Meet Lexie Jay | Artist, Songwriter & Creative Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lexie Jay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lexie, why did you pursue a creative career?
In every way, I honestly believe music pursued me. I’ve had many jobs to pay my way through school, but I’ve always returned to creative roles and maintained an entrepreneurial spirit. I’ve worked in the visual arts, earned my education in music, taught music, and now find myself in a fulfilling blend of musical careers.

Currently, I work with Marc Koecher in a songwriting and production duo called Illegal Audio and am a co-owner of a label called Division Eleven, in addition to our band, FEATURETTE. While the band has always been an incredibly rewarding and challenging way to engage with the music industry, these two newer ventures feel like the paths I’ve been working toward my whole life.

On the Illegal Audio side, I get to apply so many of the techniques I studied—linguistics, language, psychology, songwriting, vocal pedagogy, and direction. As for the label, the entrepreneurial side of me is thrilled to explore how we can grow in an ever-evolving creative industry. I believe in building a community that fosters creativity and empowers artists to find their voice. My mission is to create a space where artists can thrive, and I want to work with people who share that vision to bring it to life.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I owe where I am today to the community around me—collaborating, growing, and lifting each other up along the way. The music industry has an intense competitive undertone, and it’s not that I’m not competitive—I absolutely am (I went to an arts high school; it was bred into me)—but I believe I found myself in this industry because I was pulled here. I didn’t seek it out or pursue it from the jump; until a few years ago, I hardly knew it existed. Compared to many of my colleagues, I’m relatively new to the industry, so I don’t take it lightly that they’ve welcomed me in, helped me find my footing, and given me the opportunity to foster talent and work with creatives to hone their artistic identities.

For me, it was always music, but I didn’t know where my path would lead. I was drawn to it from a young age—I studied piano, then violin, sang in choirs, and was always immersed in the arts. It wasn’t until the end of middle school that I even learned what musical theatre was, and I quickly pulled together some audition pieces to get into the Etobicoke School of the Arts. That experience opened up so many creative avenues: I studied voice, dance, acting, theory; I scored drama productions, composed for string ensembles, wrote song cycles that were performed, and played in the orchestra. By the time I had to choose a post-secondary path, there was only one real option in my mind. I auditioned for the University of Toronto’s Classical Voice/Opera program and, unbelievably, got in. I was fortunate to study under Mary Morrison, one of the greatest vocal performers of our time. My only backup plan was psychology at Queen’s University—my only other interest.

The program at U of T was intense, and the pathway was narrow. You were there to become a performance vocalist, and while you learned valuable skills—pedagogy, linguistics, language, theory, history—your focus was your focus. I missed the broader artistic world and, to this day, identify much more as an artist than as a vocalist.

The challenge with pursuing classical singing or opera was that the stories I would be telling weren’t my own. They carried history and legacy, but there was no room for composition or even interpretation to a certain degree. As someone who, until recently, struggled to find my own voice, I found it difficult to wear someone else’s. I think something inside me broke during that process. While the training I received is invaluable to me now, I needed to step away from it, to find my own way back, so I could love it enough to dedicate my life to it.

Enter Jon—my bandmate—whom I met at band camp, a lovable, true story that goes exactly as you’d expect. We met while teaching at an orchestral summer camp (Jon was a drummer who had also gone to the same high school and university, just at different times). One afternoon, we picked up some guitars that neither of us knew how to play, and boom—an electronic pop band was born (because we were so bad, we had to swap the guitars for synths). I thought this would be where my music journey would truly take off, and in many ways, it did. We formed FEATURETTE, toured Canada and the U.S., pressed records, shot music videos, and then one day, we had that moment every musician hopes for—an A&R rep actually gave a shit and told us we should sign a publishing deal.

That A&R was Jordan Howard—an incredible human to whom I have already dedicated this little excerpt. I had no idea what publishing was or how it would benefit us. Now, somehow, while I still feel there’s so much I don’t know, I find myself sitting on panels about it, because it’s the best thing that ever happened to me. Publishing opened doors I never knew existed and put me in rooms where, more often than not, the most valuable thing wasn’t the song we were writing that day, but the lifelong connections we were building. The right publisher can curate the people you need to meet and create an environment where relationships and trust—things that normally take years—can form in a single session.

This worked so well for me that my network quickly outgrew FEATURETTE. Around the same time we signed with Daytripper, we encouraged (read: forced) our longtime producer and friend Marc Koecher to officially join the band. He was already so deeply involved sonically that it only made sense. But that musical relationship took a creative turn, and together, we formed Illegal Audio, a songwriting and production duo. Now, we weren’t just making music—we were helping artists shape their identities, drawing from all the fields we’d studied, even our shared interest in psychology. With the right connections, we could truly understand what artists wanted to say and how they wanted to express it. That led to building lasting relationships with artists like POESY, CARYS, Thea May, and CARLYN—people we’ll hold dear for the rest of our lives.

The way I’ve written this, it sounds like everything flowed easily, like this was a natural evolution of a path I chose to walk down. But I’ve left out the demons I fought along the way—for the benefit of the reader. It wasn’t an easy journey. I’ve made art about it with FEATURETTE, and I’ll let that stand for itself, but those demons deserve credit, too. Without them, I wouldn’t be able to relate to or uplift the artists I work with. Their traumas are my traumas now. We’re bonded and united in transmuting what sought to harm us into something powerful—into art. We build community through this, and we do it for a community greater than our own.

I’m so excited to say my journey in music is just beginning. There are pathways ahead I never imagined for myself, like our label Jon, Marc, Jordan and myself recently founded called Division Eleven. I don’t know how it ends, but I love how it’s unfolding.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We’d kick things off at my place in the Junction, where my partner Jon and I would make our signature homemade poutine. I’m not trying to be extra Canadian, it’s not even a Toronto thing, we’re just really good at it. We make everything from scratch except the cheese curds and it features Jon’s perfectly crispy triple-fried fries, and my rich, velvety mushroom based gravy. Like a hug after your flight into Toronto. After that, we’d attempt to squeeze into Bar Raval for cocktails. It’s always a gamble whether you’ll get in—it’s standing room only, packed shoulder-to-shoulder—but if you do, the drinks and tapas and the vibe of the room are our favourite haunt.

We’d hit up the legendary dim sum at Rol San, where we’d order way too much and embrace the chaos of steaming baskets and quick-moving servers. The damn teapot that never works would get tea all over the plastic tablecloths but it’s an entire vibe. To walk it off, we’d wander through Kensington Market, stopping into vintage shops and my favourite cafe Pamenar—we’d sit out back with the trees. By the evening I’d take them to The Drake Underground to see a local artist—and lucky us my unbelievably talented friend Sebastian Gaskin is slaying the stage, we’ll dance around and maybe hit Dundas Video for a late night drink and some gaming.

We’d hit a lunch at Isshin Ramen for their ridiculously good vegetarian ramen, then grab dinner at Hanmoto, a cozy spot with like 20 seats. We’d get their dyno wings, enoki mushrooms, honestly one of everything, and we wouldn’t skip dessert because they have the best miso ice cream I’ve ever had.

If the weather’s good, we’d take the ferry to Toronto Island, rent bikes, chill on the beach, maybe head back for a zipper on Ossington (going back and forth across the street and getting one thing at every place you hit).

Of course, no trip is complete without a little hang in High Park, a visit to the AGO, or an afternoon in Trinity Bellwoods. I think I’m gonna make it my mission to do this itinerary this summer – seeing it written out, sounds pretty sick!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There is a catalyst in my story that shifted my reality from music as a thing to pursue, to music as *the thing* I’m pursuing. Jordan Howard started as my publisher, but quickly became one of my best friends and now a colleague I am so proud to be building businesses with. He’s been a mentor to many, and I’m so grateful to him for matching my freak when it comes to work ethic and followthrough. To Jordan and Daytripper, I thank you for all your love, support, and encouragement, and most of all having bomb merch— most of the days I would go unclothed without.

Website: https://www.featurettemusic.com

Instagram: @featurettemusic

Twitter: @featurettemusic

Soundcloud: https://www.soundcloud.com/featurettemusic

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/featurettemusic

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/featurettemusic

Other: www.divisionelevenmusic.com
https://www.instagram.com/divisioneleven.music

Image Credits
Stephanie Brown
Marc Koecher
Lindsey Blane
Connor Watt
Connor Watt
Lexie Jay
Lindsey Blane
Jon Fedorsen