Extended interview: Laufey

Guitar is where you actually put together the songs, pick out the songs? Yeah, I like writing on guitar. I think it's because it's the instrument I know the least, so I don't overthink the chords too much. I really just think about the melody, and I can also hear myself when I'm singing. Sometimes with piano, I know too many of the chord combinations, I just go back to old habits, whereas with guitar, I just, I don't know, it's fun to sing and play guitar at the same time. It's like a really good combination. It's interesting that you write the songs on the instrument that you're least comfortable playing. Yeah, it is interesting. I think I'm less strict with myself. I think I have such a classical kind of background and information going on in my head when it comes to piano and cello as well, but with guitar, I kind of let myself run free. There's no part of me that's saying, hmm, that's wrong. I can explore, and I still feel like I'm finding new sounds every day, like I'm still discovering the instrument at the same time. And you always write alone. Yes, yeah, like 95% of the time. Why is that? I just, I don't know, maybe a part of it is insecurity, but I think I can just, I can access my deepest, deepest emotions only when I'm on my own. I think when someone else is there, there's always a part of me that's like aware and wants to like, I don't know, I don't want to throw out the ideas that I fear might be bad, but my good songs all come out from those kind of really wild, terrible ideas. So yeah, I think it's such a kind of meditation for me to write, and writing with someone else in the room kind of just feels like, it feels like meditating with someone watching you a little bit. It's very odd. I mean, I love, like when I've finished a song, going to work with different writers and producers to, you know, bring it to that 100% or bring it to that perfect, perfect thing, but yeah. Getting up to that point. Getting up to that point. I need to be excited about a song on my own before bringing it to somebody else. Makes sense. Would you mind playing us something on the guitar? Yeah, absolutely. A little bit of Bewitched? Sure. So bewildered. What's this new desire called? I didn't know that much at all about love before, but now I think I'm learning. You bewitched me from the first time that you kissed me. Waited all night, then we ran down the street in the late London light. The world froze around us, you kissed me. Good night, you bewitched me. Every day, the second you're with me, I try to see straight, but I'm falling so badly. I'm coming apart. Forgot the lyrics. That was good. That was good. You said, especially with this last album, you feel like you're at your most honest. Is there ever a time you're writing a song and thinking, oh, maybe I'm reeling a little too much? Yeah, not really. There's a line of ambiguity through all my songs, I think, that make it just not real enough to be not scary. But I found that I'm so rewarded for being honest in a way, just in general, in life. Honesty has always brought me to comfort or joy, even though it's uncomfortable in the moment. So, I don't know, it doesn't, it for some reason doesn't scare me. Go way back for us and talk about Iceland. What was your childhood like? My childhood was, it was actually, it was quite magical, I would say. Growing up in Iceland is just, you're surrounded by the most beautiful nature and you're surrounded by so many artists. I mean, I grew up in a very artistic community because my mom's a violinist in the Iceland Symphony. So, I just grew up kind of backstage at an orchestra and that combined with, you know, you drive anywhere and you'll see mountains and ocean, like even if you're driving within the city. So, it's kind of like a very, very magical place. You mentioned that your mom was a classic, your mom is a classical violinist. Your dad was a jazz aficionado. How did their taste in music imprint on you? I think at the core of it, I was just a very good girl and I listened to my parents and loved them so much and wanted to please them. So, I mean, the music they listened to and music was always playing in the house or in the car. So, I would just kind of drink and all that. I remember growing up thinking that adults didn't listen to pop music. Because your parents didn't listen to pop music. Because my parents didn't listen to pop music. I think the newest music that they listened to was Nora Jones. So, I actually really, really loved Nora Jones because of that. But yeah, like my music is such a combination of the sounds of my childhood. It's just something that's become a part of me as I grow up. And you started playing music at what age? I mean, I think I technically started taking piano lessons at four. So, I guess that. But, I mean, I've been like playing music my whole life. I had a violin. I was given a violin like as soon as I could stand. I was just like using it as a toy. And then it just progressed from there. Yeah, it was just like a part of school. Like, I'd go to school and I'd take, you know, Icelandic class and math class and science. I'd come home and do an hour of piano. Like, it was just kind of a natural part of my education. It didn't really feel like, I don't know, it didn't feel different as a kid. But now looking back, I'm like, yeah, that was definitely like an interesting childhood. An hour of piano every night. Yeah. Well, then it increased as I grew older. But I was never very good at practicing. I didn't like practicing. But did your parents expect you to practice every day? Yeah, for sure. It was like an expectation that I practiced at least an hour every day and kind of, you know, did my scales and worked towards my weekly lessons. How supportive were your parents of you when you decided to make this your career, your future? They were so supportive. They believed in me more than I believed in myself. I think I was really quite scared of jumping into something like this type of musical career. It wasn't very linear. I mean, coming from Iceland, though we're surrounded by so many artists, like, this kind of music world beyond Iceland seems so far away. So I don't know, I just, I hadn't seen an artist that I could relate to and was making the kind of music I wanted to make. So it was really hard to believe in myself. And I was like this odd combination of being a classical cellist and a jazz singer, but I loved songwriters and pop music. So I didn't really know if it was possible, if there was even an audience for what I liked. I grew up always being the only one who liked jazz music or classical music, like no one around me was interested. So I didn't really believe in myself. But my mom was always like, you have to become a singer, like, it's your destiny. And I was like, oh, no, like, it's not. And so my parents were very supportive. You said that growing up, you felt different? Yeah. How so? Well, Iceland is a very, it's a very progressive country. It's very, you know, people are in the know, but I still felt, I just looked different, you know, everyone is, it's a very like a blonde haired, blue eyed country. And I just felt very foreign, like, even Icelandic, it's such a clean language. I never felt like I, I felt like I was always making mistakes and kind of like showing my foreign hand. I mean, I looked different. And I don't think it was like, you know, if there's 99 people who look the same in a room and the hundredth walks in and has a different color hair, people are just going to notice. Like, there were kids, like younger kids in school who would come up to me and ask me like, where are you from? And I'd be like, I'm from Iceland. They're like, where are you really from? And it's really like a very innocent question. But just like, I just felt different. I didn't speak Icelandic at home. I spoke, you know, Chinese and, and English at home. And, and it was like a mix of everything. But I think I just felt kind of like a cultural mess. Do you think looking back now, that feeling of being weird or different helped you create the music that you create? A hundred percent. Like the music I make now, the community that I've attempted to create, and I think I've created is, is really just from a, a longing to have that myself. Like everything I do in my career now, whether it's the music I make or, you know, the things I decide to, like merch I decide to make or, or community is like a book club. Like that's all just, I'm filling into the gaps that I like didn't have as a kid. Like I, I wanted that community of people who enjoyed this kind of music or dressed like me. Like I literally dressed different than everyone else. I used to fight through a winter storm in, in skirts and ballet flats just cause I love that kind of style. And, and like, I got made fun of for dressing like that. And as I got older, like I could tell it was more celebrated, but yeah, it just felt different. So you didn't date in high school? Didn't have any fun parties? No, I didn't drink at all. Like, I don't know why. Even my mom was like, go have fun. Like what's wrong with you? Um, but I was just, I don't know. I think because I just felt so odd, I felt like I couldn't, I felt like I couldn't compete. I felt like I couldn't join in. So kind of left myself out in a way. Um, so it wasn't until college that I really got to kind of come into my individual person, but all of these things, all these experiences like have led me to where I am now. Even like my most popular songs are about feeling left out or feeling like I'll never fall in love. And that, that that's, what's That's why it has that kind of messaging, I guess, like that didn't really exist before that feeling of, you know, there's so many love songs and so many breakup songs, but we're the songs for the people who've, who want to experience that, but haven't yet. And, and there's a loneliness in that. So I think that's kind of in a way brought us all together. Oh yeah. It resonates with a lot of people. Yeah. Um, so you go to Berkeley and this is the first time you're kind of on your own and able to explore your own feelings and, and playing different kinds of music. Then COVID hits. Yes. What happened for you during COVID? I had just written and recorded one song. So I had that song in my back pocket and I had to go home and I was like, no, I was about to like release my first song. And, but I went home and I just kind of made, made the best out of what I thought would be a two week break. And I posted a video of myself singing jazz jazz standard. I think I was playing cello and singing it could happen to you, which is one of my favorite standards. And, um, and I put it online and it kind of went viral on Instagram. And I think everyone was like, what is this young girl playing cello and singing this old song? And so I just kind of continued doing that. And I was also posting videos of myself singing original songs I'd written that kind of resembled jazz standards. They were like kind of jazz adjacent. And I just kind of figured out how to like grow that community online. And it became as you know, COVID got longer and darker. I just like used social media kind of as my way of connecting to the world and, and speaking to people and showcasing my music. And it just started growing and growing. And that's kind of how I got my career. And then I had that one song I had recorded. I just like put it out and people kind of started listening. And it was really, it was a really cool time. Like I feel like it was so integral to my growth to just have that vacuum of time to, to sit and experiment. Were you surprised that people were responding to the jazz influences? I was so shocked. I well, I was, I was shocked because I'd never seen any example of it before. And I'd never seen a community of young people. That was the most shocking part that it was young people responding to the music. But there's always a part of me that was like, of course they love it. It's the best music in the world. So yeah, I was definitely surprised. I remember the first concert I played. I had no clue who was going to come because I had like no idea of my audience. And if I did, I didn't know which ones would actually come see me. And it was all like young people. And I was like, this is so cool. They were all singing along. And I was like, whoa, I kind of feel like this is a start of something really new and unique. But mostly I was just so excited to see so many people enjoy the same music as me because I was singing my own songs, but I was also singing jazz standards and they were all singing along to the jazz standards. And I was like, whoa, this is kind of cool. Do you see yourself as a jazz artist? Yeah, I, I don't not really. I mean, I see myself as a jazz singer, the same way I see myself, a classical musician, like a classical cellist. My music is such a mishmash of different things that it's so hard to call myself one thing or another. A lot of the songs resemble jazz standards. Others are more pop influenced. And there's not a single answer that I provide either that doesn't piss off a certain group of people. Like if I call myself a pop artist, people are like, this isn't pop. Like, you know, and if I call myself a jazz artist, then a lot of people get angry too. And, and so, yeah, I don't really know what to call myself. I feel like for the first time, I'm just, I'm just a singer. I'm a songwriter. That's, that's, I think what I think first and foremost. Do you think to younger generations, genres, these labels don't really matter? I think they matter less and less. I think younger audiences consume music through, through like, almost vibes, for lack of better word, like a mood. Playlists are no longer rock, jazz playlist, classical playlist, pop playlist. Playlists are now like rainy afternoon and you're walking home from a coffee date. Like it's, you know, it's separated by how you're feeling rather than genre. I think genres become, the lines have blurred a lot. Not to erase genres that exist, you know, they're incredible jazz musicians who make pure jazz, if you will, or classical musicians who make classical music. And I'm very excited at the thought of being able to mix genres freely and create your own sound. I am a mix of genres. I'm half Icelandic and half Chinese. I've never been able to say that one thing or another. So I'm, I'm excited. I think the world is just mixing a lot more now. And do you think in a way you're a bridge for younger people to explore those traditional genres like jazz, like classical? I really hope so. I mean, that's kind of the whole, at least for me, like that's why I make music. I want to create music that makes people feel things, but also provides like a gateway to my favorite jazz artists or classical musicians. Like I have lots of recordings with orchestras and I play concerts with orchestras. And my hope is that maybe they come back the week after or a month later and listen to like a Beethoven symphony or a Mendelssohn concerto or, or that they'll come, you know, that they listen to me sing Misty and then they go and go down to Ella Fitzgerald rabbit hole, which leads them down to Oscar Peterson rabbit hole. And, and so, yeah, my, my hope is that they can use that as a gateway to get to know more jazz music and classical music. Do you think that having that fan base that you created on the internet allowed you a certain power that you might not have had if you came up the traditional way, trying to get a record label interested in you by playing clubs or whatever? Absolutely. A hundred percent. I'm, this is why I'll always support the internet for, you know, starting an artist project because I got to prove to the industry that there was interest for my music and my type of sound, because it was just grown from, I already had that audience and that audience let me make the music that I wanted to make. I mean, there's people who didn't get it in the beginning who now get it. I don't think I could have been an artist if I didn't have the opportunity to grow my audience first, because if I would have gone to a label five, six years ago and said, I want to make a mix of jazz and classical, but I'm going to write about my own experiences, but it's, it's going to be for, you know, geared towards, like, I don't want to be only playing jazz clubs and venues geared towards older audiences. I want to play for everybody. And I want to play with orchestras. And sometimes I want to play jazz clubs and I want to tour with a string quartet. I feel like they would have been like, that's crazy. But because I got to prove to them that there was a hunger for it, I now have all creative control. Like I can make the music I want to make and make decisions on my, my albums and what I want to do in a way that I don't think I would have been able to before. When do you come to the piano? I come to the piano every night, I would say. I just love sitting and playing. And it's like the heart of, it's the beating heart of the house. So I love just sitting down and playing. There's such a freedom in it now for me because I grew up having piano as like this thing that was, I didn't want to practice and it was like a little bit tough. And I had like kind of a complicated relationship with it. And now I just come and play and I don't care if I make mistakes or anything. And I have all my, all these like classical music, like a sheet music, books, and I just play. So are you working out songs or you're just playing songs that you know, or you're learning? Both. I, sometimes I often, I mean, oftentimes I just sit and write and I'll like noodle around and find some chords that I like and record it or write it down. And then sometimes when I'm like, there's too much pressure on trying to make something, I just pull a book out and just sight read. And you know, if I mess up, it's fine, but it's, it's just like, it's my therapy. So anytime I'm at home, I would say I play a little bit every day. You force yourself to sit down and write? I do. Yeah. You don't wait for inspiration? No, it's a, it's kind of a hot take of mine. I kind of sit down. I do when I'm inspired and I have like a feeling and I have to write, I do write, but I oftentimes sit down and force myself to write. Dreamer is like the prelude to Bewitched. And I wrote it about this feeling of like going back home and everyone's like, where's your boyfriend? And me being like, I don't have one. I've been chasing my dreams out in the world. So. You can't pin me down. I fear all solid ground. I'd rather be alone at tea, love, when nobody's making me. Oh boys, just make me cry. Believe me, I have tried. I've made my rounds. Kiss some mouths. Trust me, I don't want a single soul around. Oh, I'm giving up. I'm throwing in my hat. I can't take another lifeless little chat. I'm moving up into a cloud, into my fantasy. And no boy's gonna be so smart as to try and pierce my porcelain heart. No boy's gonna kill the dreamer in me. It's very silly. Give me chills. That's awesome.