"Typical Me": In Conversation With Laufey
Photo by Rebecca Bloch
During the pandemic, I became a TikTok addict. I would mindlessly scroll for hours each day just as a way to pass the time. Hour after hour, day after day, I would consume hundreds of videos that all kind of blended together into a big grey mess.
Then, one day, I stumbled across this video of this girl with big, starry eyes, strumming soft jazz chords on a guitar. She was singing an acoustic jazz cover of “So This Is Love” from Disney’s Cinderella. I was absolutely entranced by her warm, silky voice and welcoming demeanor. I immediately clicked on her profile picture to find that she was a young musician by the name of Laufey. I followed her right then and there.
Since then, Laufey has put out a series of singles, recorded with a full symphony orchestra, performed with Adam Melchor, and recently put out a 7-track EP entitled “Typical Me.”
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Laufey in the first week on her tour. Over the course of a half-an-hour zoom call, I had the chance to ask about everything including her new music, her inspirations, and even her Spotify Wrapped.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What has your musical journey been so far? How did you kind of get to where you are now?
[LAUFEY:] I come from a very musical household. My mother is a classical violinist and her parents were also classical musicians. So I grew up playing classical music, cello, and piano. And it was kind of like, just something that I did. And then I started playing, singing, and I started taking a liking to jazz when I was like a young teenager. So that's when I kind of started singing. And then, I don't know, I always wanted to kind of mix these worlds with jazz and classical and pop together. And it kind of took me a while to figure out. I went to Berkeley for college, and started in 2018. When I was there, I had time to really focus on what I wanted to do with music. And then once locked down happened, I'd only been at Berkeley for like, about a year. I came back home and I had all this time on my hands. I thought you know, okay, this is like a very shitty situation, obviously, but if I can kind of use this time to write and figure out what I want to do like with music, it will be time well spent. So I used the lockdown period to really hone in on what I wanted to do and I started posting little clips of jazz standards on Instagram and TikTok and, and then I started releasing my own music for the first time also during the middle of lockdown. So it (the EP) was like, definitely a bit of a lockdown project, which has been the most surreal strange thing. But also, I am so thankful because, although the world is in shambles, I'm probably happier than I've ever been. It's really thanks to the internet.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How do you think TikTok has helped guide your career both creatively as well as just getting you to the right people and really helping you become you?
[LAUFEY:] Well I think one thing that TikTok is really good at is that the algorithm is so refined. The algorithm has actively pushed my music that is kind of like jazzy and whatever to people who like that kind of vibe. And maybe they don't even know it, they just like the sound of it. And so it's been like a really great discovery tool for this younger audience that I'm really trying to get to because my whole goal as a musician is kind of like to bring these older styles of music to a new audience and kind of like frame it as something that's new and relevant and cool and not something that's just becoming antiquated. So TikTok has been really good for that. Because who watches TikTok? Gen Z. So TikTok has been really cool for that. I use both Instagram and TikTok. Also, like when I write a song or like, even if I've only written like a verse or two, I’ll post a little clip of it on the internet, and then I get that immediate feedback. And if it's like really good feedback, I'm like, “Okay, like, let's finish the song” and then those are usually the songs that I ended up releasing. And that's what happened with “Like The Movies” which is one of my songs. It was the first video I posted on TikTok and I really wasn't expecting anything. I was kind of scared of TikTok. At first, I thought it was cool, but I was very overwhelmed by it. My twin sister was obsessed with TikTok and she was like, “There are singers here like you have to post TikTok.” I was doing a lot more on Instagram up until then. I just started posting like the videos that I put on Instagram on Tik Tok. But “Like the Movies” was like the first one that kind of like, started to move a bit and it was so cool because I was getting all these comments from young people who were like, “Oh, like this kind of sounds like something from an old movie or whatever” or they'd be asking me “What kind of style of music is this?” Like, “I want to learn more about it?” And that was really really cool for me because, like I said, I have such a fun time just like introducing this music to a new audience and writing a modern story but with that old style
[UNPUBLISHED:] And you do it so beautifully and so effectively. I know you recently had the opportunity to record with an orchestra, right?
[LAUFEY:] Oh, yeah, the Philharmonia Orchestra.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Would you mind telling me about that experience, kind of getting to work with an orchestra? Did you have to record long-distance?
[LAUFEY:] Yeah it was incredible. Like I said, I grew up just like my mom is in a symphony. So I grew up just backstage at the Iceland Symphony. I played in orchestras my whole time growing up and traveled to see orchestra concerts. Getting to when I initially got that email from the Philharmonia, like, saying they want to do some sort of collaboration or something. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. And I didn't dare to, like, think too much about it. And then they were like, “Oh, let's do a song.” And I was like, “You're kidding.” It was the most wonderful experience. I sent them one of my songs that I thought would sound great with an orchestra and they seemed to like it enough. So we got an arranger on board and he did the most amazing job arranging it for the orchestra. He just got my vision. I didn't want to be too classical, I didn't want to be too jazzy either, and it was just perfect. When I recorded, it was in the middle of lockdown. They recorded it in London and I recorded it in Washington DC actually. And then it was put together and we did a little video too. They sent over footage from when they were recording it in London and when I watched it first I started bawling. I was crying because it was like, such a crazy moment because the Philharmonia is such a good orchestra and I just never ever in my wildest dreams thought that I would be able to hear one of my songs come to life like that. And it's funny, when I first started working with my manager we wrote this long bucket list of things. He was like “Write your life goals, like just be very specific and like dream very big.” And I was like, number one, do like a recording with a symphony or perform with a symphony. And sort of, like so crazy that that happened so early on. And like I keep on saying I could win a Grammy tomorrow that (recording with the orchestra) is still gonna be like the peak of my career.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What else was on this list of yours? What are your big dream goals for your music?
[LAUFEY:] I don't know. It's such a hard question for me. That's why the symphony was like, for some reason, the one thing I could muster up. Like obviously, I would love to win a Grammy at some point, although it's not the most important to me. That's a pretty cool validation. I really want to play. I really want to play Radio City, New York and I want to play Royal Albert Hall in London. That's like my big dream.
[UNPUBLISHED:] So I was wondering if you had any films that inspired your music? And what are the things that inspire your music that you think connects the most to this younger generation?
[LAUFEY:] Hmm, good question. Well, I think I kind of figured out that one of the quickest ways to get to people is through making it (music) a visual experience. I think, especially during COVID, during this lockdown when everyone's confined to the four walls of the room, I think we all kind of like, really wanted… we yearned for this escape, you know? We had this, like wanderlust for a world that was in technicolor, you know? We wanted a world that was like, you know, a little bit different than our, our new bleak reality. And I think I kind of really wanted to tap into that. I mean, I watched so many movies growing up and, and, and I think, I don't know, I just think it's such a romantic thing. And a lot of people, a lot of young people, I think their only kind of their access to jazz music and classical or like, cinematic music has been through movies that they watched growing up. Old films bring generations together. They invoke this sense of nostalgia. And I think that's what I tried to do a little bit.
[UNPUBLISHED:] So your EP is beautiful. It's very romantic. I was wondering, what were some of your inspirations both just in your life, as well as other musical inspirations that you had for this EP?
[LAUFEY:] Well, I write very much from my own experiences. So just, yeah, they're pretty much all my own experiences. That's why the EP is called “Typical Me” because, well it's a lyric from “Someone New” but it's also because every single song is like a scene that is very typical of me. They’re just all based on my own experiences. And I don't, you know, I overthink a lot. I am really bad at handling dating and relationships and love. But on top of that, I have this very romantic view of love. So, I think all the songs together kind of paint that. But the musical inspirations were definitely, definitely a lot of jazz standards, really inspired by Chet Baker, for this album. I will always be inspired by him, but kind of like, that's where a lot of my scat ideas come from. I kind of like, steal a little bit of his vibe. And I have trumpet on one of the songs as like, kind of like paying homage to Chet Baker. And yeah, definitely Chet Baker, Ella Fitzgerald, there was a lot of you know, a lot of inspiration there too. And then like Bruno major. I love the production on some of his songs and the way that he manages to blend an old sound into the new world. So that's kind of where the end inspirations came from.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Do you have any favorite lyrics from your EP that you'd like to highlight?
[LAUFEY:] Hmm, yeah there were a few I like the funny lyrics where I'm kind of just making fun of stuff. Like in “James” and “Best Friend.” In “Best Friend,” the opening line is like one of my favorites: “It's come to my attention that I don't show enough/ of what I think it's only when I drink I open up.” I like that one and then I also really like one from “Magnolia.” The lyrics are very very visual in that one. I attempted to create this almost like a children's book kind of imagery.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Now, what is your general songwriting process? In what space do you find yourself being the most creative?
[LAUFEY:] I have to be in a very emotional state. Honestly, I write so much from my own experiences to the point where it's like, my best songwriting has been done under an emotional state. But I usually have a title or an idea or a feeling that I'll go off of, and then I kind of, you know, start with, with some chords and lyrics and melody, they kind of come all at once. But I, especially recently, always have a concept to start with or a title. I love writing from the title of a song.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Still kind of speaking of creative inspiration, who are the people in your life that really inspire you to keep making the music that you do?
[LAUFEY:] The guys that screw me over. Yeah. Kidding. Well, kind of but no. Really, my family, like my grandparents, who are musicians, and my mother I think, just kind of honoring them because they taught me everything about music and pushed me to practice as a child and really brought me to where I am today. So kind of like honoring their legacy and trying to make music that my peers might like. Like my 20 year old you know friends would like but also that my you know, my 85 year old grandma would like. I want to find a way to connect those generations through music.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Yeah, that's yeah, family is always like a drive, isn't it? Alright it’s time for some hard hitters: If you could be any Disney Princess, which one would you be?
[LAUFEY:] Belle. I think just like you know when you grow up you look you find the princess that looks the most like you. Or like that you like vision and resonate the most with Belle or Snow White, I think but Belle because I love the music.
[UNPUBLISHED:] I have to ask, Spotify Wrapped is coming up, who do you think your top artists top songs are going to be this year?
[LAUFEY:] Like it’s definitely going to be Chet Baker again. Like I'm not even gonna lie. It's definitely gonna be mostly like a mix of classical and jazz. I think I've been listening to a lot of classical music recently and like, kind of like playing in the background in a loop. So it's probably going to come around. Yeah, probably Ella Fitzgerald, and like so embarrassingly, I'm probably going to be in the top five because… Oh, it's so embarrassing. But, you know what? Here’s how I'll frame it. I still share a Spotify account with my parents, and they do like to listen to me. So I float to the top. But this is the reason I don't share my like Spotify wrapped is because it's so embarrassing to have myself in the top.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What are you most looking forward to with this upcoming tour?
[LAUFEY:] Oh, like just seeing fans in person. Like I said, everything's been locked down, so I haven't really been able to see the real faces behind all these profiles. It still blows my mind that there are real people behind it. But like in a really good way. Everyone's really cool. Like I can run into fans and they're just like my friends because they are my friends. But like, they're just really cool. And that's like the most encouraging thing. They're so nice too.