Q&A: Madame Reaper Rebels Against Industry Norms on ‘this is an album because the industry says it’s not’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY KIMBERLY KAPELA ☆
Photography Credit: Shawn Ruddy
THIS IS AN ALBUM BECAUSE MADAME REAPER SAID SO—Under the name Madame Reaper, Chicago-based songwriter and producer Kira Leadholm crafts gothic synth-pop that pulses with theatrical flair and radical honesty. With her sophomore album This is an album because the industry says it’s not, Madame Reaper doubles down on her vision, blending sharp social commentary with an evolved sonic palette that pulls from post-punk, new wave and disco. The result is a record as genre-fluid as it is confrontational—a love letter to the album as an art form, and a pointed critique of an industry obsessed with content over craft.
Madame Reaper’s latest work is an expansion in every sense. Over the past year, she’s teased the project with a string of singles. Where her debut leaned heavily into synth-pop, This is an album… embraces rhythmic experimentation and daring arrangements, exploring bold new textures and tones.
The album’s defiant title speaks volumes—and reflects the frustration many independent artists feel in today’s streaming-driven landscape.
“After I released my first record, I kept hearing—either from people directly or just reading online—that to stay relevant, especially in the streaming era, you have to release singles regularly,” Madame Reaper says. “The message was always: people constantly want content. And it’s not just music—it’s TikTok videos every day, constant social media updates… just nonstop content creation. But for most musicians—myself included—who are working full-time jobs on top of making music, which is basically another full-time job, that expectation just isn’t realistic.”
The pressure to continuously feed the algorithm weighed heavily on the songstress, who saw the relentless push for content as a symptom of something larger. “That pressure ultimately comes from these massive companies that control the industry and profit off that kind of endless output,” she explains. “So, I thought, okay—I’m going to release an album, because I love albums. I’ve always seen myself as an album artist. I love listening to them, and I love creating them as full bodies of work.”
But rather than ignore the realities of modern release strategy, she chose to subvert them. “I decided to release most of the tracks as singles, about once a month. My thought process was kind of: if you're going to force me to put out singles to ‘stay relevant,’ fine—I’ll do that and put out an album. It was kind of a middle finger to the industry's expectations, but also a way for me to experiment with how I wanted to release music on my own terms.”
Thematically, This is an album… is Madame Reaper’s most ambitious work yet. While each track stands on its own, the album as a whole tackles everything from late-stage capitalism and the commodification of creativity to everyday sexism and female identity. It’s a record that refuses to look away—one that asks its listeners to confront the systems we live under and imagine alternatives.
“Each song has its own specific themes, but overall, the album is really about navigating life in late-stage capitalism in America,” Madame Reaper says. “It also explores what it means to exist as a woman in society—identity, agency, and how those things intersect. Those were the main ideas that shaped the project.”
If This is an album because the industry says it’s not proves anything, it’s that Madame Reaper isn’t interested in following rules—she’s interested in making art that resonates, that lingers, that means something. In a time when artists are expected to constantly produce and promote just to stay afloat, Madame Reaper doubles down on depth. She isn’t chasing virality—she’s building something lasting.
Photography Credit: Nina Negrón
LUNA: Thank you for talking to Luna. Our readers would love to get to know you and your music more. For any readers who aren’t familiar with you yet, what inspires your artistic style and sound?
MADAME REAPER: I think more than anything, I'm inspired by melody-driven and hook-driven stuff. If I get a melody in my head that I'm obsessed with, everything else comes later or falls in place. But a little bit beyond that, I am inspired by 80s synth sounds, 80s drum machine sounds, mixed with modern. Thematically, I'm thinking a lot about living under late stage capitalism and what it means to be an American in 2025.
LUNA: What is the ideal environment to experience your music? Is there a particular setting, mood, or time of day that enhances the listening experience?
MADAME REAPER: I feel like it definitely depends on the song, because I have some songs that are extremely upbeat and are great for the gym or being at a party, and then some of my songs are really sad and depressing. That's probably the thing that you want to listen to when you're alone, crying and feeling really sad. I would appreciate it if people listen to my music where they can really listen to it, because a lot of my production choices are really specific and something like one little synth for a second, I probably thought about for a couple hours. I would say to get the full experience, you should sit down with headphones or good speakers and really listen.
LUNA: Chicago has a rich history of goth and punk music. Has the city and its music scene shaped your sound or your perspective as Madame Reaper?
MADAME REAPER: That's a great question. I would say I actually need to learn a lot more about Chicago's history. I'm really interested in techno music and I know that house was born here and we have an amazing goth scene that I am adjacent to, but I am just beginning to explore more. I think maybe less of the sound, but just how I approach my career, I've learned so much from my friends in the scene that's really the only way that I've really learned. I think Chicago is a really friendly and open scene, and a lot of people have welcomed me with open arms. I think that that has nurtured my career, maybe not sonically, but professionally.
LUNA: You just released your second album, This is an album because the industry says it’s not. and huge congratulations! It feels like both a protest and a declaration. What inspired this project and what emotions or experiences were fueling you when you first started writing this project?
MADAME REAPER: After I released my first record, I kept hearing—either from people directly or just reading online—that to stay relevant, especially in the streaming era, you have to release singles regularly. The message was always: people constantly want content. And it’s not just music—it’s TikTok videos every day, constant social media updates… just nonstop content creation. But for most musicians—myself included—who are working full-time jobs on top of making music, which is basically another full-time job, that expectation just isn’t realistic. It left me feeling really frustrated.
That pressure ultimately comes from these massive companies that control the industry and profit off that kind of endless output. So, I thought, okay—I’m going to release an album, because I love albums. I’ve always seen myself as an album artist. I love listening to them, and I love creating them as full bodies of work. But at the same time, I decided to release most of the tracks as singles, about once a month, to roll it out slowly.
My thought process was kind of: if you're going to force me to put out singles to “stay relevant,” fine—I’ll do that and put out an album. It was kind of a middle finger to the industry's expectations, but also a way for me to experiment with how I wanted to release music on my own terms.
Each song has its own specific themes, but overall, the album is really about navigating life in late-stage capitalism in America. It also explores what it means to exist as a woman in society—identity, agency, and how those things intersect. Those were the main ideas that shaped the project. Sonically, I pushed myself harder than I ever had before. I kept asking myself: “If this sounds good, how can I make it sound great? How can I make this sound like something you’ve never heard before?” This was also the period where I really started studying professionally produced pop music—not just listening casually, but really dissecting the production. That made a huge difference in how I approached the sound of this album.
LUNA: I would love to touch more on the creative process behind the album. What did a typical writing and recording session look like?
MADAME REAPER: I think my process is chaotic compared to a lot of other people. I record everything at home—we’ve got a little home studio setup. For my next record, I’m probably going to go into a proper studio, just to get a cleaner, more polished sound. But for this project, working from home meant I could do a session whenever inspiration struck. At the same time, it also meant there was no one holding me accountable or keeping me on a schedule. It became this cycle: an idea would hit me out of nowhere, and I’d go into this hyper-focused zone for a few weeks—writing, recording, producing. Then I’d hit a lull and just wait for the next idea to come. It wasn’t this consistent, mapped-out process. It was very instinctive, very moment-to-moment.
Typically, when you release an album, you finish all the songs first, then send everything off to a mixing engineer, then to a mastering engineer, and you have the whole album done before you release anything. But I did everything one song at a time. I’d finish a track, send it to my mixing engineer, then to mastering—and repeat that with each individual song. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend that approach to anyone. It created so much stress. There were moments where I was like, ‘this song needs to be out in a month and I don’t even have the master yet.’ That’s why I say the process was a bit chaotic—it worked, but just barely. I definitely learned a lot about what not to do next time.
LUNA: What were some of the most rewarding and challenging parts of this process?
MADAME REAPER: The most rewarding part, by far, is the freedom. I’m not beholden to anyone—I can make the kind of music I want without a label stepping in and saying, ‘actually, we want you to go in this direction,’ or ‘can it sound more like your first record?’ I release music on my own timeline, and I have total creative control, which is something I really value. I’ll admit I’m kind of a control freak—I’m not great at delegating, and the idea of trusting a label to genuinely care about my project gives me a lot of anxiety, so being independent has really allowed me to preserve that autonomy.
That said, it’s also incredibly difficult. Being an independent artist is so much work and, honestly, so much money. I work a full-time job, and then I essentially work another full-time job making music—except I’m not really making much money from it yet. If anything, I’m losing money. And I expect that will probably continue for a while before I can realistically support myself through music alone. I know artists who are way more successful than I am and they’re still just breaking even, if that. The startup cost of being independent is rough. It’s not just money—it’s time, energy, and figuring everything out on your own. I’m still learning. There’s a lot of trial and error. Sometimes you put money into something and it just doesn’t work. You lose it, and you don’t always know why. It’s a constant hustle, and you really have to be scrappy.
LUNA: Was there a particular song that unlocked the rest of the album for you — where something clicked emotionally or thematically and everything else started to take shape?
MADAME REAPER: “Alright Tonight” which is the first song on the album, its initial iteration was so different from the final version. “Alright Tonight” felt like it was a step above my first album in production and just overall performance, and it opened the door for a lot of the sounds I explored on the album, just anything from vocal layering to the harmonies to how the synths sound. I feel like if there's a song that defines the album, it's probably “Dauphine,” but maybe that's just because it's one of my favorite songs on the album.
LUNA: Do you have a personal favorite song on This is an album because the industry says it’s not.— one that feels closest to your heart or most revealing of who Madame Reaper is right now?
MADAME REAPER: I was actually thinking about this the other day—when you’re working on a song, you have to be okay with listening to it like 500 times a day, so I think most artists end up loving their own music, or at least being really comfortable with it. If I had to pick one track that feels most representative of where I’m headed creatively, I’d say “Take My Hand.” I’m really proud of the production on that one—I feel like I pushed myself to take things a step further. It has more of a dance-y feel, with this vamp that reminds me of something you’d hear in a club. That direction—something more rhythmic, energetic and immersive—is definitely where I see myself going in the future. It’s still me, but evolved a bit, with more intention in the sound design and vibe.
LUNA: What do you hope listeners feel or confront when they sit with This is an album because the industry says it’s not. from start to finish?
MADAME REAPER: I just hope that people feel like they have a safe space. I think a lot of people in the U.S. and elsewhere, are feeling increasingly unsafe due to an aspect of their identity. I want my music and the Madame Reaper world to be a very welcoming place for people who don't fit in. I want people to listen to it and feel accepted and happy about who they are.
LUNA: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like that you would like to share with Luna?
MADAME REAPER: I'm really happy. I'm very proud of the album. The release show was awesome. I feel like I am on the precipice of something big. It's always a little weird putting on an album because I'm not going to be releasing new music for at least a year. What am I going to do for the next two years? I'm excited for what's next. And the rest of the year, I have a lot of stuff planned. I just announced a European tour, which is really exciting, because that's my first out of the country tour. I love Europe. I'm very inspired by Europop, so I think that'll be really cool. I have a few shows in Chicago that I'm going to announce throughout the rest of the year, but no more new music, because that would be crazy, so mostly just the tour and shows in Chicago. I have a show booked in San Francisco. Long term, I'm already very excited for the next album that's going to come out, because I'm working with a really cool producer and I think that my sound is evolving in a cool way.
