Meet Laufey, the 24-year-old who is making it her mission to bring jazz and classical music to the forefront of her young audience. The Icelandic-Chinese multi-instrumentalist is taking over the world with her old-soul music, from playing and recording a live album with the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, to moving to Los Angeles to record her upcoming sophomore album, Bewitched. A testament to her vision, Laufey’s single From The Start hit 30,000,000 Spotify streams within six week of release. We spoke to the artist about the single and what’s to come:

Your recent single From The Start has had such an incredible reception!

‘I really cannot believe it. It seems unreal especially because the song is easily one of my most - maybe the most - jazziest songs. It was recorded in an old way in that it was recorded with all live instruments. It’s a jazz song thorough and through but it just doesn’t feel like it because it’s been presented in a pop context, if you will. To see it on [playlists such as] Pop Rising, and on viral charts and the Hot 100 chart, is just so cool. It proves my theory that jazz can be entirely accepted and listenable for a pop young audience. It’s incredibly exciting.”

Why do you think it’s resonating?‍

“First of all I think the Bossa Nova upbeat rhythm feels familiar somehow to this audience. I think also the lyrics are very cheeky. They’re relatable to a lot of people… The chorus is just this confession of love. I think its resonated just because it’s very much like ‘put all the walls down this is how I feel’. ‍

We’re so excited for the album. We love the title Bewitched! What inspired this mystical title?‍

“I wanted the album to be a love album and I’ve always thought that the word Bewitched is the perfect way to describe the state of being in love - as if you’re under a spell.”

‍Tell us what we can expect from this era? ‍

“All of the above! I will say, I'm mostly drawing from personal experiences.”‍

Who did you work with on it?‍

“The only other writer I worked with on it is [the new single] Promise. I wrote with Dan Wilson, who has worked a lot with Adele - he wrote Someone Like You - and has importantly worked with Taylor Swift which is so cool - and on some of my favourite song with her too: Come back, Be Here and Treacherous. It’s a dream to work with him, he’s so talented. And my executive producer Spencer Stewart is truly such a musical genius. He also executive produced my first album. He is truly my musical soulmate. He understands what I want to do with music so well. When I say I bring a song to him and give him three words for a reference, he knows exactly what to do. He is so good at string arranging - I play cello on all my songs, so getting to arrange strings with him is incredible. He’s so studious, he studies all these old composers just to better understand my favourites. And he gracefully implements them into my art. I’m so in awe of him and so lucky to find a collaborative partner like that.”‍

Where did you write and create most of the album?‍

“I wrote most of the songs in my bedroom in LA and they were recorded between LA and London.”‍

How do you hope people feel listening to the singles in the lead up to the album?‍

“I hope they feel enchanted!”‍

We know you’re a huge fan and reinterpreted jazz and classical music. What is it about these genres that speak to you? How have you infused them into the new album?‍

“Jazz and classical are the styles of music that are closest to my heart as I grew up playing them. There’s so much beauty in them that hasn't been discovered by people of my generation and I just want to find a fun way to introduce those sounds to modern ears! I’d say the album is very jazz heavy and you'll definitely be hearing a lot of classical melodies and orchestra sounds as well. The lyrics are what make the music modern. The music sounds like it could be from a different era!”

Listen to Laufey HERE. Pre-save Bewitched HERE.

@laufey