ambiguous collage of everything that’s happening to me.
STAGED HAZE: Since these songs were written between 19 and 20, did revisiting them for the album change how you understood them?
Lia: The oldest song on the album is the last track called “How Do I Get to You?” That song, to contradict my last answer, was about someone specific. Revisiting it when we began recording was interesting for me because the feelings I had about that person had changed entirely, but the song still felt so potently real and truthful. I think that’s how I deem a song good: if I can feel completely different about the person I wrote it about, but still resonate with what I’m trying to convey.
STAGED HAZE: A lot of the album sits between freedom and regret. Do you think you’re someone who learns best by leaving, even if it hurts?
Lia: Yes… for myself, it feels better to act upon my feelings, even if I regret them, than to stew in them. Even if the feeling eventually dissipates.
STAGED HAZE: Your songs move between really intimate acoustic moments into bigger rock crescendos, do you write with that emotional arc in mind from the start?
LIA: I definitely do, but with this album there were a couple moments that came to life when I brought them to the band. Sometimes it takes other ears to show you where a song should go.
STAGED HAZE: “How Do I Get to You” is such a vulnerable closer. Why did that feel like the right final statement for the album?
LIA: Like I mentioned, that’s the oldest song on the record, and ever since I wrote it I knew I wanted it to be the closer. I think the sentiment of the song, intense yearning mixed with self-doubt, felt thematically like the right place to end.
STAGED HAZE: Your vocal delivery feels so intimate. Whose voices taught you the most about how to sing emotionally?
LIA: I listened to a lot of Joni Mitchell growing up, and I think I spent my early songwriting years unknowingly (and knowingly) emulating her. Otherwise, I cited a lot of Fiona Apple recordings when we were tracking vocals. She has a really textural way of singing and I’m obsessed with the way it translates in her recordings.
STAGED HAZE: What was the vision behind the “Orchid” video, and what did the visuals help you say that the song alone couldn’t?
LIA: I knew I wanted it to feel dark and vast. I just sent a bunch of picture inspiration to Evangelos James and we ran around Montreal trying to capture it as best we could. It was very run and gun but I’m so happy with how it turned out.
STAGED HAZE: What’s something people get wrong about the Toronto music scene? How has being based there influenced you as a songwriter and artist?
LIA: I think maybe because Toronto is such a big city people say it’s exclusive, but I find that because so many people move here from other places it actually feels quite open. I feel more inspired by the music my friends make than anything else, and I feel so lucky to be able to be around such talented people.
STAGED HAZE: Now that Winged is out in the world, what do you hope listeners connect with most?
Lia: I don’t think there’s a specific part of the music that I hope people are most drawn to. I love that people glean a hundred different things from the same song. That’s so meaningful to me.
STAGED HAZE: You just announced some shows with fellow Toronto local Rachel Bobbitt. What are you looking forward to about singing these songs live?
Lia: Honestly just that. I’m just looking forward to playing and singing the songs live. Playing music is so much fun and I’m so excited to do it in a bunch of different cities. Plus, getting to listen to Rachel every night is an added bonus.
With Winged, Lia Pappas-Kemps has created a debut that feels both expansive and deeply personal, balancing the warmth of classic singer-songwriter storytelling with a sound that feels entirely her own. Whether she’s leaning into quiet reflection or pushing into new sonic territory, there’s a confidence in the way she lets these songs breathe. If Winged is any indication of where she’s headed next, she’s only just getting started and absolutely an artist worth keeping your eye on.
Photos by Javi Zamorano for Staged Haze
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