LA-based multi-instrumentalist and artist will release her debut album Everything I Know About Love on August 26. Across 12-tracks, Laufey blends modern song structures and sensibilities with the classic musical stylings and instrumentation she learned as a violinist, translating intimate coming-of-age feelings into grand cinematic moments. The album swoons from sweeping orchestral arrangements, to soft jazz vocals that recall the range of golden-age Hollywood musicals. Along with the album’s announcement, Laufey shares her new single “Fragile,” which weaves Bossa Nova guitars with harmonizing layers of Laufey’s smooth vocals. Everything I Know About Love will also feature the previously released title track, “Everything I Know About Love,” which arrived with a video directed by Tess Lafia.
In support of the album, Laufey will embark on a practically SOLD OUT headline North American tour in September and October. After the North American leg, Laufey hits the road in the UK and Europe with sold-out dates in Manchester, London, Paris and Amsterdam before heading to Germany and Switzerland. Laufey will perform at this year’s Newport Jazz Festival in July.
As the daughter of a classically-trained Chinese violinist mother and a jazz-loving Icelandic father, Laufey developed a deep admiration for classical and jazz music as a young pianist. In 2021, she released her debut EP Typical of Me at just 22 years old, which features her debut single “Street by Street” which landed her at the top of the Icelandic radio charts, the stand out track “Best Friend,” and “Like the Movies” which she performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in January. The EP distills Laufey’s love of the two musical disciplines she grew up with, but also presents those timeless sounds from a modern woman’s perspective. Her music tells candid stories of falling in and out of love in the digital age and incorporates pop song structures into an ode to those classic jazz and classical sounds that’s distinctly her own.
FACTS
1. I have exceptionally bad eyesight – the last time i went to my optometrist, he said he’d never seen this much astigmatism before in a young person!
2. I speak Mandarin chinese!
3. When I was 10, my twin sister and I got lost at sea in a canoe and made the national news. (we eventually drifted to the bay and got out and called our parents)
QUESTIONS
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
People and life – pretty stories and cityscapes! I write mostly about my own experiences and love turning bleak moments of life into little pieces of art! Otherwise I’m very inspired by 30’s and 40’s jazz music.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started playing classical music (cello and piano) when I was 4 and started singing jazz as a teenager. It wasn’t until I moved out alone to the US that I started experiencing life as a young woman and writing songs about those experiences – mixing together different styles of music and trying to create my own unique sound!
3. What are 5 of your favourite albums of all time?
Chet Baker Sings: It Could Happen To You
Gilberto/Getz
The Complete Ella and Louis
Speak Now by Taylor Swift
The Seven by Emily King
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Trendy style and the Berlin Philharmonic!!
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
My favorite place in Reykjavík is a little gallery and coffee shop called Ásmundarsalur. The space is decorated with Icelandic art books and design and It’s the prettiest spot for reading, sipping coffee and running into acquaintances.
6. If there was no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Probably write! I would love to write a novel someday.
7. What was the last record/music you bought?
Eroll Gardner’s “Serenade to Laura” – he may be my new favorite jazz pianist!
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Oo probably Norah Jones! I also really want to write a James Bond song (not really a collaboration but kind of!!)
9. What was your best gig (as performer or spectator)?
My show at London Jazz Festival last year was really special. London is one of my favorite cities and there was something special in the room that night! My twin sister came on stage and played my song Best Friend with me that I wrote for her
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Technology is quite important to my creative process! I’d like to think that that’s what differentiates me from jazz musicians of the past. Artists nowadays have so many great tools to work with! I use voice memos on my phone to record my song ideas when I first write them and use all kinds of technology to get the songs to the final recorded product. For me, I think it’s important to not get too carried away with the abundance of technology available because I still want to make my music as timeless as possible. Like everything in life, a healthy balance is important!
11. Do you have siblings and how do they feel about your career/art?
I have a twin sister! She’s so supportive and a big part of the Laufey project. She’s playing violin on my upcoming debut album and she’s my creative director as well!
