story / Erica Russell photo / Pip Ā
As Laurelās voice rolls mistily through the crests and troughs of the brooding synths and heart-wrenching strings of āTo The Hillsā, her recently premiered new single, a sense of distant melancholy washes over. In song, Laurel is a mysterious fairy-child from the English countryside, completely encompassing with her bewitching spellsong, yet ever out of reach. In contrast, however, over the phone the 19 year old singer-songwriter and burgeoning music-fashion darling is as warm, sweet and inviting as a slice of freshly baked homemade pie, and unlike her somber musical incarnation, is a bright, friendly and engaging teenager ready to chat excitedly about her favorite rappers and dreams of sound-tracking a film.
If this is your first time hearing of her, get acquainted, and quickly. The lovely British ingĆ©nue, recently having popped onto major radars with her stunning and cinematic debut EP, āTo The Hillsā, crafts spellbinding music that is a smart, eclectic fusion of piano balladry, electro-pop, and gloomy hip hop beats. But Laurel doesnāt only sing. She also writes all her own music, and produces it as well. And unlike many other contemporary pop offerings, Laurel made certain to record live instrumentation for her music as well, injecting it with a raw, nostalgic energy.
I chatted with Laurel about her gorgeous new EP, what itās like being compared to Lorde, the process of recording live strings for her single, and more! Read on below to learn about this enchanting young artist, as well as for a FIRST LOOK at a behind the scenes video of Laurel in the studio with her orchestra, premiering exclusively right here on Ladygunn.
Your new EP, āTo The Hills,ā just dropped this month. Can you talk a little about the inspiration behind it?
Around the time I wrote the song āTo The Hillsā, I was actually coming to America, to Los Angeles, so I think thatās where I got the idea for the name of the song from. At the time I was really getting into dark hip hop, so I was like, āHow can I incorporate this into one of my songs?ā I love hip hop and dark beats and dark music in general, so I tried to infuse it with some of the other tracks I wrote.
Something I really aimed to do with the EP, and with my album especially, is for it to be a collective piece of creative work instead of just an album full of singles that could be from many different albums. I wanted it to be a piece of work instead of just a bunch of songs. I think they all fit together really well in the end.
Your lyrics tend to have a storytelling vibe. Would you consider yourself a storyteller?
Iām used to writing my music as stories I guess since the songs focus on my life; my life is a bit of a story. Itās basically me writing a diary and singing it.
You mentioned you love hip hop. Who are some of your favorite artists?
I really like Tyler the Creator at the moment. My boyfriend played me one of his songs. Heās got the darkest songs. If you listen to his whole album, by the end you feel really dark and stressed out. Itās quite heavy! I really like hip hop thatās heavy and dark like that. I definitely like the grungier side of that world.
Would you consider your music dark as well?
Yes! Itās really bad though, I canāt write happy songs! As soon as I start writing and it starts getting happy, I go to a dark place in the song and Iām like, āI canāt do this!ā [Laughs.] I love moody music. All the English are so moody so it definitely comes out in the music.
What do you make of comparisons to contemporaries like Lorde and Lana Del Rey?
It doesnāt bother me too much because youāre always going to be compared to somebody and theyāre really great artists to be compared to. Theyāre doing something great for the music industry that not a lot of artists are doing. But at the same time, itās unfair for people to say Iām taking my influences from Lana and Lorde. Weāve only being around for a couple of years, you know? Whatās more likely is that weāve all grown up with the same kind of music and that inspiration is coming out in our own music now. I canāt change what I listened to when I was younger. This is the kind of music I love, and weāre just making it at the same time.
What other music do you like to listen to?
Personally, I enjoy womenās music way more than I enjoy a manās voice. Thatās just a personal thing though. I listen to Bjork a lot and Florence and the Machine and Santigold.
I read that you grew up in a sleepy sea-side town on the English countryside, is that right? Do elements of that environment seep into your music?
I did. The town is mainly loads of houses and suburbs and thereās nothing else there. There are a few songs on my EP and album that are inspired by the fact that I come from somewhere that thereās not much going on. You can even hear it in āTo The Hillsā: itās me trying to get away, go on the road, go to the hills or somewhere else to get higher than where I am right now. Thereās a lot of stories on my album which are about me and the guy Iām in love with and my friends and how weāre all like, āOh, weāre dying in this town! Why are we here?ā
You also self-produce your music. Thatās impressive. How does that work?
Iāve got a tiny room in my house and Iāve been producing the whole album which has been quite a big task. Sometimes Iām like, āOh my god, why am I doing this? Why am I not letting someone else help me?ā [Laughs.] I wouldnāt mind working with other people. But when Iām on my own and when Iāve got control to do whatever I want is when I get the best out of myself.
Do you find that self-producing allows you to really express whatās going on your head?
Yeah, I feel like when you write a song with somebody else, itās more about crafting a song for the public, but when I write on my own itās about me just feeling and writing exactly how I feel in the moment, and if it turns into a good song, then thatās great! Thatās my main priority. If you write with someone else youāve usually both got an idea of what kind of sound you want to make. Itās not really as spontaneous.
I watched the video of you in studio watching the orchestra record the strings for your record, which weāre premiering here. Tell me about how that was for you.
It was amazing! Iāve been recording the strings on the computer, so to go in and hear them played live with the mastered string section was insane! It was incredible. I hadnāt experienced something like that before. Not many people are recording real drums or real strings anymore because itās easier to do it the other way, but it just brings this amazing energy to the music.
You also have your own record label imprint. Can you tell me a little about that?
There was a number of different ways I could put out my EP, and someone said to me, āWhy donāt you make your own imprint on the label?ā And I was like, āHell yeah, I wanna do that!ā Itās really amazing. I named it after the first song I wrote under the name Laurel. Itās called Next Time Records, and itās a toast to the song that got me here.
Someone whoās never heard your music asks you about it. How do you describe it to them?
Itās very cinematic. Itās quite like film music. Itās not music you will find instantly catchy and be singing along to like a Katy Perry song. Itās music that makes you feel something proper rather than music makes you sing along. Itās music that moves you and makes you think.
I love that you called it cinematic. Would you ever consider writing for a film?
Thatās my really big dream! Iād love to write the soundtrack for a movie.
And where are you at with the album right now?
Itās pretty much done. It wonāt be released for a while though. I think weāre going to do some more strings on the album. Iām actually in my studio right now working. By the time the album gets releasedā¦ weāll see how it goes. I think early next year or the end of this year, but you know how it goes. You canāt really tell!
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