Laufey Is Putting A New Spin On Jazz
What do you think of when you hear the word jazz?
Perhaps the image of a hazy jazz bar pops up, or the faces of legendary figures like Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald.
There is a common misconception that jazz is too sophisticated or mature for the younger crowd—something that is great for a cocktail party, but not for radio. However, a certain 25-year-old musician is adding her own twist to the genre.
Laufey Lín Bing Jónsdóttir, better known as Laufey, has been taking the music world by storm with her pop-infused jazz melodies. In an interview with Ammar Kalia, a music critic from The Guardian, Laufey describes her music as having “older inspirations but [where] the lyrics are very modern.”
Her debut album, Everything I Know About Love (2022), is based on her college years and what she has learned about independence, love and relationships. It romanticizes everyday life and serves as a coming of age album.
In Bewitched (2023), that hopeless romantic grows up and is ready to celebrate all kinds of love. The single From the Start served as her first chart-topper; it’s about having a crush on someone and dealing with those emotions. Less than a month after the album’s release, it was No. 23 on the Billboard 200 and won a Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in February.
Laufey later released Bewitched: The Goddess Edition (2024) with three bonus tracks.
What separates Bewitched from Everything I Know About Love is that Laufey takes more risks. She embraces her roots as a classical musician by including more orchestral melodies that compliment her staple jazz-pop sound.
In the track Letter to My 13 Year Old Self, Laufey taps into self-love, telling her younger self to not give up because a career in music awaits her. The Icelandic-Chinese singer also addresses her childhood insecurities with lyrics such as “I’m so sorry that they pick you last/ try to say your foreign name and laugh” and “life is prettier than it may seem.”
The orchestral compositions combined with the jazzy beats and pop lyrics add a whimsical, dream-like quality to her songs. A personal favorite of mine is Dreamer. It has nostalgic harmonies and optimistic undertones as Laufey proclaims, “no boy’s going to kill the dreamer in me.” Similarly, the songs Bewitched and Goddess have an emotional rawness that help you feel the artist’s vulnerability.
Laufey is carving out her own place in the music industry. She’s not a strict traditionalist or modernist and does not conform to trends. Rather, she draws from the past to create something new and beautiful, something that is distinctively Laufey.
