Canadian singer/songwriter blends folk-pop, jazz and Americana sounds on 12-song collection
After preparing us with several enchanting singles since the start of 2025, Canadian singer/songwriter Drea Lake today unveils her debut full-length album, A Call From Somewhere Else. The 12-song collection fully displays Drea’s distinctive approach to her craft, which combines her soaring vocals with unconventional arrangements and instantly memorable hooks that recall the work of Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco and Feist.
Drea co-produced A Call From Somewhere Else with renowned Quebecois acoustic guitarist Antoine Dufour, who also added his instrumental talents along with a host of other contributors drawn from the worlds of Canadian roots, jazz and Americana music. Blending genres has always been a major focus of Drea’s compositional style, and she came to the album sessions with about 20 songs she felt had the most potential for collaboration. These were eventually whittled down to the final 12 songs, which she describes as coming together “without any loose ends. I can’t take them any further at least for now, and that’s when you need to share them with others.”
Drea maintains that her primary inspiration is her connection to nature, something she experiences through splitting her time between rural southern Ontario and areas surrounding Montreal.
“The moods of the songs on this album range from joyous elation, to more quiet, almost soothing, forms of joy, to dreaminess, a sense of mystery and caution, to heartbreak and reflective regret. In most songs there are lessons we learn from the natural world, such as different forms of love, friendship, spirituality and musical camaraderie. Under all of those themes lies nature.”
Although Drea self-effacingly describes herself as a “perennial beginner” in terms of her musical evolution, the work she has put into A Call From Somewhere Else has resulted in an album of deep feeling and beauty that, while grounded in folk music tradition, transcends the genre. Going to such lengths naturally took more time and effort, but A Call From Somewhere Else now serves as a testament to Drea’s musical vision, and her formal introduction to the wider music world.
“Making this album has helped me learn to trust my process, as well as to trust my fellow musicians, and audiences. There are so many stages to songwriting, from nurturing an idea to eventually letting it go. This album has been a simultaneously humbling and fun experience that’s helped me to fully appreciate that.”
Upcoming Shows:
Nov. 14 (Fri) :: Kitchener ON :: TWB Brewery
Nov. 15 (Sat) :: Elora ON :: St. John’s Church
Nov. 23 (Sun) :: Montreal QC :: Turbo Haus (3pm Matinee)
Connect with Drea Lake:
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