Laufey - Everything I Know About Love (Album) + 10 Questions

Recently I had the pleasure of chatting to Los Angeles-based Jazz singer, composer and producer Laufey (pronounced Lāy-Vāy) to discuss her upcoming album “Everything I Know About Love” set to release on August 26th, as well as looking into some of her musical inspirations and triumphs since her debut in 2020.

Since her debut, Laufey has garnered the attention of numerous high-profile artists like Billie Eilish, Willow Smith, V from BTS, Dodie, Ricky Montgomery and Alexander 23, the latter two of which Laufey went on to support on their sold-out fall 2021 tours. On top of this, she made her debut television appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Kimmel as well as a playing across a whole host of incredible shows and venues.

What got you into music? How'd you decide that you're gonna get into it?

Well, my mother's a classical musician. So I kind of grew up in a very musical family. And I started playing piano and cello at a very young age. I was following the very classical, conservatory route until I went to college and actually took a U-turn after deciding to go to Berklee. When I was a teenager, I started singing, and I really liked Jazz. I always knew I wanted to create my own music and do something new, not just play other people's music. Often It's done in classical music. So I just kind of spent a bit of time experimenting and trying to find my own sound that blended the styles and music I love, classical and jazz, and kind of making it more modern. So I managed to grasp that about two years ago and released my first song.

How would you describe your style and sound?

I love jazz. And that's the music that I heard that felt familiar enough to classical sounds or old sounds so that it wasn't too far. And I just love the improvisational aspect of it, and how it wasn't as serious.

This new album that I'm releasing at the end of the summer, is a lot more cinematic. Like there are a lot of string arrangements and wind arrangements. So it's a little bit more orchestral and bigger, very old-fashioned. Very much in the vein of Chet Baker with 50 strings kind of situation or like Ella Fitzgerald, with the orchestra, a little bit more in that direction. But mixed in with modern production, and a beat. I like to say it's telling a very modern story, but with old sounds

How would you compare the new album to your older releases?

I think it's a lot more mature, like the songs on my EP were truly among the first 10 songs that I wrote. The writing is a little more thought out, it's a little more well-versed in chords and lyrical concepts and whatnot. There's a little bit more soul in this new project.

I was a lot more hands-on in the production process, I'm a producer on all the tracks as well. So I co-produced every song on the album. I think listeners of "Typical of Me" will be very familiar and comfortable with the soundscapes of "Everything I Know About Love". The subject I'd say is very similar, I'm a bit of a hopeless romantic, but I'm not allowed to write another song about never have I been in love, I'm done with that after this. Next one is the breakup album.

Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your music?

Ella Fitzgerald was my first inspiration. Like I played the cello, Ella's voice sounded so much like a cello to me. So It just like felt really familiar. The way she sings, it's more of a vibrato. It's a little more classical. But then like three or four years ago, I really got into Chet Baker. And I just really fell in love with his held-back kind of singing style, because he plays the trumpet, So it's like, he sings like a trumpet. And I think that's so beautiful. He's such a musician, you know, He said, he thinks more like an instrumentalist than a singer. And you can really tell. And It really inspired me.

So what would you say is your proudest moment as a musician today?

Probably playing with or recording the song with the London Philharmonia Orchestra. Yeah. That and Jimmy Kimmel. My goal at the end of the day is to bring classical and jazz music to a new and younger audience and present it, as something that's not like scary or elitist, or anything in any way. And getting to collaborate with an orchestra like the Philharmonia, at this stage of my career was just so shocking and just directly feeds kind of into my life purpose. So it was a very special moment.

What are your dream collaborations?

I really want to work with Norah Jones, I just love Norah Jones. Most of the artists I would love to collaborate with, unfortunately, have passed but yeah, I'd love to work with Norah. She’s just really really cool.

What is it that you've got on repeat at the moment? What are the albums you're listening to?

I've been listening to this Astrud Gilberto album called “Beach Samba”. It's really fun. It's like very 60s but like very bossa nova. Every time summer rolls around, I'm like, straight bossa nova. It's all I want to for some reason. It just is very fitting. Yeah, Beach Samba that all of them just really honestly influenced my songwriting for a bit and you can really tell. I've been listening to the new Harry Styles album a lot. Also Taylor Swift's album “Evermore”, I'm a huge Swifty, which I think a lot of people don't know. But I have been since the very start. And I'm just really inspired by her writing. Like, I've been reading about some of the literary inspirations behind her lyrics. And I read some of the books that she wrote about, and it was so cool how she like implemented those ideas or even like mirrored fragments into her songs. I was reading this book called Rebecca. By Daphne du Maurier, and like every other page, there was a word from Evermore. And I was like, this is genius.

What is the best show you’ve ever been to?

I think a very memorable one was Bruno Major in Boston. I just found a journal entry from after the show. And I remember I was like, not sure if I dare to become a musician. I wrote in my journal like okay, this reminded me that I actually want to be on stage. And I was like, this venue is so beautiful. And I'm playing at that venue in Boston in the fall. So it’s a big full circle moment.

Do you have any tips or advice for our readers who might be looking to get into the music industry?

I think one that I've been thinking about recently is like, Don't compare yourself to anybody. You can't compare two artists, you know? Nobody has the same voice. Nobody has the same playing styles. Like, there are so many different ways of judging level and knowledge, and music is so subjective. And I think comparison kind of kills it for a lot of people from time to time.

Genres of music typically move in cycles. What is it about classic Jazz that has kept it around consistently for so many years?

The longevity of it, it just keeps a kind of constant. I can't really think of music that was as popular earlier than jazz besides classical music that's still around. It's like if music manages to stay that relevant for so long, it becomes classic.

I think at the end of the day, people like to listen to things that remind them of their childhood or their grandparents or stuff like that. And that is oftentimes classical and jazz music. So I think that's how it's like stuck around for so long. It feels nostalgic to a lot of people.

Laufey is set to release her debut studio album “Everything I Know About Love” on the 26th of August following her most recent single “Dear Soulmate”. On top of that, she embarks on her first headline tour of the US and Europe in September, with hopes of returning to the studio for another album in the near future.

Be sure to follow Laufey on Instagram and Spotify for the latest updates and releases!