Meet Lee Triffon | Musician, producer, composer, visual artist

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

Hi Lee, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Since a pretty young age I was drawn to artistic and creative activities, it was clear to me that this would become my life’s path since childhood.

I started out as a visual artist and then my focus shifted to music and it became my profession. There was never a doubt for me, I was drawn to it in a way that almost felt like I had no choice in the matter.

Up until a little over 3 years ago, music and my creative work, were guiding my every move and choice.

There was a sacredness to the process that did not allow anything or anyone to get in the way of it, or at least that’s how I felt about it.
I was very passionate and dedicated but In a way I was also very one track minded when it came to those processes and they would usually consume me.
Although it was never a negative experience for me, the demands and totality I often created for myself was sometimes overwhelming.
For a long time there was not really much space for anything or anyone else in my life.

Then something happened that turned my world upside down and shifted all the cards. I became a mother.
With the birth of my daughter I was reborn again. Over night came the time for the woman and mother in me to express herself.
My approach towards my art and life path changed dramatically.
Since my daughter was born I’ve been on a new journey, one that connects the creative self with motherhood.

Before I became a mother I always wondered what it would be like to be a parent while leading a musician’s life style, which is many times a very unpredictable path to take. And even though I wanted children I was worried that I would have to give up my on passion and devotion to what I do and somehow to give up on myself.

Now that I am a mother to an angelic, bright, sweet, funny and loving 3 year old girl, I know just how far my ideas were from the truth.

I did have to give up on myself, just not in the way I had imagined.

I had to give up on the part of me that was self centered, I had to give up my ilusion of control, I had to give up my expectations, I had to give up my isolation, I had to give up my pride, I had to give up my laziness, I had to make peace with my shadow side in order to make space for this endless love that made me more of who I am, empowered me, centered me, expanded my heart, freed me from my own ideas of self and lead me to embrace the unknown with excitement.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I started out as a singer/songwriter, which is still the essence of my work, and over time evolved to producing and composing. I am also a visual artist and video editor and in all my recent projects I do most of the art direction and editing of the visuals. My work has always been a fusion genres and medias (there’s just too many things I like and it’s hard to chose one).
I am very excited for all that I have in the works and what’s coming up next –
We’ll be releasing an official video for one of the singles off the EP that was just released from my collaborative project with Roy Regev.
This video has been a fascinating creative journey and has is my biggest visual production to date.

It’s a collaboration with my dear friend, Gev Miron, who is the director, and we had many talented friends working on it with us. So I’m very nervous and excited to see how it will be received and how people will respond to it.
Roy and I are also preparing for some live shows this summer.

I’m also very excited for a lot of new materials I’ve been working on for my newest project ‘Ze’eva’, from which two songs have been chosen to feature in a new European film. I’ll be doing some scoring work over this summer for a new series that’s very dark in it’s atmosphere and vibe, and I can’t wait to dive into that.

It has not been an easy journey to get to where I’m at, but it is always fascinating to me and I am deeply grateful for every experience.
In the early years of my career, things simply seemed to flow my way and ‘find’ me. It seemed effortless. Those were the days when I was acting mainly as a singer/songwriter and front woman of a prog rock band, ‘Eatliz’, that became critically acclaimed in Israel (my home country).

After that, my journey as a solo artist began. I worked with various collaborators, ranging form other musicians to choreographers, directors and fashion designers.

A major changing point for me was when I moved out to LA in 2015. That’s when I started focusing more on producing and composing.
I became obsessed with learning new skills and perfecting my work and for a few years I would spend most of my days in my little home studio writing, producing, composing and practicing.

The biggest lesson that I have learned along the way is to be true to myself.
I know that a statement like that can be interpreted in many ways, but I think that is exactly what it’s about.

We constantly change and evolve as humans and as artists. I believe that we are not meant to stay the same and we are not meant to stay in the same place energetically.

I used to struggle with some changes and hold on to things for various reasons but over time I learned that when I am direct and honest with myself and with others, everything falls into place.

Sometimes creative processes tend to be ‘fluid’ and there are a lot of big emotions involved, but when there is honesty and open conversation, even on the more challenging and difficult topics, there is usually resolution and evolution.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would probably start the week with a hike or two, there are so many beautiful trails. Then this might be a weekly LA plan – –
Spending a day in DTLA checking out a galleries and having lunch/dinner at one of my favorite spots – Bavel to Bestia
Going to Malibu/beach to spend the day
Taking a long stroll in my neighborhood in Pasadena, there’s lots of shops and restaurants around and it’s a very walkable area, nice to just hang out and discover places (some of my favorites places to eat are Osawa and Saso).
And then probably visiting the Huntington Botanical gardens, one of my favorite places in Pasadena. You can spend a whole day there easily
Venice, Abbot Kinney. Maybe on a Saturday when the Artists and Fleas market is open. Venice has tons of great restaurants, my favorite places to eat around there are Gjelina and the Butcher’s Daughter. And probably get ice cream for desert at Salt and Straw.
I would probably take her to hang out in Highland Park/Silver Lake for a night out at a bar or to catch a show.
A visit to Melrose (since my best friend loves second hand clothing), and a visit to the open air market, Melrose trading post, on a Sunday.
Lastly, I’d look up what interesting shows/events/parties are happening, there’s always so much going on (in normal times, when when things are open)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve been blessed with some great collaborators over the years A big part of my creative process and progression is thanks to the bouncing of ideas and getting inspired by what talented collaborators around me do.

I’d like to give a shoutout to my friend and collaborator, Roy Regev,
With whom I just recently released two EPs .
Our collaboration affected my production style and filled up my world with analog synthesizers. It gave me a new perspective on sound design and atmosphere.
We come from very different production approaches and our time together in the studio has always been in depth and exciting soundscape exploration.
It taught me a lot about a process I wasn’t familiar with.

Another shoutout goes to my friend and manager, Patrizia Luchetta, who is based in Europe.
I’ve been making some big changes in my career such as focusing more on composing and the combination of audio and visual, and she has been a great support.

And one last big shoutout goes to my partner, Grant Bezuidenhout.
His input and support on basically everything has been more than I could have ever wished for, both as an artist and a human.

Website: https://www.leetriffon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leetriffon

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/leetriffonmusic

Other: my other instagram account for my collaborative project: https://www.instagram.com/lee_and_roy

Image Credits
Yves Bright Grant Bezuidenhout Nir Yaniv