Featured Image photo credit: Lauren Kim
LAUFEY’S HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED
NEW ALBUM BEWITCHED
“A VERY LAUFEY DAY” LAUNCHES SEPTEMBER 10
NEW FOCUS TRACK “LOVESICK”
VISUALIZER PREMIERES
Bewitched, the highly-anticipated new album from acclaimed Los Angeles-based Icelandic-Chinese artist, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Laufey, is now available worldwide via AWAL.
The album’s breakaway hit single, “From The Start,” has seen a meteoric rise since its release. It topped 1 million streams in less than 24 hours upon release and continues to garner 1.75 million streams per day across DSPs, with 120 million global streams to date. “From The Start” is currently the most streamed jazz song in the world. Watch / share the visualizer for new focus track “Lovesick” HERE. See full track list below.
On September 10, fans from across the world are invited to enjoy “A Very Laufey Day”—a curated “Laufey-inspired day” tailored to their city. Fans will be encouraged to go out and complete various hand-picked activities in each market, alongside a broader generic checklist that can be completed anywhere in the world. Every activity is matched to a song on the album paired with a prompt, and pulled through to a central gallery housed on https://averylaufeyday.com/.
Furthemore, Laufey will celebrate the new album with ‘The Bewitched Tour,’ which kicks off next month. The completely sold-out tour will make stops at iconic venues throughout North America including two nights at San Francisco’s Fillmore, Chicago’s Thalia Hall, New York City’s Town Hall, and Los Angeles’ Theatre at the Ace Hotel. Laufey’s performance at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra tonight and at The Ford with the Los Angeles Philharmonic on September 16 are both sold out as well. She will also perform with the China Philharmonic Orchestra at the Beijing Music Festival on September 26. Full tour routing below.
Laufey (pronounced lāy-vāy) is looking to bridge the gap between the past and the present, the history books and social media, the Reykjavik concert hall Harpa and the Los Angeles rock dive Troubadour, by writing, recording, and performing songs that are truly timeless, inspired by jazz greats and classical masters while possessing a point of view that could only be conveyed by a 21st-century twentysomething. Laufey explains, “As a musician, my goal is to bring jazz and classical music to my generation through a more accessible road.”
Raised between Reykjavík and Washington, D.C. with annual visits to Beijing, the Icelandic-Chinese artist grew up playing cello as well as piano and became hooked on the jazz standards of Ella Fitzgerald after digging through her father’s record collection. In 2020, while still a student at Berklee College of Music, Laufey released her debut single “Street by Street,” which went on to top the Icelandic radio charts. Following the release of her 2021 Typical of Me EP, Laufey was named Best New Artist in Jazz and Blues at the Icelandic Music Awards and hosted her own show on BBC Radio 3/BBC Sounds. Laufey’s 2022 debut full-length, Everything I Know About Love reached #1 on Billboard’s Alternative New Artist Album chart, and she was the most streamed jazz artist on Spotify that year. Today, she has over 700 million streams across all platforms and is the biggest streaming artist from Iceland in the world.
Listen to Laufey’s interview on NPR’s Morning Edition HERE and see more early critical acclaim for Bewitched below:
“Laufey is the Viral Icelandic Prodigy Bringing Jazz To Gen Z”
“delicate poetic music”
“…a wonderful collection from a special new talent.”
“The Icelandic-Chinese star’s dazzlingly second album is confident and musically ambitious, melding jazz, pop and modern classical composition”
“The 14 songs on the 24-year-old Icelandic singer and cellist’s debut album were made for that kind of unrestrained romance, one that feels like it can only be found in the golden rom-coms of the past and the crackles of jazz records — one that she wants to bring back for her generation.”
“With Bewitched, Icelandic Singer Laufey Is Leaving Jazz Neophytes Spellbound”
“With a mix of traditional musical styles and contemporary lyricism, she’s one of the most successful Gen-Z jazz musicians right now.”
“…pushes the boundaries of what pop music can be in an incredibly creative way…”
“Despite being a relatively fresh face in music, Laufey has made quite a splash. The Icelandic singer/songwriter expertly mixes bedroom pop, jazz, and classical elements. Judging by her career trajectory so far, she will likely be around for a while.”
Album artwork: Gemma Warren
BEWITCHED TRACK LIST
1. Dreamer
2. Second Best
3. Haunted
4. Must Be Love
5. While You Were Sleeping
6. Lovesick
7. California and Me feat. Philharmonia Orchestra
8. Nocturne (Interlude)
9. Promise
10. From The Start
11. Misty
12. Serendipity
13. Letter To My 13 Year Old Self
14. Bewitched
LAUFEY LIVE
September 8, 2023—Washington, DC—Kennedy Center Concert Hall* SOLD OUT
September 16, 2023—Los Angeles, CA—The Ford† SOLD OUT
September 20, 2023—Hong Kong—KITEC MusicZone SOLD OUT
September 21, 2023—Hong Kong—KITEC MusicZone SOLD OUT
September 26, 2023—Beijing—Beijing Music Festival‡
October 8, 2023—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore§ SOLD OUT
October 9, 2023—San Francisco, CA—The Fillmore§ SOLD OUT
October 11, 2023—Portland, OR—Revolution Hall§ SOLD OUT
October 13, 2023—Vancouver, BC—Hollywood Theatre§ SOLD OUT
October 14, 2023—Vancouver, BC—Hollywood Theatre§ SOLD OUT
October 17, 2023—Salt Lake City, UT—The Depot§ SOLD OUT
October 18, 2023—Englewood, CO—Gothic Theatre§ SOLD OUT
October 20, 2023—St. Paul, MN—The Fitzgerald Theater§ SOLD OUT
October 21, 2023—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall§ SOLD OUT
October 22, 2023—Chicago, IL—Thalia Hall§ SOLD OUT
October 24, 2023—Cleveland, OH—House of Blues§ SOLD OUT
October 25, 2023—Detroit, MI—Majestic Theatre§ SOLD OUT
October 27, 2023—Toronto, ON—Danforth Music Hall§ SOLD OUT
October 28, 2023—Montreal, QC—Théâtre Beanfield§ SOLD OUT
October 29, 2023—Boston, MA—The Wilbur§ SOLD OUT
November 1, 2023—New York, NY—The Town Hall§ SOLD OUT
November 2, 2023—New York, NY—The Town Hall§ SOLD OUT
November 3, 2023—Philadelphia, PA—Theatre of the Living Arts§ SOLD OUT
November 4, 2023—Washington, DC—Lincoln Theatre§ SOLD OUT
November 6, 2023—Nashville, TN—Riverside Revival Nashville§ SOLD OUT
November 7, 2023—Atlanta, GA—Variety Playhouse§ SOLD OUT
November 9, 2023—Houston, TX—White Oak Music Hall§ SOLD OUT
November 10, 2023—Austin, TX—The Paramount Theatre§ SOLD OUT
November 11, 2023—Dallas, TX—The Echo Lounge & Music Hall§ SOLD OUT
November 13, 2023—Phoenix, AZ—The Van Buren§ SOLD OUT
November 15, 2023—San Diego, CA—The Magnolia§ SOLD OUT
November 17, 2023—Santa Ana, CA—The Observatory§ SOLD OUT
November 18, 2023—Los Angeles, CA—The Theatre at The Ace Hotel§ SOLD OUT
November 19, 2023—Los Angeles, CA—The Theatre at The Ace Hotel§ SOLD OUT
February 10, 2024—Dublin, IE—The Academy
February 12, 2024—Glasgow, UK—St. Luke’s
February 14, 2024—Manchester, UK—Albert Hall
February 15, 2024—London, UK—EartH (Theatre)
February 16, 2024—London, UK—EartH (Theatre)
February 17, 2024—London, UK—EartH (Theatre)
Follow Laufey Online:
Photographer and Editor/Founder of AllMusicMagazine.com. My love of live music has taken me to incredible experiences with the top bands of all time in stadium shows to the smallest venues with equally inspiring musicians. Using the medium of photography and my publication, these memories will last forever.
