Toronto-based singer-songwriter Lia Pappas-Kemps has arrived at a defining moment in her career with the release of her debut album, Winged, out now via Coalition Music. The project marks a major step forward for the rising alternative artist, whose intimate songwriting and emotionally direct lyricism have steadily built a devoted global audience.
Pappas-Kemps has already proven her ability to connect with listeners in a meaningful way. She has cultivated a strong digital following, with more than 340,000 followers on Instagram and over 210,000 on TikTok, where her music and storytelling have earned more than 1.7 million likes. Her growing streaming presence reflects that momentum. Breakout single ‘Jinx’ alone has surpassed four million streams on Spotify, introducing a wider audience to her thoughtful songwriting and unmistakably personal vocal delivery.
Winged builds on that foundation with a collection of songs rooted in vulnerability and restraint. Across the record, Pappas-Kemps explores love, longing, and emotional transition through evocative chord progressions, spacious production, and quietly powerful guitar work. Songs such as the tender ‘Towers’, alongside fan favourites ‘Revolving Doors’ and ‘Jinx’, highlight her gift for poetic storytelling and melodic depth.
To celebrate the release of her debut album, Lia Pappas-Kemps has penned a track-by-track article for 1883 Magazine, discussing each of the ten songs on the LP.
A note from Lia
Thank you so much, 1883! I hope listeners connect with my stories and take away some sense of feeling seen.
‘The Hunches’
I wrote “The Hunches” the quickest out of all the songs on Winged. That initial riff was the jumping off point and everything came from that. I wrote it in one sitting and the original demo was sort of our North Star in re-recording because it had such a special essence to it. A lot of the demo stayed in the final track.
‘Reservations’
“Reservations” is about willfully ignoring signs that you should end a relationship, but forging ahead anyway.
‘Revolving Doors’
“Revolving Doors” is a song about choosing something or someone that’s better for you than what you’ve chosen in the past. It’s also about gaining self-assurance and relying less on others to determine your self-worth.
‘Two-Step’
“Two-Step” is the jaded and angry song on the record. It’s about looking back on a bad relationship as an adult with clarity.
‘Towers’
“Towers” is a song I made with my cousin Elia who produced the album. We made it in our shared Montreal apartment. This one was also an effort of having the recorded version live up to that special feeling we captured in the demo.
‘Eight Chambers’
“Eight Chambers” is one of the songs on the album that is more formless. It’s a kind of half song. I knew I wanted that end to be enormous. That moment took some tinkering but I think we got there in the end!
‘Wound up and Coiling’
Wound up and Coiling is another tune I wrote by myself, which was spurred out of this wacko tuning that I think just came to be by me randomly tuning all the strings to whatever. It’s the song with the most bravado on the album, which felt like an important feeling to be expressed on this record.
‘Orchid’
“Orchid” I wrote by myself, outro and all, and I had this very specific image for what I wanted the instrumentation to sound like. Then the band took it to another place that I was so thrilled about and played what you hear on the final recording almost immediately. I was completely blown away and listening back now feels like I’m listening to it for the first time in rehearsal again.
‘Moths’
“Moths” was a song that we were unsure was something that was more for us than for the public. I always intended to write a chorus. When we played the demo in the studio for my collaborator Ray to record pedal steel over, we had every intention to re-record practically everything, but then our engineer Thom was like “this has to stay exactly as it is.” I’m really glad we kept all those original elements.
‘How do I get to you?’
“How do I get to you?” is one of the oldest songs on the record. It might actually be the oldest. I recorded it live, vocals and all with Dylan Burchell and it’s my favourite recording memory. I was contemplating re-recording vocals because I’m so particular about them, but all the imperfect moments on this recording feel so special to me now too.
Winged by Lia Pappas-Kemps is out now.
Photography Oscar Tam
