Jessy Lanza

Lanza grew up playing piano and clarinet before going to Concordia University to study jazz.[2][3][4] Before starting her career as a singer and music producer, she worked as a music teacher.[5]

Lanza was listed as one of the best new artists of 2013 by XLR8R.[6] In a review of her debut album, Pull My Hair Back, she was described by The Guardian as "the latest and possibly greatest of the new ethereal soul girls"[7] and ranked #4 on Resident Advisor's Top 20 Albums of 2013.[8] Pull My Hair Back was co-written and co-produced with Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys and released on the UK's Hyperdub record label. The album Pull My Hair Back was a shortlisted nominee for the 2014 Polaris Music Prize.[9]

In 2014, Lanza collaborated with Caribou on his album Our Love. In 2015, she recorded vocals for The Galleria EP Calling Card / Mezzanine. The duo released a single in 2019 titled Stop & Go.

Her second album Oh No was released in 2016, and was shortlisted again for the 2016 Polaris Music Prize.[10]

Her third album All the Time was released in July 2020.

Lanza possesses a soprano vocal range, similar to Elizabeth Fraser and Aaliyah.[11] As a child, Lanza listened to Janet Jackson and Paula Abdul.[4] The singer said that having a background in studying jazz helped her to have "the ability to hear and lift chord progressions", which led her to an understanding of R&B music that permeates her recent work.[5] Laced with funk, soul, R&B, and haunting high-register vocals, Lanza cites Missy Elliott and Timbaland as early influences on her songwriting.[12] The singer has also cited such artists as Evelyn "Champagne" King and Melba Moore.[13] She also cited Japanese synthpop artists of the 1970s and 1980s, such as Yellow Magic Orchestra members Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Yukihiro Takahashi, as key influences.[14] She has a postmodern approach to writing music, comparing her songs to a mashup of all the pop songs over the last 40 years that she likes.[4]