Leah Depala is a 14-year-old British-Indian singer-songwriter, based in Dubai. Her first single, Cold, has been streamed across all international music platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. A&R scouts, take note, she’s still unsigned…
Words__Darren Haynes [First published in Hey Mag, September 2019]
You released your debut single, Cold, in September 2018. Tell us a little bit about the songwriting process.
Cold was the first full song I’d ever written. It’s about a hypothetical failed relationship. Once I’d finished it, I knew instantly that I wanted to release it. When I came up with the idea for the song, I sat down at my piano and played around to see what I could come up with and attempted to match it to some lyrics. I progressively added more and more to the song, while recording it on my voice notes on my phone, until the song was complete. It took me a few hours to finish the song. I was incredibly proud of the outcome.
Cold was produced by Ayham Homsi (aka AY) and you have been working with Iranian singer, Layla Kardan. How did a 13-year old — as you were then — manage to set up such amazing collaborations?
Layla is a friend of my parents. She mentored me and guided me throughout the whole writing and recording process. She also put me in contact with Ayham. He did an amazing job of producing and putting together the song, in only two recording sessions, each lasting about 3–4 hours.
Who would you like to collaborate with, or work with in the future?
My dream would be to work with artists like Lana Del Rey, Khalid, A$AP Rocky or The Weeknd, as I feel their music styles complement mine and our voices would work nicely together.
How many songs have you written so far?
I’ve written about eight songs in total, some of which have been completed, some of which have only been written to about halfway. Whenever I get inspiration for a song, the first thing I do is turn to my piano and match the lyrics to a tune.
How would you describe the music that you make?
I would say the music I create is more ‘chill’ and mellow as opposed to ‘poppy’ — similar to Lorde, Lana Del Rey or Jorja Smith. My biggest inspirations and my favourite artists would definitely be Lana Del Rey, The Weeknd and Lewis Capaldi. I’ve been listening to these artists for years because I love each of their styles individually and they never fail to come out with such amazing music.
What are your plans for the future?
I’m currently working on my next single but I’m hoping to release an EP, and an album after that. I want to develop my style and find my sound as an artist. Long term, I’d love to be able to have to the opportunity to perform and sing at my own concerts; singing is just what I love doing.