On Wednesday, Sept. 24, Chicago-based art-pop project Madame Reaper makes her return to Pittsburgh for a headlining show at Mr. Roboto.
For new fans and first-time listeners, to truly understand the creativity and spirit of Madame Reaper, you must first get to know the mind and voice behind the ideas, Kira Leadholm. A true music appreciator since childhood, Leadholm would surround herself with music and unique performances. “I was really annoying as a kid. I would walk around singing songs from Annie on Broadway,” Leadholm said. She performed in musical theater, took vocal lessons and messed around with GarageBand. In college, she joined an a cappella group and later became a music journalist after graduation. While attending shows to cover them as a writer, the wish to be in the performer’s light continued to grow for Leadholm until she had to make it a reality. “I realized I wanted to be on the stage and I needed to make it a thing,” Leadholm said.
The current tour is supporting Madame Reaper’s latest album titled “This is an album because the industry says it’s not.,” which was released in April of this year. The overall sound is a blend of synth pop, glam rock and electronic indie. She credits Kate Bush, New Order and LCD Soundsystem as influences for the album. But greats like Prince, Lady Gaga and David Bowie were an inspiration for building the overall musical persona of Madame Reaper. “I really like weird people with alter egos who are doing their own thing,” Leadholm said. Born from feelings of being different, frustrated or even overthinking, Madame Reaper became an outlet for Leadholm. Madame Reaper, as a project, is Leadholm’s look into the life of a created young starlet who becomes too famous and could crash and burn. It’s partly a question of the age-old trope and also a personal fascination with the notorious “27 Club.”
“I don’t have to worry about being me, I can just be Madame Reaper,” Leadholm said about performing. Since she studied creative writing, she has a dream to write the full origins of Madame Reaper someday, which would elaborate on the story of a strip club owner in the 1950s or 60s who would allow her employees to murder customers with bad behavior. The club would be a huge success, which would help the dilapidated town around it to thrive. But once the police catch on, Madame Reaper disappears forever, leaving the shadow of her presence behind. “The story has a metaphor, much like music has a metaphor. You can say something without actually saying it,” Leadholm said.
The sense of justice and standing up for what is right extends beyond the stage presence of Madame Reaper and into the community of listeners she is trying to build. While her music is for everyone, she writes mostly for women, femme-presenting people and the queer community. “My songs are relatable for anyone who has ever felt othered or objectified, but not in a good way. I want to empower society not to be so cookie-cutter and for people to be who they are and not what they think you’re supposed to be,” Leadholm said.
You can really get that by listening to her song “Utopia” from the album. I think a lot of people today who use music as an escape from life’s difficulties have it in their minds what a better world would look like. For three minutes and 45 seconds, you can get lost in the thought of all future possibilities. According to Leadholm, “Utopia is not as simple as everyone is happy. It’s that everyone can live to a good standard of care. They have access to food, safety, medical care and the resources and information to change their minds.”
The whole album is bursting with life, cutting commentary and beats that force you to move your body. What is interesting is that the songs came one at a time. “I can’t control when a song comes to be; I just act as a conduit for it to come into the world. Once inspiration hits me, I am unstoppable,” Leadholm said. While my favorite track is “Another Shot,” Leadholm said her favorite from the album is “Take My Hand.” “In it, I was really pushing the boundaries of my production and I get to just go crazy on stage for a minute straight when the vocals cut out.” She and the band have been working hard to deliver a show unlike any other. “We’ve been rehearsing like crazy. We take the quality of our music seriously. There’s also the dancing, the splits, the outfits and we try to cultivate a really welcoming environment.” The show promises to be an experience that you do not want to miss! Especially because after this tour is over, Madame Reaper will be taking a well-deserved break to work on some new music.
You can get tickets for the upcoming show in Pittsburgh here. The show starts at 7:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Information about the venue, Mr. Roboto, can be found here. Be sure to follow Madame Reaper on socials and check out her website.