It is certainly not common to see modern-day jazz or classical artists flourish the way Laufey has. The rising Gen-Z singer classifies her music as “modern jazz”; a mix of bedroom pop and jazz pop. She has several hits which have reached TikTok popularity, such as “Let You Break My Heart Again”, and more recently, “From The Start”.
For decades, jazz and classical music have been deemed “inaccessible” to younger audiences. However, this was never what jazz was meant to be. Jazz was created as an aberration from the rules, and an expression of freedom, meant for everyone, no matter age, class or social status.
What makes Laufey’s jazz tunes so “modern” is her appealing storytelling and lyrics. She often sings about concepts that younger audiences can relate to, such as unrequited love. Many may find the language of jazz music intimidating, however, that is not the case with Laufey’s songs. In an interview with Vogue, she states, “At the end of the day, I’m making music for Gen Z. I speak and act very much in that way. A lot of jazz standards have a very casual language of that day, and I write with the casual language of my day,”. Her lyrics are easy on the ears of the average listener and do not feel overly formal.
Born in Reykjavik as Laufey (pronounced lay-vay) Lin Jónsdóttir, the Icelandic-Chinese singer lived a childhood full of music. Her mother was a violinist in a symphony orchestra, and Laufey grew up listening to jazz icons such as Ella Fitzgerald and Chet Baker. She started playing piano at the age of 5, and can also play the cello. At the age of 15, she went on to make her solo debut as a cellist in the Iceland Symphony Orchestra.
As every talented artist has experienced, there is no success without struggle. Growing up half-Chinese in Iceland, she would often feel different from her peers. She was a cellist, and her interests varied from other children her age. Laufey struggled with her own insecurities. She felt that she was not beautiful enough to become a singer, or that her voice was too deep. When the singer entered a talent show, they gave her the title of “a 14-year-old girl with the voice of a 50-year-old divorced woman”. Laufey is not foreign to feelings of insecurity, which is evident in her music. This is another factor that makes her songs so relatable.
Laufey also did not feel that she was represented properly. There were very few mainstream Asian artists when she was growing up during the 2000s. “I’ve become the artist I wanted to look up to,” Laufey tells Vogue. For many young people, that is exactly who she is; the artist that they can look up to. She is the very representation that the media has been needing for so long. Laufey has proved that with the right appeal, people are able to look past the expectations and connotations of a genre and enjoy it for what it truly is.
