Laufey Breaks Down Debut Album Everything I Know About Love Track by Track: Exclusive
The post Laufey Breaks Down Debut Album Everything I Know About Love Track by Track: Exclusive appeared first on Consequence.
Singer, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Laufey (pronounced Lay-Vay) has introduced a new generation to the world of classic jazz through her intimate songwriting. Today (August 26th), the LA-based artist shares her debut album, Everything I Know About Love.
Laufey, who is known to draw from her classically trained background, weaves pieces of Tchaikovsky and Bach throughout the record, creating a captivating symphony for the modern age.
Everything I Know About Love — which follows her 2021 EP Typical of Me — explores Laufey’s story of falling in love with a new city and letting go of the old faces of a past life. The contemporary jazz artist navigates her recent move to Los Angeles and the start of a new chapter, but doesn’t shy away from the challenges that come with moving to a new place.
The title track, “Everything I Know About Love,” leans more on the punchy and vibrant side, while “I’ve Never Been In Love Before” pays homage to Chet Baker. Laufey deftly melds new elements of modern music with more traditional sounds of classic jazz, articulating the push and pull of love and loss with distinct eloquence.
Listen to Everything I Know About Love and check out the story behind each track below. You can also catch Laufey on tour this fall; most dates are sold out, but some tickets remain via Ticketmaster.
“Fragile”:
I grew up very protected and sensitive to love. I often felt like I lived in a case of glass — the first half of “Fragile” is the story of the first time I encountered this boy that shattered that case around me. The second half of the song is set in the present, after I’ve moved from my hometown to LA and I’m remembering that moment. I was very influenced by cinematic scores and bossa nova in this song, it’s the first song on the album and I wanted the strings to slowly crescendo so it sounds like it’s coming from a far away place and traveling towards us.
“Beautiful Stranger”:
This one is about a beautiful man that I spotted on the Tube in London. We glanced at each other a couple of times but never spoke. I dreamed up an entire scenario in my head in which we would have met but I never said anything. I came to my stop and stepped off the train, went home, and wrote this song!
“Above The Chinese Restaurant”:
“Above The Chinese Restaurant” is the only song on the album that isn’t based on my real life but rather a collection of incidences that strung together tell a story — the story about a young couple living in Chinatown, surrounded by noise, neon lights and dumplings (a nod to my Chinese heritage). The message of the song is learning to appreciate what you have, because you don’t know what you have until you’ve lost it.
“Dear Soulmate”:
“Dear Soulmate” is a song that I wrote for my future soulmate. I’m fascinated by the idea of my soulmate walking around somewhere out there. Maybe I know them, maybe I don’t, but I thought it would be pretty cool to write them a letter — and I’ll eventually give this song to my soulmate when I’ve found them! I was very inspired by balletic classical music and recorded a very Tchaikovsky-inspired harp part for it.
“What Love Will Do To You”:
“What Love Will Do To You” is about that hazy crazy feeling you get when you first develop a crush on someone. I wrote it about an experience I had when I stumbled back from a first date. Also recorded in a classic jazzy style =- it was recorded with a live band in the studio. I wanted the arrangement to transport the listener into an old movie scene.
“I’ve Never Been In Love Before”:
“I’ve Never Been In Love Before” is a jazz standard that I’ve always loved — it was imperative to me to include one jazz standard on the album as a tribute to jazz! I wanted the arrangement to begin and end acapella and have a classic old-timey jazz feel. It was recorded live with a band in one take in LA. The song speaks on falling in love for the first time and how strange it can be.
“Just Like Chet”:
I tend to fall in love too easily, just like the song Chet Baker is known for singing, hence the title! I wrote the song about a guy that strung me along for months and who I often wish that I would’ve never met. The song showcases melancholic cello parts along with trombone and of course some trumpet — my homage to Chet Baker!
“Everything I Know About Love”:
This song is about all the magical things that I was told falling in love would be like but I haven’t gotten to experience! I’m definitely making fun of myself with the lyrics, as I’m a bit of a hopeless romantic. It has a punchy piano part and lots and lots of strings and harmonies. The intro is a classical piece composed by Bach and is played by myself on cello, and my mother and sister on violin. I really wanted to include a little homage to my classical music roots in the album.
“Falling Behind”:
I wrote “Falling Behind” when I had just moved out to LA and I felt like all the people around me were falling in love and I couldn’t help but feel like I was falling behind. With bossa nova inspirations, harmony stacks and modern production, I hope that “Falling Behind” is a hopeless romantic’s summer anthem.
“Hi”:
“Hi” is a song about moving to a new city and missing your hometown love. I wrote “Hi” when I had just moved to LA, felt lonely and missed a certain someone. I wanted to send them a text but didn’t dare to, so I wrote this song instead. It was recorded in one live take, just vocals with guitar. I wanted it to be as intimate as possible, almost as if it’s a voice memo.
“Dance With You Tonight”:
“Dance With You Tonight” was born on a late night out when I found an old piano in the back of a bar and I spent all night playing around on it. A sweet boy asked me if I wanted to dance with him, but I was a bit too tipsy to do so. This song is reminiscent of the jazz era with lots of barbershop-like harmonies.
“Night Light”:
“Night Light” is a tale of packing up my childhood bedroom, which was quite the emotional experience! It’s so fascinating to me how much a room can shape you — how many stories exist and things are experienced within four walls. Putting my childhood belongings into boxes felt like saying goodbye to a younger me. It’s a power ballad with big sweeping strings and epic harmonies. Written and produced with Leroy Clampitt in Los Angeles, I set out to illustrate the significance of childhood bedrooms and how many experiences and memories they hold.
“Valentine”:
“Valentine” is about being in love for the first time and not quite knowing how to react to it — that electrifying and shocking feeling that you get when you realize that someone loves you back. I wrote it on Valentine’s Day two years ago and posted it on TikTok for fun. The response was way beyond what I expected, and after going viral I decided to finish the song and record it! I took inspiration from various styles in creating this song but was mostly inspired by the sounds of the jazz-age. I worked with producer Spencer Stewart to get the song to the finish line with magical harmonies and piano flares.
Laufey Breaks Down Debut Album Everything I Know About Love Track by Track: Exclusive
Kelly Park
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