words rachel mok

‘Static’ is not a word that factors much into the life of singer Reign Lee. From birth in Hamilton, Ontario, to establishing her own record label in Hong Kong, her life has been a chronicle of movement.

Born to a European-Canadian mother and a Chinese father, the singer-songwriter grew up feeding on her father’s love of the blues – BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughan among others – and her mother’s dedication to heavy rock. Having taught herself to play the piano and guitar, Lee follows Nirvana’s simple style and only recently started taking proper music lessons. “I am learning from a real blues master and he teaches me the old school way to do it,” she says. “I am having the time of my life.”

Lee’s family settled in Hong Kong when she was a teen, but she later studied in Beijing and Chicago, where she learnt to appreciate bands like The Smashing Pumpkins. Still, it was after she moved to New York that a new musical chapter opened – she began performing in bars and clubs, collaborating with other artists and worked for a year on the Late Show with David Letterman. But that all ended somewhat abruptly and unexpectedly.

Two days before September 11, Lee decided on a whim to fly to London with a friend – and got stuck there. Although she had intended to return to the Big Apple, her roommate and many of her friends had left, and the show she was working on was put on hold indefinitely. “I was so displaced at the time and I thought maybe it was a sign, because in Buddhism you are supposed to go with the flow, right? Something told me it was time for a change to focus on another direction, so I came back to Hong Kong.”

Seeing how far off the international music radar our city is, that may have seemed a mistake. It used to frustrate me a lot,” she admits, “but I don’t like getting too caught up because it is all up to me.” With a philosophy of ‘change it or leave it’, she caught the attention of US music agent Eugene Foley, just when she was irritated enough to quit. That led to working with Grammy-winning producer John Seymour, the release of her studio album, Broken Skylines, and a 12-city East Coast tour last autumn.

Lee admits the change from being a bedroom recording artist to working with world-class professionals was the most stressful time in her life so far. “I fled all the way to New York for three days, worked on all the vocals tracks jetlagged – all completely without sleep!’”
For those who listen to the album, the provoking alt-rock melodies and Lee’s affecting voice will evoke memories of Patti Smith or Annie Lennox. And while Lee may look every inch a rock star – black vest, skinny jeans and tattoos – she can be the most enchanting diva one could hope to meet. It is all a bit of an enigma: where do her dark tunes and lyrics come from? “I tend to write in minor keys which are usually considered the dark, sad keys. I don’t want to get into too much personal stuff because the beauty of music [is that it’s] something universal.” She is unconcerned with how audiences identify with her music – they don’t have to relate it to her experience. “To me my music is totally a therapy,” she says. “It is an outlet for my dark feelings. I know it is funny, but I learned how to be happy in the last few years, and people who know me have noticed it as well. As long as I have my music I should be happy.”

Her latest EP, Hold Back the Beast, is a turnarond from her previous work; it was recorded free in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia, as the prize for winning the 2007 International Free Ride Music Contest. Currently only available via the internet (www.reignlee.com), it is a six-song collection of enigmatic, soul-capturing melodies – think Peter Gabriel, Portishead and a little bit of Lisa Gerrard. It grew out of producer Blake Althen saying to her, “Here is 30 seconds of music, listen to it and see if you can write a song around that.” Lee had never collaborated with anyone like that before but found the studio sessions “cool” – in fact, so cool that the Discovery Channel has licensed the EP for the next couple of years. “It could totally fall on its face but it’s worth the risk. I haven’t lost anything – I went to the studio for free,” says the philosophical Lee.